Career Breakers: Finding my way back into a Tech career after 20 years
I was in my early teens when I first started to code and I coded pretty much for the next 10 years until my graduation and I loved it. I was a high achiever, goal-orientated and a logical thinker and loved the problem-solving nature of software development. I began my career as a Java developer fulfilling my goal of having a career in Tech.
I then took an extended break to have my eldest two children. A few years later when I was ready to return, the industry had moved on considerably and I was no longer sure of my skills and fit. I spent the next 13 years raising my kids, working part-time and most recently running my own business. As the gap in my IT career grew bigger, I came to accept that the door to that part of my life was closed. But it always irked me that I had given up something that I loved.
It was in 2019 that my now 19-year-old daughter was deciding which path to pursue at university and I spoke to her about my own experience in IT. In November that year, she encouraged me to attend a Women in Tech event at IBM. That evening we heard talks from many inspirational women who were doing amazing things in the industry and loving it. I was shocked by what I heard that night; it wasn’t the same industry I had left years earlier.
Over the next few weeks as the conversations about tech careers continued in our home, I quietly decided to try my hand at coding again. I was sure that I would struggle. I started with a Python course on YouTube and I was hooked from the first day! After a few months of learning Python I decided to take the bold decision to retrain and return to the industry. I closed my business and took a lengthy Python course. I started looking at job roles and speaking to whoever I could for advice. I was totally out of my comfort zone, but knew that I needed to persevere and be patient.
A year later I began applying for entry-level roles as a Python developer. I must have applied to more than 50 positions, but I didn’t get a single response. I realised that my lack of quantifiable experience was holding me back. So, I took the initiative and began working on real-life data analysis projects and volunteering for a data analysis group. In 2020 I secured a short-term analysis contract in the charity sector.
I was lucky to find a few organisations that worked specifically with returners. They understood the barriers that I was facing and were working to help people like me back into careers. In early 2021 I was selected for a place on the Tech Returners programme. After a year of training, working and continuing to apply for jobs I was beginning to become disheartened and this opportunity came at just the right time.
I loved my time on the programme. It was a supportive environment that gave me the insight I needed to feel more comfortable moving forward. Recruitment coaching paired with technical upskilling provided the right balance for me to excel. And I simply loved coding again, talking tech with colleagues and learning.
Three months later I secured a position as a Software Developer with The Telegraph who were one of the sponsors of the programme. After a nearly 20-year break, I was a developer again! It’s hard to describe just how much this meant to me. I had set a goal, which in all honesty I thought was unachievable, and I achieved it. I humbly took in the moment.
During my time with the Tech Returner programme I had attended lightning talks by The Telegraph which helped me to understand their work culture. I was attracted to The Telegraph’s strong engineering team. I could see that they were a process-oriented and skilled department and I had been craving direction for my next steps.
I have been at The Telegraph for three months. This has included a detailed onboarding process, training, and setting personal goals. It also involved mentoring and shadowing colleagues, which helped me to become more familiar with the department. It has been an exciting and interesting period, but also a steep learning curve, especially while working remotely.
There is a great joy in being able to do what you love. But you also want to do what you love well and that requires time and patience. It is important to remind yourself of where you were six months, a year or two years ago. I try to be guided not by how far I have to go, but by how far I have come in the hope that this will keep me humble but also increase my confidence.
For those embarking on a similar journey my advice would be:
- Be guided by what you ‘really’ love, otherwise you will always wonder ‘what if?’
- Research well. Know what your industry looks like now and the best approach to take.
- It takes time, so don’t give up at the first hurdle. Regroup, re-strategise, refocus.
There is a huge workforce of men and women who for reasons of parenting, caring or other reasons have taken a break from their careers or full time work. There is no graduate-like programme to aid them back to their career. They are applying for the same jobs as those with years of recent experience and industry knowledge and that means that they will encounter resistance.
It will take companies with foresight to be able to appreciate the range of skills, eagerness and motivation that returners can bring. And it will also require commitment for their part to help build and drive a returner’s journey.
Companies open to embracing returners will reap the benefits: employees with diverse life experiences, the ability to quickly adapt to new situations and upskill, and the maturity to take on challenging situations.
For companies looking to take on returners my advice would be:
- Look beyond the current technical ability of a candidate, but see their abilities and potential within the context of their story.
- Appreciate their journey and the skills that they have learnt along the way. You know the industry better than them, look for those areas in which they could flourish.
- Companies need to provide a support structure and have willingness to mentor and teach.
When I began this journey two years ago, I thought that hard work and sheer determination would be the factors differentiating success or failure. But during that time I realised not just for myself but also those I met in similar circumstances, that it was actually confidence. I had to believe that the list of abilities I had amassed over the years could be strung into something tangible. I had to prove to others that I was able and capable. And before I could do that I had to believe it too.
Thankfully for me, continuous encouragement from my friends and family, especially my kids, helped me to stay focussed and motivated me to keep pushing on.
Shahana Khundmir is a Software Developer at The Telegraph. Follow her on LinkedIn.
