Discover Ying's story of how she transitioned back into the tech industry with the help of TechSwitch.
For some, the journey into tech begins in unexpected ways – whether that’s a sudden spark of interest or a chance encounter with the intricacies of technology.
For others, it’s a deep-rooted fire that’s always been there, flickering away until it’s one day rediscovered.
That’s exactly the case for Ying, a talented graduate of the TechSwitch bootcamp, who rekindled her affection for all things tech after stepping back into the world after a long break.
Getting back to old roots
Ying’s interest in technology began during her university years, where she went on to obtain a master’s in computer science.
But after deciding to dedicate her time to her children as a stay-at-home mother, her passion for tech took a back seat:
“I finished my master's in 2002, but at that time, I had already had my first child and my second was on the way. So literally straight after my graduation, I became a stay-at-home mother. I didn't really follow up on tech, but my interest was still there and it was always on my mind.”
While Ying didn’t actively pursue tech as a career, she still liked to keep up to date on what was going on in the industry, and as her children grew up she started to become more and more involved:
“I always liked to look into any technology development and constantly read newspapers and articles. I would literally read every tech section that I came across. Then, gradually, when the kids were growing up more, and I had more time on my hands, I started to sign up for some free online courses where you could learn programming.”
But it wasn’t until Ying started to encourage her children to try their hand at computer science that her passion really kicked back into gear:
“I tried to encourage my children to do computer science, starting at a GCSE level. So I bought them this Python book to help them learn – but I actually ended up reading it myself. It was a beginner’s book, but I think it was a good step to gradually refresh what I learnt before and how things have changed.”
And that was when Ying discovered TechSwitch.
A new start for an old passion
Ying found out about TechSwitch through a friend:
“TechSwitch was mentioned to me by one of my friends who got a returnship through a women returners’ charity. Like me, she had taken a break to raise her family. So I had a look at TechSwitch and thought, yeah, this sounds like it’s exactly for me. So I applied.”
Having a background in tech certainly helped Ying as she settled into the bootcamp, but having spent so much time away, things weren’t all plain sailing:
“I'd say the most difficult part of starting the course was changing my previous way of doing things. I had to push myself to ask questions constantly, which is not something I’m typically comfortable with. But with TechSwitch they want you to learn fast. So if you ask questions, then they’ll make sure to take the time to teach you.”
And, thanks to the support from Ying’s tutors and cohort, she managed to build her knowledge base back up and started to have the confidence to solve problems on her own:
“The bootcamp is a very safe environment. You know that if you follow these steps, these things will happen. They will tell you the very basic foundations and then give you a project. You’ll have some vague idea of how to complete it, but you will definitely hit a lot of walls. So by solving the real-life issues and by Googling how to do certain things and to understand why certain things don’t work, it helped me to learn a lot faster than just learning from online tutorials.”
A bright future in tech
After Ying completed the course, she earnt a placement with Zurich Insurance:
“TechSwitch had forwarded my CV to the company and they set up an interview. It was amazing and I managed to secure a three-month-long placement. That went well so I then joined as a new starter for another three months, and I’ve just recently passed my probation and become a full-time employee.”
As a fully fledged tech worker, Ying is still thankful for what she learnt with TechSwitch:
“One comment I got from my manager in my probation review was that he’s happy that I'm not afraid of new things, because in my job I always have to dab into new applications. And that made me think back to my TechSwitch days because we were constantly thrown new things to tackle. At the beginning, it was very overwhelming, but at the end of the bootcamp we were all very used to it. We knew there would always be a way to understand it and deal with it – it’s just part of life.”
While Ying is now looking forward to her future in the world of tech, she still has time to look back at the path she trod – and even has some sage words of advice for anyone looking to follow in similar footsteps:
“Just throw away your self-doubt and your anxiety, because this is just your internal struggle. It's not productive to stress – it doesn’t really help you. Sure, maybe it’s just natural for anyone new to something, but looking back, there were a lot of worries, and a lot of self-doubt, and it wasn’t necessary. Just focus on learning and achieving your goals. If you can’t get it in the first round, get it in the second round or the third round – it doesn't matter. No one will count. Because when you come back into a career later in life, you’re not learning just to pass exams. You’re not learning to get degrees. You’re learning because you actually want to learn. And that’s so important.”
And finally, Ying highlighted the importance of not just looking for talent in the traditional places, because there is just so much more out there:
“I have a lot of friends and fellow mums who took a break from their careers and raised kids. The kids are older now and they are all thinking about what they can do. A lot of them used to be in the banking industry, lawyers – high-flying career women. So there is this talent pool there. There are things for them to do, but I think they are constantly doubting themselves. So I think companies like TechSwitch can help build bridges for this talent and give them a helping hand. TechSwitch definitely gave me a helping hand and yeah, I really appreciate that.”
