From Director to Intern: Changing Careers as a Single Mom
summary
A nonprofit director quits, applies to Dev Bootcamp, survives a nine‑week Phase 0 and an 18‑week program while parenting two kids, learns pairing, heavy question‑asking, and quick solo projects, and takes a paid internship at Omada Health after building a nonprofit VPN server and a three‑language website for previous employers. The process includes explicit tradeoffs — time, money, no benefits during the internship — and ends with being hired permanently after a successful pairing day; this is practical, not theoretical.
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chapters (21)
- 0:00Career change journey
- 1:27Tech without engineering degree
- 3:34Impostor syndrome and dot-com bubble
- 5:06Volunteering at domestic violence agency
- 7:17Single mom and financial struggles
- 9:33Coding bootcamps as single parent
- 11:00Quitting job for Dev Bootcamp
- 13:53Self-care and mentorship challenges
- 16:45Interviewing in tech after bootcamp
- 19:17Emotional struggles and community support
- 20:23Internship at Omada Health
- 22:09Asking questions and embracing ignorance
- 24:43Hired as software engineer
- 26:22Journey impact on family
- 27:27Q&A: Single parents in tech
- 29:37Q&A: Bootcamp skepticism
- 31:22Q&A: Overcoming impostor syndrome
- 34:41Q&A: Bootcamp effectiveness
- 37:30Q&A: Parenting skills in engineering
- 39:18Q&A: Age discrimination in interviews
- 41:52Closing thoughts on humility
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