When Jess found herself feeling stuck in a job she didn't love, she worried being a mother could hold her back from a career change to tech. In reality, being a mother helped her be resilient and organised enough to secure a role she would never have expected...
By Sparta Global Assistant Trainer, Jess Olden
Being a mother often comes with its own set of external and internal stigmas. Unfortunately, some companies still view women with children as less reliable and can be more cautious about hiring women before their thirties who they suspect may soon have families of their own. A US Bureau of Labour report found that women account for less than a third of the workforce in tech and - even when they show a strong interest in tech – many are still hesitant to change careers and explore other opportunities.
My journey as mother in tech
I went through a similar battle within myself. With a science background, I worked as a physiotherapist in Belgium and Luxembourg before moving to the UK to work for a financial services company. I struggled quite a lot and felt stuck and unhappy in a finance job with very little growth opportunities.
So, I decided to be brave. I gave myself four to six months to upskill in my free time by taking several online coding courses and looking for a tech job.
After being accepted into Sparta Global’s program, I discovered a passion for data, and in particular for cloud engineering. Having to learn almost everything from scratch was challenging, and I had to study during the weekends to meet the training standards.
While I won't deny that it was a difficult journey, I made sure to organise my time effectively to minimise the impact on my family life. I went on to graduate as a Junior Data Engineer and shortly after I was offered the role of training assistant within the Sparta Academy. It was something I never thought I would be able to do in the tech industry!
Why women should take the jump into tech
Being a mother should not be seen as a disadvantage in the workplace. Rather, it has helped me develop skills such as resilience, focus, and organisation. Having less time for myself has forced me to work more efficiently and productively. Working in tech doesn’t require you to have a specific brain (like I thought previously) or natural-born skills. It just requires curiosity and hard work.
The technology industry can offer a lot of benefits when it comes to work-life balance. Tech companies are more willing to offer remote or flexible jobs to their employees – something particularly beneficial for parents. Most importantly, this sector is still growing and offers a wide range of jobs to choose from with plenty of growth opportunities.
If you are a mum who is feeling stuck in a job that you're not passionate about, or you want to go back to work and you are curious about the tech world, I encourage you to take action. It's never too late to upskill yourself and find that spark that may be missing in your life.
Sparta Global offers equal opportunities across technology training and careers. Whether you are a career changer of mum looking to return to work, our roles are open to you. Check out our open roles here, or explore the all-women Athena Academy.
Natasha Fasanotti has always had an interest in technology, pursuing a degree in Computer Science to turn her passion into a career. But when it came to leaving university and picking a path - the options were overwhelming, unclear, and Natasha wanted to find an opportunity that could help her specialise in something that utilised her skills through and through. Joining Sparta Global in February this year, Natasha upskilled in test automation and is now an integral part of a mult-Spartan project team operating in the public sector.
When Ekaterina (Kat) McNeill began her Psychology studies at University, she wouldn’t have predicted a future working in Data and a successful career kickstart working in the public sector – but that’s exactly what Kat has achieved. In fact, her line manager told us how Kat got to grips with complex code with little to no documentation, worked out how to access data that was previously thought inaccessible, and modelled it through a workflow. Her skills have already made an impact on site and we can’t wait to see what Kat does next…
After initially forging a career in Mechanical Engineering, Bradley Woods found himself searching for an opportunity to change careers and pursue an interest in technology. With a firm determination to find training opportunities in DevOps, Bradley joined the Sparta Academy in early 2023 and quickly secured his first role working in the public sector. Nominated for Spartan of the Month for his “dedication and hard work” that have been “instrumental in the smooth execution of high-profile project”, we spoke to Bradley about his time in tech.