The women in tech interview series is back!
It’s been a while since I haven’t shared an interview. For the comeback, it is a pleasure for me to share the story of Maisie. She is my second guest writer on TheTrendyCoder, if you haven’t read her article, here it is. Advice from my pre-bootcamp self. Our cooperation on this first article was great, I really wish to publish more from her.
Could you start with a small presentation, so we can get to know you better?
Hello, I’m Maisie, 40 years old, living in beautiful Western Scotland. I will soon be starting my first software role and am super excited!
What motivated you to work in a tech field?
After university, I drifted into a career in Project Controls, which I had been doing for about 15 years. This was a good career and I’ve worked with lots of lovely people, but I always felt like a generalist and knew I wanted to do something more technical. Reading articles about the tech industry and skills shortage inspired me to take action.
How did you learn your technical skills? (self-taught, college, bootcamp...)
I started learning Python with CodeFirstGirls in 2021, and enjoyed it so much I went on to do their other Kickstarter courses and the FullStack CFGDegree. I’ve also done other online courses such as ZTM but I think it’s definitely the CFGDegree that has opened the door to a new career.
How is it to find a job in tech?
It’s definitely hard and I had to remember that every “no” takes you closer to a “yes”! Don’t underestimate the power of your pre-tech experience: if you have worked in another field there will probably be heaps of transferable skills. I also got the help of a career coach to rework my CV for the career I wanted in the future and I’m sure this helped.
Have you experienced imposter syndrome? If yes, could you tell us a little about it?
Who doesn’t? What keeps me right is reminding myself that I always feel that way when I start a new job, activity, or anything. But a year later I’ll think “why was I so worried”. Looking back at everything I’ve already done helps a lot too.
How do you feel about being a minority in tech as a female? Have you had any uncomfortable situations to share? Or a funny situation?
I’ve always worked in the construction / engineering industry so I’m used to it now. I remember going on a course once where there was about 30 people and only 2 females! So it doesn’t really bother me on a day-to-day basis. I’m very happy the industry is becoming more diverse, albeit not as quickly as it might.
What do you like about your job?
I’m just finishing one role and transitioning to another, but my favourite moments are always when I manage to fix something for a colleague. That could be just in Excel or SharePoint, going forward it will be in Python or SQL. Problem-solving is definitely my favourite thing especially when it helps someone else or saves them some repetitive work!
Are you happy with your career choice?
Ask me in a month’s time when I’ve started! Right now I’m very happy.
How do you expect to grow in the future?
I have so much to learn and I can’t wait, whether that’s back-end or front-end, I’m also really interested in cyber-security and want to learn more about that too. I’m doing another Mobile Apps course later this year. When I see all the online courses just waiting for me, it makes me so happy and excited, I’d rather study than watch TV these days.
What would you say to a girl/woman who wants to start a career in tech?
Don’t even think – just start somewhere and see where it leads you. I should have done this years ago.
If you also want to share your experience as a female student or professional in tech, don’t hesitate to fill in the form linked below. It is a great chance to be featured in our next interviews posts and inspire other girls and women to join us.
Tools I use for this site
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- The website is created with WordPress.org (and not WordPress.com).
- I use the page builder Elementor because it makes it easy to create modern pages with drag and drop.
- I have multiple websites, and on most of them, I use themes from wpKoi. I love their design, they are very original and work well with Elementor.
- All the designs and images are created using canvas.
- I use Grammarly and languagetool to correct all my spelling and grammar mistakes.
- SEO is a big thing on a website, I use a WordPress plugin called YoastSEO to help me with the basic analysis. I also use a tool called Keysearch for choosing the right keywords.
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You want to write on TheTrendyCoder ?
If you are interested in publishing guest articles on this website, sharing your experience or coding tutorials, apply through this form.
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No matter at what stage we are in our tech journey, we all have learned things and experienced things. Sharing them can help others and even help us. So, if you are a student, a professional, or a self-taught coder, feel at home and share some of your knowledge with the community.
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