Reply to If you had to do it all over? What would job would you pick for a mom(family friendly/part time?)

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have found being a programmer is family friendly, as long as I'm willing to do the tasks other people aren't interested in. In exchange for handling the mundane, I don't live my life for the code so for the most part I work regular hours and am rarely called in for an emergency.

Some people have difficulty handling the isolation. Some people also have difficulty dealing with the overwhelming maleness of the culture.[/quote]

How does one get into this field? I'm a librarian considering a career change,  and would think some of my background would transfer. [/quote]

For a librarian, I might suggest looking at something like Information Architect, or database work. You probably wouldn't need to tweak your resume all that hard to make it fit those positions. In the mean time, I'd learn or brush up on my SQL and database admin. A local community college probably offers classes. Learning a programming language and some project management skills can also be helpful. Consider certificates vs degree programs. Build a portfolio so you can easily show employers what you know. If possible, I'd jump on any remotely tech work available at my current job, or find volunteer opportunities to help flesh out that resume. One of the benefits of wanting to do tech work is you can search for an open source project that you can benefit. Spend some time on github, find something interesting. That should help you identify what sort of work you think you might like to do as well as start getting you real world experience.[/quote]

I think this is great advice.  I don't have an official background in IT, but have moved into IT project development in my job, and it has been a great fit for me.  And I'm now in a half time / 100% telework position, which is perfect for me in terms of family fit and flexibility, though I do realize I have also been very lucky to wind up in this position.

And to speak to a PPs comment about job fit - I think part of why this current job works so well for me is that I am a science major who always enjoyed math, puzzles, etc.  Many times my work feels like getting to work on a logic problem all day and that is a perfect fit for me, though I know for some other folks that would be miserable.  [/quote]

Quoting myself here - IT can also be a good area to explore (for folks who are interested) because there are a of of free/cheap sites online that teach the fundamentals, so you can explore the idea with just an investment of time.  I've personally looked at some of the courses at Udacity, and if you want a real basic introduction to see if you find coding fun, the links provided through the 'Hour of Code' initiative are a great start: http://csedweek.org/learn[/quote]

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