#168 From Accountant to Data Engineer with Alyson La
Apr 12, 2025
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Alyson La, a data engineer and educator at Tech Moms, shares her inspiring journey from accounting to tech. She discusses teaching herself programming while working at GitHub and highlights her break from work to care for her child with autism. Alyson emphasizes the importance of empowering mothers to re-enter the workforce with skills in data analytics and AI. She also offers valuable tips on navigating career comebacks and the integration of family life with professional ambitions, making a strong case for the overlooked leadership of stay-at-home parents.
Alyson La's journey from accountant to data engineer illustrates the potential for career transformation through self-education and practical experience.
The Tech Moms initiative empowers mothers by offering educational resources and hands-on experience to enhance their careers in technology.
Re-entering the workforce after a break requires strategic preparation, including financial planning and effectively communicating one's skills and experiences.
Deep dives
Navigating Career Challenges
Entering the corporate world can be daunting, particularly for those who expect kindness and support. It's important to recognize that not everyone will have your best interests at heart, as some colleagues may pursue personal agendas that complicate workplace dynamics. Being mentally prepared for encounters with unkind individuals can support resilience. Cultivating an awareness of this reality helps in handling the complexities of corporate life more effectively.
Empowering Moms Through Tech Moms
Tech Moms is an initiative focused on helping mothers regain their footing in the tech industry by providing access to education and hands-on experience in fields like data analytics and software development. Since its inception, the program has successfully helped over 500 mothers develop important technical skills through various courses, including a 16-week curriculum that covers topics from Excel to AI tools. By guiding these women on different career pathways within technology, the initiative raises their career prospects significantly. This holistic approach empowers moms to become financially independent and more confident in their abilities.
Leveraging AI for Acceleration
The use of AI tools has transformed how learners can quickly gain practical skills in programming and analytics. By introducing tools like ChatGPT as a coding tutor, learners are trained to ask for guidance, enabling them to build projects rapidly and efficiently. These AI-based platforms help simplify complex tasks, allowing individuals to create full-stack applications without overwhelming technical expertise. A standout example includes a student who developed a website for a local petition, demonstrating how AI can facilitate real-world impact in a short time frame.
From Accountant to Data Engineer
Transitioning from an accounting background to roles in data science and engineering exemplifies how diverse skills can lead to significant career advancements. By leveraging curiosity and collaboration, individuals can expand their expertise through practical work alongside engineers, leading to opportunities in tech. Learning essential skills like SQL and business intelligence can facilitate this transition, allowing those with less formal tech backgrounds to elevate their careers. Ultimately, building a personal brand through shared projects can be crucial for gaining recognition and opening new pathways in the tech field.
Strategies for Career Reentry
Returning to the workforce after a break presents unique challenges, especially for parents seeking to balance childcare and professional aspirations. Effective strategies include creating an emergency fund to provide a financial safety net, leveraging job-protected leaves under FMLA, and exploring short-term disability options for support during transitions. Addressing career gaps can also involve framing time off as valuable experience, highlighting relevant skills or volunteer work undertaken during that period. Communicating these experiences with confidence can help reassure potential employers of one's commitment and readiness to reenter the workforce.
On this week's episode of the podcast, freeCodeCamp founder Quincy Larson interviews Alyson La. She taught herself how to code while working as an accountant at GitHub and was able to transition to a data scientist there, then ultimately a software engineer.
After one of her kids got diagnosed with autism, she left her career for 3 years to be a full-time mom. She then re-entered the workforce and now teaches other moms how to do the same through a charity called Tech-Moms. She recently won a teacher of the year award and was a top 5 finalist in a data visualization competition.
We talk about: - How Alyson taught herself programming while working as an accountant - How she transitioned to data analyst and ultimately data engineer - Tips for preparing for a break from work to take care of your family or address burnout - How to re-enter with the workforce with gusto
Support for this podcast comes from a grant from Wix Studio. Wix Studio provides developers tools to rapidly build websites with everything out-of-the-box, then extend, replace, and break boundaries with code. Learn more at https://wixstudio.com.
Support also comes from the 11,384 kind folks who support freeCodeCamp through a monthly donation. You can join these chill human beings and help our charity's mission by going to donate.freecodecamp.org
Links we talk about during our conversation:
- Alyson's new analytics consultancy: https://alysonla.com/ - The charity Alyson teaches at: https://www.tech-moms.org/ - Tech-Mom's Data class: https://github.com/Tech-Moms/data-analytics-course - The petition site Alyson mentioned: https://playground-petition-portal-9cfaeecf.vercel.app/ - Alyson's Drake fan page: https://alysonla.github.io/drizzydrakefanpage/ - Alyson's matching game: https://alysonla.github.io/hubber-memory-game/ - Alyson substack: https://alysonsaiplayground.substack.com/ - The data visualization app Alyson that was a finalist in the recent competition: https://pixar-scroll-tale.lovable.app/
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