For many reasons, it can be optimal to start an IT career after you have already become a mother, but the situation also presents some unique challenges as well. The IT field is very unique field with specific difficulties. It’s a field that values experience highly, and can be entered into by virtually anyone who has the knowledge to do so, but working moms suffer some unique problems in the IT industry that hiring managers are also well aware of.
First, we have to be honest. It can be difficult for any woman to break into the IT industry. Statistically, almost all IT professionals are male, and while it is getting better, many companies shy away from hiring female IT workers. There is a practical reason to this, though not a fair one. An IT worker, in general, needs to be on call 24 hours a day, constantly. Especially when working in a field like healthcare where lives are literally on the line. Healthcare IT jobs can be found at HealthITJobs.com and are often very high paying. Without digressing too much, this means that not only does maternity leave affect the position, but having to take care of children does as well. In fact, many IT positions require that you be available 24 hours a day. This means that if you are going to start your IT career as a mother, you need to have a husband who is willing to be a complete and total partner to you. It is a sad truth, but it is ideal not to reveal the fact that you do have children during the interview process.
Now that we have covered these challenges, let’s discuss the practical matter of breaking into the IT field. If you don’t already have an IT degree, you should strongly consider getting one. If you don’t want to go back to school, you should instead pursue certifications that are relevant to the type of work you want to do. These certifications are very valuable, and some of them need to be studied for quite some time. Either the degree or the certifications will enable you to prove your worth to a company.
An IT career, by its nature, consists of hard work and long hours that eventually turn into rewards. You will need to be prepared to put in these long hours. In other industries the hours usually go down as the pay scale goes up, but this isn’t true in IT. IT, however, is not a career but a calling to most who pursue it. It’s not a decision, but instead, it’s something you know that you were born to do.