If you’re a mother, a tech career can be a great choice for you. Here are some options to explore.
Technology is often seen as a man’s game. Most tech fields are male-dominated, from IT to engineering. It can make it seem as if women don’t have the required abilities to be technical experts when the reality is that women are just as capable of working in technical roles as men are. If you’re a mother, a career in technology can be a great choice for you. Many tech jobs are high-earning, and they often make it easy to work as a contractor or freelancer too. If you’re thinking about getting into tech, there are some key things that you can do to explore your options and start a new career.
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Explore Different Areas of Technology
To get started, it’s worth exploring the different fields of technology that you might be interested in. There are many different areas and industries that you might want to consider before you decide just how you want to get involved in tech. Are you interested in engineering, information technology, biotechnology, nanotech, or any of the other various fields that you can explore? Within the broad categories, you can explore lots of more specific areas too, from robotics or automotive to artificial intelligence or cybersecurity.
Consider Available Careers
Within different industries, you can discover a broad range of careers. Some of them might involve more technical skills than others, and you will find that there is a broad range of skills for you to explore too. You might want to think about which areas of technology you’re interested in and what your current strengths are. You might not have any particular technical skills, but you might have the right qualities to make you suitable for a certain career in tech.
Some of the top careers that moms looking for a career change might consider include:
- Web developer
- Software developer
- IT manager
- Civil engineer
- Biomedical engineer
Of course, there are plenty of other options for you to explore based on your interests, skills and job prospects.
Look at the Key Skills
Take a look at some of the key skills that are required for the career or careers that interest you. You might not have settled on a job that you want yet, but you can still explore skills that you would like to build. If you decide that you want to gain a degree in cybersecurity, it could lead you to a career as a white hat hacker, or you could end up working as a security engineer. You can work on your skills and worry about the exact type of job that you want to go for later. However, it’s worth considering your prospects and which skills are most in-demand.
Educate Yourself
Of course, once you have decided which skills you want to gain, you need to find a way to learn. There are always various ways that you can learn a new skill, with different qualifications to explore and methods of learning available to you. You might decide that you want to gain a degree, which could be an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, or it might be a higher-level degree if you want to add to an existing degree. Going to college as a parent can be tough, but there are ways to make it easier. You might want to consider studying online, which will allow you to fit your studies around your other commitments. However, it’s also possible to attend classes in person if you can arrange the right schedule.
A full schedule of college classes isn’t the only option if you want to add to your tech skills. There are many ways you can get started with some essential skills using other methods of learning. You can find short courses that teach you the basics of coding, for example, making it easy to get started with some of the fundamental skills. You can slowly build your skills using a variety of materials, from online courses to books and videos. It’s also important to put your skills into practice as you learn new things so that you know that you are able to apply what you know.
Connect with Tech Communities
When you’re learning new technology skills, it’s a great idea to start connecting with tech communities. This can help you to get the support you need and might make it easier to find job opportunities or ways to improve your skills, such as workshops and classes. In particular, you might want to seek out tech communities that are just for moms in tech. They’re designed to offer support for moms who are getting into tech or who want to further their tech career. You can find lots of useful resources, make connections with other women in tech, and ensure you have a support system to help you start and continue your new career.
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Find a Job
When you’re ready to look for a job, you might not know where to begin. One of the first things that you should consider if you’re a mom looking for your first tech job is who you know. The connections that you have with others can really help you when you’re looking for job opportunities. That doesn’t mean that someone is going to simply hand you a job, but it can help you in a number of ways. When you know the right people, they can offer you advice on your resume, suggest jobs that you might want to apply for and put you in contact with other people who might be able to help you.
Another thing that you might need to do is take a look at your resume, especially if you haven’t updated it in a while. You might be going back into work after being a stay at home parent, or you might be looking for a career change. Either way, you will need to use your resume to show that you have what’s needed for the jobs that you want to apply for. When you start applying to specific jobs, you will want to tailor your resume for each one. However, before you do that, you can create a generic resume to use as a template.
When you’re creating a resume for tech jobs, you need to focus on the skills and experiences that are relevant to the roles that you want. However, just because you have never had a tech role before, it doesn’t mean you lack relevant experience. For example, if you are applying for an IT support role and you have previous experience in a customer service role, you can use examples from your past job to demonstrate that you have the necessary skills. Of course, you should also include any new qualifications that you have gained or experience with your new tech skills.
There are plenty of channels that you can use to look for a job. You can use job websites online, as well as look at the jobs that come up on Google when you search for a role. Make sure to use your contacts if you have them, as they can let you know if they hear about any openings that would be suitable for you. It’s also a good idea to have a profile on sites like LinkedIn, both for applying for jobs and so employers and recruiters can find you.
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Start Your Own Business
What if you would prefer to work for yourself? It’s another option that you might consider as a mom who is either getting back to work or is switching careers. Starting a business isn’t easy, but it can give you control over the hours you work and who you work with. There are lots of tech skills that you can use to start a business from home. You might start out alone, but you could soon outsource some of the things that you need or even start hiring employees.
There’s a lot to think about if you want to start a business offering some kind of tech service. You need to consider what type of business model you want to use and exactly what services you want to offer. Most importantly, you need to think about how you’re doing to help your business stand out among your competition. What are you going to offer that is different and will convince customers that they should choose your services over others? Of course, another way to start a business with your new tech skills could be to offer some kind of tech product. This might be an application of some kind or even a physical product that you could offer.
When you’re planning your business, you could draw on your previous career or even your experience as a parent. These could both be ways to decide who your target audience is or how you are going to make sure you offer a unique product. If you start your business online, you could do it with a very low budget. However, don’t forget to invest in branding and marketing.
If you’re a mom who wants to get into tech and start a new career, there are many things you can do to get there. Once you start developing the right skills, you will be on your way.
