Every year, thousands of mothers put their jobs and careers on pause to have children or look after their family, often for an extended period of time. Every year, there’s also thousands of mothers who return to the workforce, arguably with more to offer than when they left.
As more companies start returnship programs, we look at how mothers can benefit from updating their skills, how to talk about their career breaks, and why mothers can have an advantage over other candidates for engineering positions.
Why Can A Career Break Be So Beneficial?
Career breaks can be beneficial to learning new skills and developing different capabilities, which can help in adjusting to life's different demands with a family. Life and/or lifestyle changes often mean opportunities for growth and personal development, which mean a deeper maturity that waterfalls into the professional world as well.
From a skills perspective, taking a career break from a technical role may mean not learning any new skills for a while, but it doesn’t mean mothers aren’t still developing relevant on-the-job skills. Being a parent is undoubtedly a long lesson in soft skills.
Regardless of how long their career break was, moms returning to the workforce will still need to prepare for the demands of 21st century jobs, including relevant or new technical skills. Tech jobs certainly have their advantages, and upskilling or reskilling into these roles is certainly possible - many mothers have already done so through Qwasar!
Why Do Moms Have An Advantage?
Mothers are the strongest and most resilient people out there! They have a plethora of skills that give them an advantage in this monumental career transitions and change in their life that will also set them up for success in the journey of technical training:
- Resourceful
Moms will find a way. They will not give up or throw in the towel easily. They will find a unique and abstract way to figure something out if they have to. They can think on their feet and utilize resources available to them to accomplish a goal. Whether it's finding a way to a bottle and make dinner or complete a Javascript project, they will get it done. - Calm
Despite chaos and stress, moms have the ability to remain calm. They are not easily distracted and thrown off by the “noise”. In difficult and complex scenarios, they can keep a level head and think clearly to get the project done. - Great multitaskers
Moms have a unique ability to multitask efficiently. They are able to solve multiple problems at once and stay focused and motivated. Even in high stress environments, moms get it done. - Attention to detail
Moms care. They have an innate attention to detail and planner. They spend time preparing and practicing to get something done right. They don’t forget the trivial things that could become larger problems later. They know what’s going on at all times. - Determined
Moms have an extreme willingness to not give up. From their caring qualities, they are striving to succeed for themselves and their children. Moms want to succeed and are self-motivated. They will solve problems and do what it takes to reach their goals.
Why The Tech Industry?
When considering a return to work, it's important to look at a number of factors. The work-life balance in the tech industry is very appealing. Many technical roles in the 21st century and the future are flexible in terms of working locations. Remote work and hybrid schedules are the new norm, making it even more accommodating for busy moms.
There are also freelancing and contract positions within tech to offer greater flexibility, once more advanced in the field. Some developer roles are also part-time, which may be their preferred option if they also want time to spend on family and household matters. At Qwasar, we’ve seen a whole range of preferences from mothers - what matters most is finding the role that works for you.
The advancements of the tech industry are only just beginning leading to higher job security and a continuing need for more technical roles in years to come. Every industry needs to fill technical roles, so regardless of where you are located, jobs will be available at a company. We work with our students to prepare them for technical interviews and fine tune resumes to get hired. Many mothers choose to reskill into tech as a way to broaden their portfolio and resume and show new capabilities after a break. It’s also a great way to build upon skills that one may already have from previous careers.
Why An Online Program Like Qwasar?
Online programs offer a great deal of flexibility for parents who don’t have the capabilities to sit in a classroom for hours or commute to a campus each day. The self-paced nature of our curriculum allows working parents to meet the demands of their families and not make sacrifices in their education and personal goals. We work with every student to meet the requirements of our programs and ensure they can be successful here at Qwasar so that they are successful in industry.
Our curriculum is offered on three schedules: Full time (Monday through Friday), Part-Time (Tuesdays and Thursdays), and Part-Time Weekend (Saturdays). There are meetings throughout the day including daily standup, live coding sessions, coding collaboration sessions, small group sessions, and tech start of the week. Daily standups are standard in every technical role and prepare you for the real world. We discuss project blockers, communicate about project progress, and converse within the cohort. Live coding sessions are a great way to observe a new perspective of approaching problems and learn new techniques. Coding collaboration sessions give our students a chance to work with peers to solve a problem at the season they are in. Working together in a team is crucial to overall success. Tech startup of the week is a great way to stay informed of the latest technology developments in an ever-changing industry and strengthen presentation skills.
Another great benefit of an online program is the affordability to obtain a technical career. Our programs begin at $100/month part time and $200/month full time with a total program cost of $2,400. At a fraction of the cost of a traditional bootcamp or computer science degree, we enable anyone to access a high quality technical education.
Our community speaks for itself. We have many successful moms and parents in our program. We welcome them in our video calls and encourage being introduced their children - we love to meet the family! Moms find that our programs are a great way to get involved in technical training and take the next steps for their professional careers. They find peers to relate to and network with as they make this career transition which helps build their portfolio and confidence in navigating the return to work. Regardless of the challenges that come with this reskilling/returnship, there are learners within the Qwasar community who have traveled this journey and are great mentors!
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Conclusion
At Qwasar we welcome and encourage mothers returning to work to join our community. We provide an inclusive and supportive environment for success and prosperity among our learning. We take pride in each individual's growth and work hard to provide support and resources to each of our students. We encourage all those mothers and anyone considering a return to work to stay clear with your goals and ambitions to return to work in the manner that works for your family and lifestyle. Choose a program that is going to provide you with the opportunities to advance and grow within your new field. Most importantly, be patient and understand that it takes time to adjust to new changes. You won’t learn to code overnight! Some concepts and projects will take longer to grasp, but the journey is about never giving up. Persistence and the right mindset will help you get it done during tech re-entry. Keep pushing!
