A message from Courtney

Tech is a career field that is rapidly growing and is ever evolving. It is filled with people from different backgrounds who had vastly different majors in college. I feel fortunate to have found my niche in tech, but I didn't even think or know much about tech until I was 4 years out of college. I also don't regret that I had the opportunity to work in different roles and industries before ending up in tech. I was premed at Wellesley and did Psychology and medical research in my initial years following graduation. I found UX after I realized I didn't want my lifelong career to be in medicine. At Wellesley and growing up, I never considered tech as a career option. It was an unknown field to me. I didn't see people who looked like me working tech jobs. For that reason, I never considered it as a career option for me. On the one hand, it would have been great to have started my career in tech. On the other hand, I met some fantastic people and learned some useful skills that transferred well to my current career. Also, a well functioning team has diverse backgrounds and experiences that we can bring to the work and may aid in strategic decisions. A non-traditional background may seem like a hinderance, but it can also be an asset. I'd say to myself and others who never knew or thought about tech as an option and/or never saw people who looked like them following this career path that it is possible. There are many opportunities in tech and there is a lot of movement in tech. Explore. Find your fit. Don't think that if you don't go into tech right out of college that you'll never get there.