Tech education and career paths

[maize]

I'm enrolled right now in a local program called Tech Moms that is an introduction to computer science/coding and to tech careers in general, targeted mostly at women who have been out of the workforce and are looking for a new career. 

Graduation for my cohort is coming up, and we are each going to do a short presentation. I want to present on tech career paths (think of this broadly) and both traditional and non-traditional paths to get there--especially paths that can work for non-traditional students and career switch or workforce re-entry candidates (online certificates or degrees as an option is helpful). I'd love to have any insights this smart and diverse group might have--from lists of potential careers to general or specific education pathways and opportunities.

As an example of the breadth of what we are looking at, we've had guest speakers over the course of our program from women who do product design, tech recruiting, social media management, data science, ui/ux, app development, and more.

Edited March 22, 2023 by maize

[Ottakee]

I don’t have any suggestions for you, but just an encouragement that wow what a great thing to do and what a great program

[maize]

40 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

I don’t have any suggestions for you, but just an encouragement that wow what a great thing to do and what a great program

It's a fantastic program. Not enough to launch a career, but provides so much encouragement and a permanent network--the biggest benefit of the program is tying into a network of women in tech and of men who are actively supportive of women in tech. It make things feel possible. I think our program was modeled on a similar one in another state, hopefully it is a model that will continue to spread.

[Jenny in Florida]

I don't know how close this is to what you're looking for, but I'm an instructional designer. For the last three-plus years, I developed eLearning. Prior to my homeschooling mom years, I was an editor and technical writer. I transitioned to instructional design through a combination of work experience and training/education. I got a job as a technology trainer at the local library (which at the time required only a high school diploma) and got involved with some course development there. 

Meanwhile, I earned an Associate Professional of Talent Development certification through ATD, then moved on to a graduate instructional design certificate from the University of Central Florida (an online program). 

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have, if I can be helpful.

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, Jenny in Florida said:

I don't know how close this is to what you're looking for, but I'm an instructional designer. For the last three-plus years, I developed eLearning. Prior to my homeschooling mom years, I was an editor and technical writer. I transitioned to instructional design through a combination of work experience and training/education. I got a job as a technology trainer at the local library (which at the time required only a high school diploma) and got involved with some course development there. 

Meanwhile, I earned an Associate Professional of Talent Development certification through ATD, then moved on to a graduate instructional design certificate from the University of Central Florida (an online program). 

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have, if I can be helpful.

This is intriguing. I was a tech writer. I also did almost an entire secondary Ed program—I didn’t do my student teaching, but that’s all. 

[gardenmom5]

1dd has a degree in classics.  She was not a techie nerd as a teenager (unlike 1ds . . . )  She did an intense program to get computer certifications then went to work in the tech field.   

once she had the computer skills - the classics background gave her the advantage of more understanding of how computer languages work than the average compsci major.

Edited March 23, 2023 by gardenmom5

[ScoutTN]

4 hours ago, maize said:

I'm enrolled right now in a local program called Tech Moms that is an introduction to computer science/coding and to tech careers in general, targeted mostly at women who have been out of the workforce and are looking for a new career. 

Graduation for my cohort is coming up, and we are each going to do a short presentation. I want to present on tech career paths (think of this broadly) and both traditional and non-traditional paths to get there--especially paths that can work for non-traditional students and career switch or workforce re-entry candidates (online certificates or degrees as an option is helpful). I'd love to have any insights this smart and diverse group might have--from lists of potential careers to general or specific education pathways and opportunities.

As an example of the breadth of what we are looking at, we've had guest speakers over the course of our program from women who do product design, tech recruiting, social media management, data science, ui/ux, app development, and more.

No suggestions, but that sounds very cool! 

[duckabell]

I'm an owner of a small digital agency. Some of the marketing tech roles that we have in-house or have hired in the past include:

• SEO specialist. This role helps our clients rank higher in Google and other search marketing engines. You need to be familiar with how websites work, what goes into website ranking, and how to help content rank better.
• PPC specialist. This role manages our paid ads including Google, Facebook, etc. This role is a lot about numbers, testing copy and bids, understanding how landing pages work with ads, etc.
• Google Analytics and reporting specialist. In this role, you help set up analytics to track clients' websites and then create dashboards and other reporting as needed.
• Designer. Helps design websites and other creative assets as needed.
• Developer. Helps develop websites or looks into why things aren't working
• Project Manager. Helps manage projects. Needs to understand the technical aspects of the project but also be great at juggling timelines, budgets, and managing personnel.
• Agencies also have more creative roles (writing, social media, etc) that use some technology skills but are more on the creative side.

While there is now more training on some of these types of careers (including Google), a lot of times if you start in an entry-level role or beginning developer, you can gain experience and transition to certain departments. The industry changes so fast that self-education is really important. If you want to go more in-depth about any of these fields, I'm happy to help more or can answer questions in a PM.

[Kuovonne]

I ended up in a tech career after a long hiatus from the workforce due to kids. It was a multi-year process that started when I was still homeschooling. I knew that I wanted to do something with computers and development. I looked into coding bootcamps, and even attended two open houses, but did not have the time or money. I ended up going the self-taught route using FreeCodeCamp and other free online resources. Then I started freelancing because I still didn’t have the time for a full time job. I tried both fiver and upwork and quickly decided that they were not for me. I also sub-contracted. Eventually I decided that I would rather just be an employee and went to work for one of my clients.
 

I had a college degree and was a tech writer before kids, but I did not get any certifications or degrees for this career change.