Changing from one career to another takes commitment and focus.
And it’s never too late to switch career path – even if you are settled down with kids. Here’s a mom whose career changed when she had her child.
This is the part three of Changing Careers – From Moms Who Successfully Did It
Cynthia Salwa Salam, From Electrical Engineer to Software Developer
She is a mom of a four-year-old. She moved to Berlin in 2014 after finishing her master’s degree in Photonics and space engineering in Sweden. Before giving birth she was working as an electrical engineer consultant.
What made you change your career? And how did you decide to go to the tech field?
“I came to Berlin after finishing my Master’s in Photonic Engineering, before that, I did my bachelor in Bangladesh in Electrical Engineering. So when I came to Berlin, I was so ambitious that I will work in the photonic engineering field. And I was working as a consultant, and I was learning the German language as well. But at that time, I kept losing interest in the field I was working in, I felt that there is so much more I can do with my strength. But I was not so sure what I wanted to do.”
“Fast forward to one year, I got my son, and a totally new phase started.“
“So when he was two months old, it was a very hard time for me, like every other mom out there. I was losing myself, the postpartum symptom was so real. So one day without any future plan, I started watching very simple coding videos from YouTube, I started doing them. Back in my mind, it was helping me to find myself. So a common scenario would be I’m holding my sleeping son on my left arm. And I’m coding with my right hand. So it was giving me much pleasure, but I didn’t have any future plans at that time with tech.”
“I fell in love with coding at that time. So again, fast forward two years when he started to go into the kinder garden and it was time for me to go back to work. I sat with myself, I focused on what I want. And I had to answer if I ever want to have a career transition. And so I decided to change my career”
What are some of the challenges that you faced?
“For me, there were two types of challenges I would say. First, there were mental challenges because after all those years of studying and working in a field I am starting something new from zero, it was big pressure on my head. Also as a mom when I had to work 12 to 13 hours for my boot camp, I have mom guilt too, every mom can relate to it.”
“I think physically the challenges would be finding my time to focus on what I want. I remember during the last lockdown last year, I was working so hard at home so that I can manage time, three to four hours of uninterrupted work for myself to skill development, job application, and everything. And I had moments when I had a coding challenge to submit, my kid had a fever at the same time and he only wanted his mom so there was a moment that I was having him on my lap and I was solving those coding challenges.”
“Lastly COVID and it changes everyone’s life, I am not different. With a career gap due to childbirth having no experience in the tech field, not knowing the industry very well, and not having a lot of openings for the junior roles, it was quite a challenge at that time.”
How did you overcome the challenges you faced?
“At that time I clearly remember that there were so many pictures that were motivating me and there were so many motivational things that were helping me a lot. So one thing that helped me that I read somewhere, ‘Sometimes if you want to move forward you need to take a step back’. It’s very hard than said but it helped me a lot that I need to take this step back to move forward from where I was. Because this is what I want for me and this is what will make me happy in my career.”
What or who helped you to start your journey in the tech field?
“I am not sure what helped me probably. I had my belief in myself that I will not stop. So I was trying every possible thing I was going to meetups, I was being vocal in every platform be it in the slack channels for women in tech, or tech people. I was vocal on LinkedIn, I was consistently gaining skills, making my portfolio bigger. Also, from the people I met on LinkedIn, I was knocking them to mentor me. I got to know very wonderful people who are working in the software industry in Berlin, in more senior positions. So I was asking them for mentoring to help me. What else can I do? So these helped me I think. Mostly the feeling that I will not give up these days.”
Did you ever face any moments of doubt? And what helped you overcome them?
“Absolutely. I had moments of doubt, I think it is very, very natural. To overcome any doubt or fight back the negative thoughts. There were a few things I was following and I still follow them.”
“So I’m a fan of pen and paper writing down my thoughts always helped. It made my mind clear on what I want, why am I on this journey? What do I want to achieve? And why do I want to see myself? I surrounded myself with positive people who encouraged me and also I kept a distance from people who were doubting my actions. This was a huge, huge lift up in my mental state.”
“Because those people were giving me positive vibes, they were helping me become more resilient. Talking to people who are in the same boat, or helping in a similar situation, will help too.
“I stayed active on mom groups who are returning to work, and that’s when I was introduced to the Thriving Career Mom community. It helped me a lot to fix my doubts and be persistent in my work and keep moving forward. I also remember you telling me that every rejection is taking me closer to the right job.”
“So at that time, I was talking to you (at Thriving Career Moms community), and when you said this about affirmations. So I made myself an affirmation app. I made that situation into a positive one that I want to have some affirmations and also I want to gain some skills in that programming language I was working on. And also I want to make something new to my portfolio. So I made an affirmation app for myself, which I was going through every day in the morning. So these are the small steps that kept me moving.”
You mentioned mom guilt. Can you say a little more about it and how you overcome it?
“I believe there is no one answer to this question.”
“Having mom guilt is very normal, not only when you are working on your career but also when you are concentrating on something else, it is very normal.”
“I used to read a lot of articles, a lot of parenting experiences, from the moms who have older children than mine. Also, I read somewhere that children want quality time, the quantity does not matter. So when I was doing my Bootcamp, I had to work 12 to 13 hours per day. And there were days that I had only two to three hours with my son. But I made sure that my priority would be him. I was giving him very quality time doing everything possible with him in that small window. And I did not prioritize my home like my home was messy. I did not cook for a long time. So it was helping a lot, he was happy at that time, so I overcame my mom’s guilt.”
Do you have any advice for moms who are thinking of changing their career?
“I would say that career transition is not something that comes very easily, but it is definitely possible by anyone. So if I could do it, anyone can do it. It’s very important to stay happy from the inside. So I would suggest having self-care habits. Do what makes you happy and a happy mom can achieve anything.”
Cynthia Salwa Salam
“Planning is an important key. Having a vision board on where you want to see yourself and write down the notes. So you write other notes that will take you close to your vision, it will help you a lot.”
“And for the moms who are thinking about a transition to tech, I’d say that make yourself visible in groups, LinkedIn, slack channels, for tech women, there are online meetups which are super, super helpful. Be in a community that will help you to overcome the fear, overcome the doubt and, and help you throughout the process. Keep coding, small but regular steps will make a huge, huge change. It is definitely overwhelming to manage home, increases scale searching jobs altogether. But believe in yourself that you will get there.”
Do you want to be more inspired and see how others Moms changed their careers? Check out first and second series.
