Looking for tips/recommendations - changing careers from mechanical engineering to computer science

Ekaterina Kuznetsova

April 28,2022 at 8:52PM UTC

Welcome to Fairygodboss!

We’re the largest online career community helping women achieve their career goals. Gain access to articles, jobs, events, and a supportive network of women and allies. Membership is free, always.

Looking for tips/recommendations - changing careers from mechanical engineering to computer science

I've been working in the mechanical engineering industry for about 6 years (at companies and in research) and I've decided to switch to computer science. I have quite a few reasons for the change - personal interest, not feeling challenged in the current field enough, pay, and the job growth outlook all make software engineering more appealing.

I have some experience with coding (Java, JavaScript, Python, HTML, CSS) but I have enrolled in a 1 year 'career change' computer science certificate through a University to have a solid foundation in the fundamentals. The program begins in June and ends June 2023.

If anyone has done a career switch into computer science, would you care to share any lessons learned, recommendations, suggestions. Even your story and experience doing this would be interesting to hear. I haven't come across people in a similar situation as me. I'm in the Seattle area if it's relevant.

Thanks in advance :)

Why women love us:

Daily articles on career topics
Jobs at companies dedicated to hiring more women
Advice and support from an authentic community
Events that help you level up in your career
Free membership, always

7 comments

Share your insight

Join an authentic community that helps women support each other at work. Share your professional experience or ask for advice — you can even post anonymously.

7 Comments

Join the conversation

Sabrina CortesApril 28,2022 at 11:30PM UTC
Hi Ekaterina,
Congratulations on making this career leap!
I'm a professional Resume Writer and wanted to give you some resume tips as you go through this career change.
1- Focus on your transferable skills and bring them out in your resume and cover letter.
2 - Tailor your resume to the job postings - each and every one!
3 - Be sure to include your new skills in computer science.
4 - If you graduated from a program within the last year, move your Education to the top of your resume.
Here's an example of how the sections should look --
~~ Personal Information
~~ Professional Summary
~~ Core Competencies/Area of Strengths & Expertise
~~ Education
~~ Career Achievements
~~ Professional Experience
~~ Memberships
~~ Volunteer Experience
**It's crucial to tailor your resume to each job you apply to because this greatly increases your chances of passing the applicant tracking system (ATS) scanning process. You'll want to identify the skills and action verbs in the job description and incorporate them into your resume and cover letter.
I hope you find this helpful!
Please feel free to reach out with any questions, ok?
Best of luck to you!
Krystin MorganMay 2,2022 at 9:24PM UTC
I would add to this that as a new developer, you're obviously not going to have a ton of perfectly-relevant work experience, but through your program, you'll likely do a good amount of projects. You should absolutely include those on your resume to show what you can do! Even better, start doing some coding projects on the side - make an app, a website, whatever - and include those on your resume as well.
Sabrina CortesMay 2,2022 at 11:22PM UTC
Great advise!
AnonymousMay 1,2022 at 1:02AM UTC
Look into companies and government agencies that need both disciplines like aerospace. So if you start out as an me easier to shift to cs from the inside
AnonymousDecember 6,2022 at 9:11AM UTC
Hey! I advise you to take a closer look at php development, now every second commercial project cannot do without a php developer. Visit this website - https://expertremote.io/hire-php-developers/ he has a list of experts, you can try to contact them and ask questions.
Алексей РозенплентерMarch 16,2023 at 3:58PM UTC
I have a sister from Seattle, I ordered a website for a logistics company here https://adexin.com/logistics-software-development/, ask them, maybe they will help you
Virgil seetleMarch 23,2023 at 9:47AM UTC
If you have coding experience, it doesn't matter where you are. Indeed, in the modern world, you can work remotely from anywhere in the world. If you want my advice, then I would choose php development. For more information contact Factor Dedicated Teams