Explore Chiara’s journey from Modern Foreign Languages student to software developer, proving unconventional paths can lead to success in tech.
When you think about the road into tech, the chances are you’d think of the most traditional routes. You might imagine graduate schemes full of students with abundant experience in coding, with degrees specifically tailored for entering the industry.
But what about the path less travelled?
The untraditional routes. The routes that aren’t steeped in what we believe is the best, fastest, or most common.
The type of route Chiara, a student of languages, journeyed down as she found herself drawn into the world of coding.
We sat down with Chiara to talk about her unconventional path from a life of Modern Foreign Languages to the world of tech.
While studying French and Italian at university, Chiara unexpectedly discovered an interest in coding. This newfound passion was further ignited during her year abroad in Paris, where she immersed herself in the development of a business plan for an app, revealing a path she hadn’t considered before.
“I was doing a business module at university in Paris and we had to write a business plan for an app. We designed the app and started thinking about how it would actually work, and that really made me reflect on how someone would actually start building one.”
After this initial interest in the inner workings of the app, Chiara started to look into basic online coding courses.
“I started with some smaller coding courses and I really loved it. And so that made the cognitive part of my brain turn and I thought, ‘wow, maybe I could actually retrain’.”
But after some initial success, the rigours of completing her final year forced her newfound passion to be put on ice.
“I went back to do my final year of Uni and I just forgot about it.”
Having graduated from university, Chiara ended up with a job in customer success and management, but due to the hard-selling aspects of the role, this new job just didn’t gel with her.
“Usually my day would consist of taking phone calls and answering emails. It was a good first job, but I knew it wasn't really my passion. I remember being quite unhappy.”
That was when Chiara remembered that spark she felt during her year abroad.
“I started to think, maybe I should actually get the ball rolling a bit more on getting back into coding, so I started doing a few more courses. And that's when I applied for TechSwitch.”
After being accepted into the course, Chiara was finally back to working on something she felt passionate about, but it wasn’t without its challenges.
“By definition, the course is supposed to be challenging. You're not supposed to feel comfortable. The structure of it is they'll drop you in at the deep end and give you a task that you never thought you'd be able to do in a million years – but then you get comfortable with it. And that’s when they'll move on to the next topic. So you're thrown in at the deep end again.”
But it was this challenging environment that helped to push Chiara to truly fulfil her potential.
“I would summarise it as getting to feel comfortable with not feeling comfortable. They're constantly pushing you and I think that's why your skills accelerate at such a rapid pace over the twelve weeks – you're constantly showing yourself that you can do it.”
Chiara has since graduated from the TechSwitch course and is already flourishing in her new role as a software developer – a feat that she achieved with the help of the course.
“Part of the course is interview preparation. They prepare you for both technical and skills-based interviews, and then they'll also prepare you for any technical assessments that you might get. I felt very supported throughout all of that… and I still can't believe that I actually managed to achieve this kind of career goal. So, yeah, it was a very special moment when I was offered a role.”
Throughout Chiara’s time with the course, and in her proceeding career, she’s had her own secret weapon, an advantage that truly helped push her towards success – the skillset she gained from completing a languages degree.
“There's a lot that can be applied to coding from my degree. Analytical skills, logic, an appreciation of rules… it's similar to how you have to respect the rules of each coding language and respect best practices for writing code. I think the skills I learned, even though they weren't technical, are very transferable to my day-to-day role now.”
And it’s this adaptability and ability to transfer relevant skills that proves you don’t need to tread the traditional routes. But don’t listen to us, here’s what Chiara has to say:
“I’m glad I can show people in my position that it's possible. You don't need to have studied maths or computer science. So many subjects do equip you with the necessary skills, and a lot more people can get into tech than they think is possible.”
It just goes to show that sometimes it’s the unconventional, the seemingly unrelated, the roads less travelled, that often pave the way for the most innovative and impassioned journeys into tech.