RETURNER CASE STUDY | SARA
Tell us about your TR experience?
"Doing the Tech Returners programme was a transformative choice for me, I went from feeling insecure and overwhelmed by the idea of career change to feeling like a valuable asset, trusted to deliver for my employer."
What’s your background, Sara?
"I have a background in Music Technology and Production. Prior to my career change, I had been freelancing as an audio engineer and editor within the Greater Manchester area for a couple of years."
Why did you apply to TR?
"Even though I enjoyed the work I was doing in my previous career, I really felt spread thin and wanted a change of pace. I had always had an interest in technology since I was little, but never entertained the idea of turning this into a career.
I became aware of the Tech Returners programme when they first launched a couple of years ago, and thought it was an amazing initiative but I was not able to join due to personal circumstances at the time. When I was finally ready for a career change in January 2019, I decided to apply and luckily got selected for the March 2019 cohort and had an incredible couple of months learning to code and immersing myself into a new reality."
How did TR support you into your career?
"First of all, my tech coaches were always very helpful and responsive to anyone’s needs and questions: this made you feel less alone if you were struggling with a difficult topic or algorithm. Also, seminars and resources about personal development, interviewing and the tech industry were shared all throughout the programme, which helped immensely in preparing to enter a new workforce."
What would you say to anyone applying for the programme?
"Do it! If you feel programming and a career in tech is for you, don’t overthink it and apply. Tech Returners gave me a wonderful platform to learn, meet new people and embrace my new passion, and wish for as many people as possible to have that same experience."
And finally, tell us a little bit about what you do now!
"I’m currently a developer within the App Dev team at ANS group in Manchester, and we build modern web applications for UK businesses and organisations. I started out as mainly a frontend developer, but I am now progressing more into a full-stack role, which I am really excited about!"