Mother-of-three Papya Qureshi shares her story about switching careers — from teaching to software development.
Papya’s latest addition to the family (left) and kids (right)
Iwas on maternity leave at the time and was shortly approaching the end. I knew I was going back to a job which meant I wouldn’t get to see my baby as much again.
I loved what I did, but thinking of the hours and work life balance stressed me out. It was then that a friend suggested tech as a potential career and pointed me to the an upcoming course by Mums In Tech.
It was great! They allowed us to bring our children in with us, which really caught my attention.
The course provided an A-Z intro to tech, from developing a product idea, to prototyping it and then pitching it. We also got to understand the various roles and processes for building a product.
Applying to Makers
After Mums In Tech I was keen to follow up and explore a tech career.
What appealed to me was how flexible and adaptable a tech career seemed towards motherhood.
I was a primary school teacher, teaching inner-London school children from diverse backgrounds. I combined my passion for teaching with an organisation called Mama Codes, where I taught young children to code using Scratch.
Through Mama Codes, I was able to support delivering a coding class to the children who lived in and around Grenfell.
I initially applied to Makers, so that I could learn in order to go back and teach older children — but once I experienced the culture and people in Makers I got hooked myself by the coding bug.
Time was probably one of my biggest challenges.
Having young children who demanded my attention after a long day at Makers, followed by their hectic schedules on the weekends, I struggled to do some of the additional work, or go back and cement what I’d learnt throughout the day and week.
I overcame these in two ways.
Firstly it was accepting that I was on a continuous learning journey, that would remain with me for the long run. So not stressing about having to know and do absolutely everything in 12 weeks.
Once I was fine with not knowing everything immediately and that I had further time to develop after our formal cohort was over, it was liberating.
The second aspect was Makers’ focus on paired programming and working collaboratively with others. If there was anything I needed to prioritise was this and any group work, as I really believed in the best work being done collaboratively and a strong desire not to let others down.
My advice for aspiring coders who are also mothers
Our brain learns in chunks and in a combination of both focussed and more flexible ways. So don’t stress about having to take loads of time out and away from your family and kids initially.
Consistency is what’s key, if you literally spend 5–10 minutes a day, consistently, it all contributes towards your learning. Using apps, watching YouTube videos and reading blogs are some of the many ways you can start to learn and keep learning.
Also if in any doubt — go for it! I’ve had three careers: marketing, politics & teaching.
I’m still a local councillor in Westbourne. Both my father and brother were in politics and so I grew up in a truly activist household.
My father and brother — two men who have really inspired me
It wasn’t political leanings which drove me, but more seeing them fight for others who lived in the poorer and forgotten parts of an affluent Westminster.
Having had all those experiences, I can say that software development is by far the most flexible, down-to-earth and creative career I’ve experienced.
Even when I was 9 months pregnant (yes!), I was still able to work and code… something I would never have been able to do previously.
What I’m doing now
When I had just started the course at Makers, I found out that I was pregnant again! I felt it would be a struggle to apply for roles so heavily pregnant, only to start and then have to leave within months.
So Makers stepped in and so very kindly offered me a role as a Career Coach, where I support students, help them prepare their CVs and practice for interviews.
It has been so rewarding and through other people’s success has taught me so much. Finally without wanting to get rusty myself, I took on a pro-bono coding project, which I’m working on, alongside another Makers friend.
If you’d like to learn more about changing your life through training with Makers, find out more here.
