From Accountant to Data Engineer with Alyson La [Podcast #168]

On this week's episode of the podcast, freeCodeCamp founder Quincy Larson interviews Alyson La. She taught herself how to code while working as an accountant at GitHub and was able to transition to a data scientist there, then ultimately a software engineer. After one of her kids got diagnosed with autism, she left her career for 3 years to be a full-time mom. She then re-entered the workforce and now teaches other moms how to do the same through a charity called Tech-Moms. She recently won a teacher of the year award and was a top 5 finalist in a data visualization competition. We talk about: - How Alyson taught herself programming while working as an accountant - How she transitioned to data analyst and ultimately data engineer - Tips for preparing for a break from work to take care of your family or address burnout - How to re-enter with the workforce with gusto Support for this podcast comes from a grant from Wix Studio. Wix Studio provides developers tools to rapidly build websites with everything out-of-the-box, then extend, replace, and break boundaries with code. Learn more at https://wixstudio.com. Support also comes from the 11,384 kind folks who support freeCodeCamp through a monthly donation. You can join these chill human beings and help our charity's mission by going to donate.freecodecamp.org Links we talk about during our conversation: - Alyson's new analytics consultancy: https://alysonla.com/ - The charity Alyson teaches at: https://www.tech-moms.org/ Welcome back to the freeCodeCamp podcast your source for raw, unedited interviews with developers. Today we're talking with Alyson La. She taught herself how to code while working as an accountant at GitHub and was able to transition to a data scientist there, then ultimately a software engineer. After one of her kids got diagnosed with autism, she left her career for 3 years to be a full-time mom. She then re-entered the workforce and now teaches other moms how to do the same through a charity called Tech-Moms. She recently won a teacher of the year award and was a top 5 finalist in a data visualization competition. Support for this podcast comes from a grant from Wix Studio. Wix Studio provides developers tools to rapidly build websites with everything out-of-the-box, then extend, replace, and break boundaries with code. Learn more at https://wixstudio.com. Support also comes from the 11,384 kind folks who support freeCodeCamp through a monthly donation. You can join these chill human beings and help our charity's mission by going to donate.freecodecamp.org For this week's musical intro – with yours truly on drums, guitar, bass, and keys – we're going back to 1990 with the F-zero anthem Mute City. Chapters 0:00:00 Teaser 0:02:45 Intro and Song: Mute City 0:02:45 Empowering Moms Through Tech Education 0:03:01 Leveraging AI in Learning 0:05:46 A Journey from Accounting to Tech 0:08:45 Building Skills and Confidence 0:12:01 The Importance of Mentorship 0:15:00 Transitioning to Data Science 0:17:56 Navigating Career Growth 0:20:48 The Role of Business Intelligence 0:23:48 From Data Analyst to Data Scientist 0:26:48 Navigating Data Engineering and Analytics Engineering 0:30:38 Balancing Work and Family Life 0:34:15 The Journey of Motherhood and Career 0:36:21 Reentering the Workforce After a Break 0:39:12 Inspiring Stories of Women in Tech 0:42:43 The Importance of Networking in Tech 0:47:39 Following Your Passion in Tech 0:51:49 Navigating Burnout and Recovery 0:54:03 Preparing for a Sabbatical 0:56:30 Explaining Career Gaps 1:00:06 Motherhood as Leadership 1:01:33 The Concept of Returnships 1:03:40 Shifting Family Dynamics 1:06:21 Childcare Solutions 1:09:44 Generational Progress and Opportunities 1:12:40 Advice to My Younger Self