Returning to Data Science after a nine-year career break

Can you tell us about your career before you took your break?

Most of my professional experience has been on the trading floor of an investment bank – I worked in the pricing and development of structured derivatives at Credit Suisse. My last role before my break was as part of a small team at a fintech start-up.

What made you decide to interrupt your high-flying career path?

I took a nine-year career break to spend time raising my three children when they were young. I feel very fortunate to have been able to have that time with them, but after my third child was born, I missed the intellectual challenge of working and started to think about possible routes back.

How did you choose your new career direction?

I was keen to return to something different and had always had an interest in tech, so during my break, I completed various programming courses. I decided to focus on data science and spent the third Covid lockdown doing a data science bootcamp (which was a lot easier than home schooling!). After that, the job search started in earnest.

I discovered Career Returners… and focused my job search on returnships. I found it refreshing not to be penalised for taking a career break.”

How hard was it to return to the world of work?

I found it much tougher than I thought it would be – we were still coming out of lockdown, and I was trying to change careers after a nine-year break. Although the data science course helped boost my confidence, I still found it was low after such a long break.

What support did you get with your return?

I discovered Career Returners (previously Women Returners) and felt reassured after reading the Success Stories on their website. I focused my job search on returnships and found it refreshing not to be penalised for taking a career break.

In May last year, I attended the Insight Event for the Returners Programme at Dunnhumby, the major UK customer data science group. I was inspired by the previous year’s returners as well as the senior women who spoke about their careers. The interview process was straightforward and supportive, and I was thrilled when I received an offer for a six-month returnship in one of the data science teams.

My confidence has returned and even though I’ve changed careers, I’ve realised that there are many valuable transferable skills from my previous roles.

Can you tell us a little about how that helped you?

As part of the returnship, coaching was provided at various points by Career Returners (previously Women Returners) to help navigate the return to work. It was invaluable to have this extra support as well as being part of a cohort of returners – an instant network within the company! My manager and buddy were both very welcoming and supportive and I genuinely felt that I was set up with everything I needed to succeed. It felt great a few weeks in to be working on a client project.

How are you enjoying your new career path?

I’m now on a permanent contract and very happy, I’m loving using my brain properly again and doing something for myself. My confidence has returned and even though I’ve changed careers, I’ve realised that there are many valuable transferable skills from my previous roles.

What would you say to other people who are thinking of returning to work?

I would say that it’s very normal for your confidence to be low after a break – I found it helped to speak to previous colleagues who reminded me of what I was capable of in previous roles. Also taking a relevant training course to upskill can help, as well as showing potential employers how motivated you are.

I would also recommend using the resources on the Career Returners website and reach out to other returners who may have been where you are – I’m sure they will be happy to help if they can