Women returners in tech

[MotherOffCod]

Is anyone else noticing a trend for women returning to work after child-rearing years getting into deep geek tech?

I’m my area of the UK it’s a big thing, and seems to be escalating.

Bloody brilliant area to get skilled up in once your kids are older and you’re ready to dig in again.

Anyone else in this sphere? My feeling is that it’s a major opportunity for smart women who’ve been out or the workplace for a while, but have time and opportunity to re-train in exciting new fields with high demand and low supply.

[peasandketchup]

Thank you @Jibberstanley AKA MotherofCod!

What sort of jobs would you suggest and what do you do (if you don’t mind me asking!) I was thinking UX could be a good route for me but am unsure!

I will have another look through this thread as that seems a good place to start.

How easy is it to get jobs in tech? I’d hate to do all the training then find myself unable to find work at the end of it!

[Wallywobbles]

The company I work does a range of tech based courses. Mostly for women and underfunded, underserved groups. They're funded by Microsoft, Google, LinkedIn etc.

www.academy.inco-group.co

[FinallyHere]

@OooooohhhZing

Those of you in the field, do you think there's scope for a returning project manager who can only work part time right now? Or wishful thinking?

As a project manager, I'd say working part time would be tricky, not in terms of the number of hours but because of the ebb and flow of project work. The PM is needed when they are needed, or risk adding delay to the overall project time line.

Other roles might be much more suitable, tested or support person, whose hours can more easily be bounded

[MrsJamin]

@peasandketchup UX may well suit you if you're good at communication with an eye for detail. I'd read something like "Don't make me think" or "100 things every designer needs to know about people" and see if the topic interests you.

[Lunar270]

@CBUK2K2

Men and women are in many ways similar, however the differences become most apparent at the extremes.

One of the biggest differences between men and women is the interest in things (mainly men) vs interest in people (mainly women).

To be an engineer of computer scientist you have to be very interested in "things" so they tend to be more common male choices. Where as to be a nurse or a teacher you need to be a lot more interested in people.

That's not to say women don't do engineering, I've worked with some fantastic female engineers. They're just not that common.

You are at a big advantage as a women in a stem field as discrimination means you're twice as likely to be successful in a job interview as a male counterpart with equal qualifications.

That's an interesting perspective. Sorry for diverting the thread (I can start one if there's merit in it). But having worked in outreach for 20 odd years, it's been a real struggle to tempt more women into engineering.

The world isn't short of capable women and this thread demonstrates perfectly that there are large numbers who would excel in the field. But there seems to be something that draws more women to tech.

So much of our world is designed by men and mostly for men. It'd be great to have more balance. The car industry is a great example where women fare worse in accidents, purely because cars are mostly designed for male frames. More women in critical areas would no doubt improve this.

Again, sorry for butting in but any views appreciated.

[JustGotHere]

UX is a good idea, also, for people with good attention to detail and an appreciation of rules, regulations, and tight specifications (like me) web accessibility might be a good starting area. Here is an introduction

www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-intro/

Also, male teams might be more willing to hire a woman for it, as some degree of empathy is involved.

You would be more involved with making recommendations and appreciated for having subject matter expertise, and not expected to be a 16 year old elite hacker who can invent facebook over a weekend in your free time.

[MrsWombat]

I do love this thread, and I'm glad people are moving to tech in their mid/late 40s. I'm 42 and want to try and do a boot camp in a few years when my youngest starts secondary school. My tiktok and facebook feeds are full of "free" boot camps ads.

Does anyone have any recommendations of what I can do in the meantime? I update the website, and use a lot of data in my current job. I also side hustle with uTest, and sell printables which involves a minor bit of VBA in powerpoint.

[AquaticSewingMachine]

@MrsWombat Power Bi/Tableau, or some Python for data analysis, would be natural next steps. The demand for data skills is high. If you are currently employed, there are apprenticeships you can do.

[Namenic]

@MrsWombat - if you update the website, are you familiar with html and css? There are good courses on udemy (I haven’t done any specifically on html and css - but you could look for ones that that have thousands of subscribers. Don’t pay more than £20 per course - as they often go on offer if you keep checking the website over a month, and also check that the course has been last updated this year - so it isn’t teaching out of date stuff).

After html and css maybe you could try a course on javascript? I say that because you already do stuff with the website, so html, css and javascript would be useful and are a good basis for a frontend job.

For data stuff python is a good language and there is a lot of courses on it (plus can be used for website backend - coding part of the website that does stuff like fetch things from a database - a common one is django).

I personally like udemy courses because you just copy what the person in the video does (sounds silly, but it helps just typing along and clicking on the same buttons). If you have problems, people who do the course have often written something in the comments section. Some popular course creators pay someone to monitor the comments section and answer questions people have. Would highly recommend doing online courses before expensive boot camps. Often these courses will get you to use GitHub or gitlab. This is a way of storing your code so that if you make a mistake, you can go back to a previous version. People often also use their accounts to show employers what projects they have done. Also search for women’s coding groups/meet-ups - it’s so helpful to have other people to help you when you are stuck (you will get stuck but the key is to seek help and persevere - someone will have come across the problem before).

[lapasion]

Has anyone completed a course with the awfully named Code First Girls? They have some great short courses which are free, but just wondering if they’re worth putting the time in? Other than a bit of HTML, I’m a complete beginner to coding.

codefirstgirls.com

[WonderingWhatNow]

Just found this thread, it’s very interesting.
Im freelance at the moment, mainly updating websites via Wordpress and very basic html and css. Creating image and ad context etc but it’s not a long term plan. Tech is all I’ve ever done but I seem to know a little about a lot, but not a lot about anything….
I can’t figure out what direction to take, I’ve tried to learn to code but I always get stuck so only have a basic knowledge. I find UX interesting but I’m not creative at all. I find cyber security interesting but can’t code… Feels like there must be something that’s right for me in the world of tech.

[widewomanofthevillage]

I share your opinion of the name, (having not been a girl for 40 years!) but I did a short course, then the CFG Degree. I was sponsored by a major bank and now work for them as a software engineer, best paid job I ever had and I can see real progression prospects.

I had already self learned HTML/CSS/Javascript, did the short course in Data and SQL then learned Python on the degree and now work in back end but keep my front end fresh in my own time.

No sugar coating, the longer courses are INTENSE, you don't understand it all for ages and have to do a lot of background reading, assessment prep and homework which I was juggling with FT self employment, but it was worth it for me in the end to slog through and get this job.

Try a MOOC or short course and see how you go, they're a great org for getting women into tech and you'll make excellent contacts if nothing else!

[ColeensBoot]

Wondering are you good at organising your work? Get on well with people?
How about a move into IT project management. You don't need to know the gory details of the programming language, just how jobs and sprints work. And if you can do coding any PM software will be a doddle. It's like being the conductor of an orchestra. It feels like doing no job at all, and yet it gets the whole project done. As you might be able to tell, that's what I do and I love it!

[ColeensBoot]

I thought my career was over post-children. 1 lucky break and my career is off on a different path. Definitely a move into IT is worth researching. It's just so broad.

Look at the Microsoft jobs website, so many jobs. Shows you what's out there.

[lapasion]

@widewomanofthevillage

I share your opinion of the name, (having not been a girl for 40 years!) but I did a short course, then the CFG Degree. I was sponsored by a major bank and now work for them as a software engineer, best paid job I ever had and I can see real progression prospects.

I had already self learned HTML/CSS/Javascript, did the short course in Data and SQL then learned Python on the degree and now work in back end but keep my front end fresh in my own time.

No sugar coating, the longer courses are INTENSE, you don't understand it all for ages and have to do a lot of background reading, assessment prep and homework which I was juggling with FT self employment, but it was worth it for me in the end to slog through and get this job.

Try a MOOC or short course and see how you go, they're a great org for getting women into tech and you'll make excellent contacts if nothing else!

Thank you. This is really helpful. Yes, I was thinking of a short course first before jumping in. It sounds intense! Congratulations on your new job. It sounds amazing.

[bobtheveryoldBuilder]

I trawled the thread for links:

noidea.dog/glue
supermums.org/training/
getintotech.sky.com
www.academy.inco-group.co
www.airtable.com
trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/trails/administrator-certification-prep?utm_campaign=trailblazer_blog&utm_content=cert_jan22_salesforceadminpath&utm_medium=blog-360&utm_source=salesforce
www.salesforce.com/blog/what-is-trailhead/
www.freecodecamp.org/
Scientific Computing with Python course

www.w3schools.com/

Fab thread !

[pagansophie]

@WonderingWhatNow would you mind sharing how you get your freelance work? What you describe is pretty much what I want to do, but I'm clueless on how to find clients! I've had a look on fiverr and related sites, but it just seems very hard to get started.

[WonderingWhatNow]

@pagansophie

@WonderingWhatNow would you mind sharing how you get your freelance work? What you describe is pretty much what I want to do, but I'm clueless on how to find clients! I've had a look on fiverr and related sites, but it just seems very hard to get started.

Tbh it’s mainly word of mouth for me, I have social media accounts too where I advertise. I considered creating a website too but my hearts not really in it. There is a lot of competition from others on the likes of people per hour that will do work for pennies. I’m struggling to get by atm which is why I know I need to train in something more specific

[WonderingWhatNow]

@ColeensBoot

Wondering are you good at organising your work? Get on well with people?
How about a move into IT project management. You don't need to know the gory details of the programming language, just how jobs and sprints work. And if you can do coding any PM software will be a doddle. It's like being the conductor of an orchestra. It feels like doing no job at all, and yet it gets the whole project done. As you might be able to tell, that's what I do and I love it!

I’m great at organising but not so great with people to be honest. I’m a massive introvert but it’s something else to look into for sure.

[pagansophie]

@WonderingWhatNow , thank you for answering. Yes, those freelance sites just seem a bit thankless, people offering to work for pennies. I was worried I was trying to enter a saturated field and it sounds like I might be right. I'm 65 and I don't feel like going back to full time work even if anyone would employ me.
What do you get stuck on with learning to code?

@ColeensBoot your job sounds great, I would have liked to have done that.

[ColeensBoot]

Don't go for fiverr etc. Register with a proper agency like Michael page.

Do a plan- where I am now, where I want to be. How to get there. And take contract jobs as stepping stones to getting to your goal job.

[CareerQuestions]

@WonderingWhatNow

I’m great at organising but not so great with people to be honest. I’m a massive introvert but it’s something else to look into for sure.

I'm similar, but I've learned people skills by thinking of them like any other skill.

The bonus is, the more you learn people skills, the easier it is to be with people and the more good things you see in them.

[CurrentHun]

This is my medium term career plan too and I love this thread. Great hearing people’s updates and I’m wishing all the job seekers all the best of luck.

[SherbettingSherbert]

Love this thread! I've run my own web design & development freelance business for about 7 years but have been a SAHM for the last 2 whilst it ticked in the background with very basic maintenance work. The idea of picking it back up full time post DC fills me with dread! Loved the work itself but having to wear all business hats at all times was draining and not realistic with a small DC in part time childcare.

Thinking forward to when DC starts school would love to find part time tech work preferable wfh. Something I can really dig into but don't have to think about on my time off!

This thread has given me some brilliant ideas and leads for formalising my skills that might help me get the work I'm hoping for.

Thank you to everyone's that's had some input to it so far!

[speedtalker]

I followed this thread originally when I was hoping to move into something tech related after a career in media. I'd had a career break and completed courses in web development. Didn't think I would be a coder, but wanted to understand the language.
I took a punt on a very short hour contract involving understanding APIs, and after several months, I now work permanently, part time, as a content strategist, with flexible working, at the interface of those in web development and data science.
I think despite my lack of experience, the fact I could prove I was competent and likeable in the company during the first few months led to me being asked to stay on, and in a role I would have thought impossible a year ago in a stimulating and forward-thinking company. So it can happen!