How to Pivot to a Career in Tech Without a Tech Background

With rapid advances in technology, there is a very large job market for those who are familiar with technology, especially coding, data analysis and statistics. Many have been considering pivoting to a career in tech—but one might think it is impossible or unlikely if they have spent their career in a different industry or do not have relevant educational background.
If you are interested in pivoting to a career in tech, join our panel to hear about three women’s journey into a tech career without tech background. On this panel, you’ll learn tips on how to switch to a career in tech without relevant experience, prepare for interviews and find a mentor.

Panelists

Maral Jamali, Senior Quantitative Business Analyst at Apple Inc., Cupertino, California (background: Environmental Studies) https://www.linkedin.com/in/maraljamali/

Nastaran Mahmoudzadeh, MBA, Data Analyst at Alechemy Worx, New York City (background: Social Sciences) https://www.linkedin.com/in/nastaranm/

Shirley T. Mensah, Junior Developer, Salesforce Certified Platform App Builder and Administrator (SCA) (background: Geology/Earth Sciences) https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirley-t-m-229321105/

Panelist Bios

Maral has been working as a Senior Quantitative Business Analyst at Apple Inc. for the past 6 years. She got her masters in environmental studies and got interested in quantitative analysis while working as a data analyst at Apple. She then got her data analytics certification with a machine learning specialization from UT Austin. She is an expert in fraud analysis and works across all Apple products to detect fraudulent patterns using data analysis and machine learning.

Nastaran is a data analyst at Alchemy Worx. She has an MBA from University of Dayton. She got interested in data analysis and machine learning while working on her capstone project during her MBA. She then got her data analytics certification with a machine learning specialization from UT Austin while working as a data analyst at Apple Inc. In her daily work, she leverages Google Big Query, Google Analytics, and Google Data Studio to extract and manipulate data, and combines disparate data sources to generate analytical insights.

Shirley is currently a junior developer with Eagle Creek, an ATOS company. She was formerly a geospatial analyst at Apple Inc. Shirley got her B.Sc. in Geology and M.Sc. in GIS from Easter Illinois University. She worked as a GIS technician and analyst at different companies. She got interested in a career in technology while she was a GIS analyst. Realizing the power of data and analytics in GIS technology, she decided to pivot to a career in tech.