From Birth Doula to Web Developer.
My Career Change Story.
“We’re calling this, Controlling what you can when things feel Out of Control.”
~ Olaf, Frozen 2.
The last couple of years have felt completely out of control with a global pandemic that has shaken up our world and has sent people shifting into different scenarios that they likely never imagined themselves being in. Businesses pivoting to new business models to stay afloat, others not so successful, people moving around, and changing careers completely. It’s been trying times across the board and I feel it! It’s sent me shaking too. I live in Toronto with my spouse and two kids. I was working as a birth & postpartum doula, and studying to get into nursing school as the pandemic hit. My spouse is an RN and was working in the ER and my anxiety was at an all time high with my partner working in hospital with so many uncertainties about the virus at the time. I knew my focus was to care for my kids, and try to maintain mine and their mental health.
So here is where I was beginning to take control of something while things felt out of control. If the pandemic was good for one thing, it was an amazing time for reflection and it afforded me the space from our usual daily grind that I needed to really sort through my priorities and get a clear vision for what I wanted for my life and my family’s. I considered different options that would give me flexibility as well as give me a creative outlet; starting a business crafting and selling my art, becoming a herbalist, open a virtual thrift shop to sell off collected items, or maybe continue my path to pursue nursing which while it’s not so creative, could leave potential for creative endeavours outside of work. I felt pressure to figure out what I could do that would provide my family and I stability and security but that I would also enjoy. I was not about to sacrifice my mental health and settle for just any job that pays the bills. It’s important to me that I enjoy what I do, and I realize what a great privilege it is to be able to make this conscious choice.
I continued focusing on my kids up until it was time for them to return to school again and I could have more time and space to sort out what my next career would be. Around this point I was talking with my sister, a talented Software Engineer (and super rad human), to pick her brain about her job. She always seemed happy with a decent work-life balance & major bonus that since she works remotely, she can move around and still maintain her job. When I shared my interest she recommended that I play around on Codecademy to see if I like it and from then on I was hooked. (and wow the nostalgia I felt upon remembering all of the coding I did on Myspace and Piczo as a teen was real!)
In one way or another a lot of the other roles I had explored previously had made sense for clear objective reasons, but once I started coding my passion evolved so organically. It was interesting. mentally stimulating and so satisfying to see my code come to life on a web page. I had a strong feeling that this was the path for me. Coding is fun and challenging and that will seemingly never fizzle out in the tech world as technologies continue to evolve.
Once I felt ready to make a move on pursuing a new career in tech, super rad sister sent me a few different programs and bootcamps worth checking out. Juno College was on the list and I immediately connected with their vision as their values aligned so much with mine. I took Web Development and JavaScript courses at Juno & not only has coding been interesting to learn, but the community is also so welcoming and fun to be apart of. I’m now in my second week of Juno College’s 9 week Immersive Web Development Bootcamp and am feeling so hopeful and excited for what the future holds for me.