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Career conversation with CFG Ambassador and career switcher, Jess Brown.
Catch up with CFG Ambassador Jess Brown to hear the honest story behind her career switch into tech. From redundancy and retraining while raising a young family to landing her dream permanent role at Deloitte, Jess shares the highs, the setbacks and the lessons she’s learnt along the way. Her journey is a powerful reminder that career change doesn’t happen overnight, and that the right opportunity is worth working towards.
How long did it take for you to switch careers?
3 years, 7 months and 14 days!
And it’s only now that I can finally say it: I got the job.
But not just any job. A job where I’d been dreaming of working since the very beginning, Deloitte.
When I first set that goal, it felt pretty ambitious. I didn’t have a computer science degree. I had no traditional tech background. And when I decided to retrain for a career in tech, I didn’t even own a laptop.
But I had a goal, and I was determined to make it happen.
So, let’s rewind to where it all began…
Take us back to beginning, how did you get started?
It all started with a redundancy, falling pregnant, and a spontaneous night out!
A week after being made redundant, and just a few weeks into pregnancy, I found myself at a Deloitte celebration event as someone’s plus-one. I wasn’t there to look for a job and I certainly wasn’t expecting that one evening to change the direction of my career.
As I chatted to people about what had happened and what I might do next, a few members of the management team suggested different routes into tech and programmes that could help me retrain.
One of them was Code First Girls.
That conversation planted a seed, and when I got home, I started researching. The more I learned about technology, the more I realised this wasn’t just something I could do. It was something I genuinely wanted to do.
And somewhere along the way, I set myself a goal: I was going to work for Deloitte. People quite reasonably told me to keep my options open, and honestly, they probably had a point. But if there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s this: I can be pretty stubborn.
How was it to start learning something new?
I didn’t have years of coding experience. I wasn’t a computer science graduate. And I certainly didn’t have a carefully mapped-out career path into tech.
My background was in completely different industries, and I was learning almost everything from scratch. Through Code First Girls, I started building the technical foundations I needed, eventually completing the CFGdegree and Masters, with studies spanning Data Engineering, Cyber Security and Vulnerability Research.
But while the technical skills were essential, some of the biggest lessons from my career switch had absolutely nothing to do with code. Because I wasn’t learning in a vacuum. I was raising two young children, one with additional medical and neurodiverse needs. I was pregnant with my third child. I was working part-time to help make ends meet.
And somewhere between pregnancy, childcare, work, family life and all the other demands of being an adult, I was trying to build an entirely new career.
There were evenings when studying was the last thing I wanted to do. Moments when I wondered whether I’d left it too late. And plenty of times when I looked at other people’s careers and questioned why my own journey seemed to be taking so long.
But while the technical skills were essential, some of the biggest lessons from my career switch had absolutely nothing to do with code.
Is there one thing that you wish you’d of know sooner?
Career switching isn’t always a straight line and I think this is the part we don’t talk about enough. Career-change stories can look incredibly neat once they’re finished. Someone decides to retrain, completes a course, lands a job. Success!
Mine was anything but straightforward. I had doubts. I applied for countless tech jobs, including some I knew deep down I didn’t really want, because I started worrying that I should just get something.
I had interviews that went nowhere. I questioned whether I was being too specific about what I wanted. I watched other people reach milestones before me.
There were moments when it would have been easy to decide things weren’t happening quickly enough and change direction again. But one of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt over the past few years is this:
Someone else’s timeline isn’t evidence that you’re falling behind. Sometimes, you’re doing all the right things. You’re learning, applying, growing and showing up. It just takes time for the right opportunity to come along.
What was the opportunity that opened up the door for you?
Eventually, an opportunity to work at Deloitte came up, the very company I’d set my sights on right at the beginning, and I got in! But getting there wasn’t the end of the learning curve. If anything, it was the beginning of another one. Learning technology and delivering it in a professional environment are two very different things.
Over time, I went from needing support and reassurance with technical builds to becoming increasingly confident working independently, solving problems and asking better questions. I started to understand not just how something worked, but why we were building it that way.
I was growing in ways I couldn’t have fully appreciated when I first started learning to code. Then came another waiting game, would the opportunity become permanent? I’m happy to say that it did!
Did you ever feel regret?
That’s how long it took me to go from deciding to switch careers to securing a permanent job in tech.
It took me a lot longer than expected to finally land a permenant role, but would I change it? No!
When I look back, I don’t just see courses and qualifications, I see the version of me who didn’t even own a laptop but decided to learn technology anyway.
I see the studying squeezed in around children, pregnancy and work. The rejection emails. The unsuccessful interviews. The moments of doubt.
But I also see the people who encouraged me when I needed it most. The people who genuinely celebrated my successes. Along the way, I learnt just how important it is to surround yourself with people who want to see you succeed.
And I see every moment when I could have decided it was taking too long. I’m really glad I didn’t.
What has switching careers taught you?
- Patience is part of the process.
You can work incredibly hard and still not control when the right opportunity comes along. Progress doesn’t always happen on the timeline you imagined.
- Resilience matters as much as motivation.
Motivation gets you started. Resilience helps you keep going when an application is rejected, an interview goes nowhere or life gets in the way.
- Your previous career wasn’t wasted time.
You bring more to tech than technical skills alone. Communication, problem-solving, organisation, understanding people and life experience all have value. You don’t start from zero just because you’re changing direction.
- Find your people.
Career switching can feel lonely, so find the mentors, friends, colleagues and communities who support your growth and celebrate your progress. Having people in your corner makes a difference.
- Stop measuring your timeline against someone else’s.
Some people will retrain and land a role quickly. Others will take longer. Neither determines how capable you are or how successful you can become.
- Keep going, but keep adapting.
That doesn’t mean blindly repeating the same things. Ask for feedback. Change your approach when something isn’t working. Learn, build your network and take opportunities that challenge you.
Most importantly, don’t mistake taking longer than expected for failing.
Any final advice?
Three years, seven months and fourteen days ago, I didn’t have a laptop, a computer science degree or a clear idea of how I was going to get from where I was to where I wanted to be.
I just knew where I wanted to go.
Today, I have a permanent career in technology at the company I set my sights on from the very beginning.
So, if you’re six months, a year, two years or even three years into your own career-switching journey and wondering whether it’s taking too long, I hope my story gives you a little perspective.
Your timeline doesn’t have to look impressive on paper. It just has to be yours.
