You are techY podcast

Ellen: 00:00
You are listening to the You are techy podcast with Ellen Twomey, episode number one.

Intro: 00:09
Welcome to the You are techY podcast where it’s all about growing in your techy-ness so you can find the tech job of your dreams and now your host technology learning coach, Ellen Twomey

Ellen: 00:27
Welcome everyone. Thank you so much for being here. I could not be more excited to welcome you to the you are techy podcast. This is our inaugural episode, but we have a whole bunch more planned for you that I just know you are going to love. I’m your host Ellen Twomey. I’m coming to you from the great state of North Carolina. Go heels from the research triangle park area. We call it RTP or just the triangle. For those of you who don’t know, that’s the Raleigh Durham area, but I’m originally from Detroit. Go tigers. Can you tell I’m a sports fan. I’m also a returnship mother of four who is all about tech and spreading that message of techy-ness across the globe to women everywhere. I have an undergraduate degree in computer science and a master’s degree in learning design and technology from Purdue boiler up.

Ellen: 01:23
I’ve worked as a developer, a designer, a teacher and a tech startup CEO. But you don’t have to have any of that experience. You are techy and I’m here to bring that message, finding your own unique tackiness to you. So today I’d like to begin our podcast by explaining what the You are techY message is it a bit of detail so that you can understand the underlying themes that are going to flow through all of our episodes. Because I’ll be honest, our episodes are going to be pretty diverse. Some are going to be interview, some will be straight up training and some are going to be exciting inspiration. And for you to understand the current that’s running along all of it and begin to embrace the you are techy message and then maybe even spread that you are techy message to the world. I want you to understand how it all ties together and that’s how we’re going to answer this question of is there a tech job for me?

Ellen: 02:27
So let’s dive in. The You are techY message is really a mindset. I know that term is becoming more and more overused, but if you can stick with me here, I think I’m going to be able to give you some new insights on it and there isn’t going to be any woo going on here. I’m all about tangible, real results in your life and I’m a practical Midwestern girl. So the you are techy message is based on what I’m calling the foundational four. These are the four components that are required to really embrace your techy-ness and find that next tech job for you. Foundation number one, mindset. All right? When you think about mindset, what I want you to think about here are the words you are saying to yourself. We don’t have to talk about anything complicated or profound here, but I do want to tell you a little bit about why I’m so convinced this is part of knowing your tech enough.

Ellen: 03:31
So I don’t sit around reading research papers as a general hobby, but when I was in my master’s program, I was reading a paper by a professor at my own university, Purdue, and that professor was not my professor. He’s in a different program. I’ve never met him, but maybe he’ll come on the show. His name is Dr. Jeff Karpicke, and he, I read his research paper and it changed the way I thought completely. Now he’s written lots of papers. I’m learning strategies. This particular paper was called metacognitive strategies in student learning and the reason it changed my life is that metacognition was not something I had ever heard of that I knew about. I didn’t know anything really about it at all. But if you want to sound smart at a cocktail party, throw up metacognition, people will be amazed at how intellectual you are. What it really means though, is just thinking about what you’re thinking about, and that sounds a little redundant, but that’s what it means.

Ellen: 04:42
We are not always consciously aware of the thoughts that are going through our head. So when I’m talking about mindset, what I’m really saying is, Hey, Hey, attention to the words that you’re saying to yourself because I don’t know about you, but sometimes I can be a little hard on myself and it would be, I would take these thoughts to such an extreme. So let me give you a real practical example of what I’m talking about. In my early days when I started off as a developer, there would be times when I was struggling with a piece of code or program that I was writing. And basically there were times where that would be a small problem. And there are other times when I would start having thoughts in my head like I must be a terrible developer cause I can’t write this one function or I don’t know what I’m talking about.

Ellen: 05:36                    
I don’t even, you know, what is my degree worth? How did I even learn this? And I would spiral out of control over one small thing. And then there were other times where I’m like, I’m the best developer ever. I know I’m slinging code left and right. And the point is that I was the same person, I was the same developer and I was pretty much at the same skill level. So why is it that certain times our mindset is telling us one thing and certain times it’s telling us another? We really need to become aware of those thoughts that we’re saying to ourselves because tech is hard and if you want to find that tech job for you, you’re going to have to learn to be kind to yourself in your head and that is going to take some practice. Take it from someone who knows.

Ellen: 06:27                    
So foundation number one of the you are techy message is mindset. Let’s jump on to number two. Foundation number two, support. Okay, I’m going to be straight up with you here. I am still learning this one. Support has always been challenging for me. I feel like I should have it all figured out. I feel like I should already have the answer and I should know it right now without any effort. Can you relate? Why are we so darn hard on ourselves? Why are we so reluctant to ask for help? Why do we think it’s such an imposition on someone else? If we are seeking their counsel, I’m going to tell you something I know to be true because I’ve lived it out in my own life and I’ve seen so many women in our Facebook group have the same experience. It’s going to seem counter-intuitive, but stick with me here.

Ellen: 07:25                    
Here’s how you can begin to get the support you need right now today be a mentor. Yes, that’s right before you’re ready. Right now, before you feel like it, be a mentor, be a mentor and help someone out whose path you are. Just a few steps ahead of if you know even a small amount in any field, you are ready to be a mentor because there is someone out there who needs your counsel and if you do this, if you are a mentor, you will begin to understand what a gift that is to someone else and you will be able to find a mentor for yourself without feeling guilty or bad or like you’re wasting their time. I typically ask some women in my social and geographical circles to come talk on our Facebook live or speak at local events. And I was nervous. I felt bad like I was bothering them.

Ellen: 08:32                    
But guess what? I found out not only were they happy to come and speak, they wanted to know how they could do more. I know there are women out there right now who want to help you. They want to be an inspiration to you or a supportive ear. They want to know that the knowledge they gained can be used by someone else to maybe skip of the mistakes they’ve made or jump to a better decision. So right now, go be a mentor to someone who is just a step or two behind you. And just remember all they have to be is a step or two behind you in one path. So let’s say that you’re a brand new front end developer. Maybe someone’s wants to be a front end developer. You don’t have to be, you know, more advanced or knowledgeable than them on every single front.

Ellen: 09:23                    
It’s just this one thing that you know a little bit more about and that’s how you can help them. And then after you are a mentor, now you can go find a mentor who can help you and you can know that you’re truly giving them a gift. I want to jump in here with one more aspect of support. I strongly encourage you to join our free Facebook group. It’s facebook.com/groups/you are techy, spelled out, so Y. O. U. A. R. E. T. E. C. H. Y. We have an amazing group of women who are super supportive and totally kind. And we started this group to bring people who are new to tech women who are new to tech together. But what happened is all these women who were already in the field wanted to join, they wanted to be there for someone else and quite frankly, they wanted to know how they could level up themselves.

Ellen: 10:21                    
So join our group and I know you’ll probably be able to find a mentee and a mentor right in one place. And don’t let technicalities like you don’t have a Facebook account or you really try to stay away from Facebook, distract you from making real progress. I don’t listen to podcasts on iTunes, but when someone’s podcast really impacted me, I created account and account on iTunes. I left a review because it mattered to me. And it’s that simple. Don’t let simple technicalities get in the way of you taking action. Go out there, join our group, find a local meetup, be a mentor via mentee. But whenever you do get the support you need, because it’s not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of action. So number two on the you are techy message support. Let’s jump in to foundation. Number three, learning. So of course if you’re going into any new field, there’s going to be learning.

Ellen: 11:26                    
But with tech, that learning is typically supersized because there so many tech jobs. Preparing for just one is actually really hard because you don’t know what to do or where the line is between different jobs. And then tech learning is also super hard, but there’s another reason that tech learning is challenging and that’s because many of those people new to tech do not understand how to plan out their learning. That is because many people new to tech do not understand that they are never going to know everything and knowing everything is not the goal. We need to have a goal outside of our learning to say getting a job or leveling up or writing a software. What goal are you looking at? And then figure out the learning that supports it. So when we are learning, we don’t need to learn every single syntex or every framing tool.

Ellen: 12:37                    
It’s really not necessary. So in this foundational principle of learning, I’m going to focus a lot on planning your learning. I know that sounds like a five minute activity, but trust me, it’s not. If you plan correctly when it comes to learning, you’re really going to cut learning time and a ton of frustration out by not allowing yourself to go down the endless rabbit hole of tech information. It’s a daily battle. I know, but I’ve studied learning for a long time. I was a teacher of engineering and computer science and I teach in a more modern sense courses, online courses and in person workshops where I’m working with women, mostly moms who really and truly want and need time saving tips to get their learning done fast so they can get the job they so desperately want. So the you are techy message will focus on learning but not just gaining skills.

Ellen: 13:34                    
We will have gaining skills like HTML, JavaScript, wireframing, but we’re also going to have learning strategies so that you can understand how to achieve learning faster, better, and with more joy. That’s right. Tech learning should be fun. All right, And now foundation number four. This one is going to seem a little bit out of the ordinary. Number four is empowerment. You need empowerment or call it inspiration. If you want to be successful in tech and get that tech dream job, you shouldn’t feel bad if some days you wake up and you’re like, I really don’t feel like during this today we’re going to bring you inspiration and empowerment so you can get the inspiration you need. But we’re also gonna teach you how to bring it into your own life so you can overcome those days when you just don’t feel like it. Okay. Here’s where I maybe cheating a little bit cause there’s sort of a fifth principle, but it runs through each of the other four.

Ellen: 14:42                    
So call it foundation number five or call it just a thread throughout the others. But one thing you’re going to hear a lot on this podcast is what I’m calling daily practice and I don’t want you to get too hung up on the daily part. It’s really just a routine and repeating over and over again the skills that you’re learning. Because if you are a mom and you have a full time job, but you want to switch to tech, maybe that learning that routine is three nights a week, one hour a night. It’s more important that you do it routinely than it is a specific amount of hours and you’re going to have to choose the hours and the days that make sense for you. So I know that daily practice is not as sexy or aspiration as empowerment, but the key is here that if you practice the other four foundations on a daily or routinely basis, you will become techy hundred percent guaranteed.

Ellen: 15:46                    
No chance you won’t. It will absolutely happen. And how do I know? Because I’ve seen it over and over and over again with women in our workshops and in our Facebook group and in our coaching. It’s just absolutely true. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort than you are techy. So decide you are today and then take that first step towards your tech Enos. And that’s it. You’re techy. So what does that mean for you? Well. That’s why, yes, there is a tech job for you. We will talk about all the different ways that you can use your creativity, project management or people skills in tech and that is how you can begin to understand that there is a tech job for you. You’re going to find the job that makes the most sense for what you love to do and the skills that you have. So whether that’s a UX designer or a scrum master or a front end developer, there is a tech job for you. I hope that this podcast has been educational for you and a little bit fun. I’m super excited to get started and I want to say thank you very, very much for being here. I’m truly excited and grateful to be on this journey with you. You are techY!

Ellen: 17:00                    
Hey, if you enjoyed listening to this podcast, you have to sign up for the You are techY email list. Imagine being in the tech job of your dreams. Join me to get the strategies, training and never ending support to get hired. Sign up at you are techy.com that’s why. That’s Y-O-U-A-R-E-T-E-C-H-Y dot com I’ll see you next time.