Back to Work After Raising Kids: My Story as a Backend Engineer
Want access to this video and dozens of other resources?
Just want to see this video? Enter your email
What's it really like returning to work after raising a family - is it even possible to maintain your stature or skills? What if you're in a technical role? Ruth Helfinstein, a Senior Software Engineer at WW has been there, and is ready to answer your pressing questions in this hour-long...
What's it really like returning to work after raising a family - is it even possible to maintain your stature or skills? What if you're in a technical role? Ruth Helfinstein, a Senior Software Engineer at WW has been there, and is ready to answer your pressing questions in this hour-long Q&A! Regardless of how long your career break was, you can return to a career you love and be successful!
You asked, she's answering:
- How long was your career break?
- What was the conversation like when you decided to leave?
- When/ how did you know it was time to return to work?
- & more!
Meet The Speaker
Ruth is a Senior Software Engineer, currently working on building a personal coaching platform for WW (formerly Weight Watchers). She has a BA in Philosophy and an MS in Computer Science from Stanford. She started her career at Apple, building internal tools using C++, after which she took a multi year hiatus before reinventing herself as a full stack web engineer. Her current tech stack consists of Ruby on Rails, Postgres, React and more.
More Topics You Might Like
Q&A
Q&A guidelines-
This is my 4th year break from 5 years of my career as an Interactive designer. As I'm trying to get back to work, the title naming has changed to something like UI designer or product designer...
By: Anna, UI DesignerPosted on 2019-06-12 -
As a software engineer, how do you prepare and handle the increasingly challenging tech interviews and get a job offer?
By: Cheryl, UI DeveloperPosted on 2019-06-12 -
What sort of networking/career support did you have when you came back to the workforce?
By: MeleahPosted on 2019-06-12 -
What pitch did you present to your prospective employers to sell yourself when explaining your career gap and what were some of the responses you received? How did you overcome negative feedback, if any?
By: sandra, Operations ManagerPosted on 2019-06-12 -
What drove your timing on when to return and what other options did you consider (self employed vs corporate)
By: JOHNPosted on 2019-06-12 -
What is an average amount of time to take off to raise children without impacting your career/level/pay?
By: Melanie, MarketerPosted on 2019-06-12 -
Where on your resume should you put the reason for taking time away from work?
By: Jacqueline, Founder & OwnerPosted on 2019-06-12 -
Did you have to downlevel when re-entering the workplace after a break?
By: Trista, Product ManagerPosted on 2019-06-12 -
1) What’s the best way to prepare for a break if you carry the health care benefits for your family?
By: ReesePosted on 2019-06-11 -
If you're taking a break after a particularly tough layoff, what advice do you have for selling yourself in cover letters, initial interviews, etc.?
By: Bailey ElisePosted on 2019-06-11 -
How do you overcome the gap in your resume? How do you convince the hiring managers to interview you?
By: Salma, Software EngineerPosted on 2019-06-11 -
What skills would help make me stand out for a position as a developer with WW?
By: Dana, Fullstack DeveloperPosted on 2019-06-11 -
Is the current work for WW freelance or salaried and how did you go from a non-tech BA to a master's in CS? When & how did you learn to program and how did you get employers to notice enough to...
By: Esther, Technical Program Project ManagerPosted on 2019-06-11 -
How did you position this "break" on your resume and in-person when going back on interviews?
By: Lizeth, MarketerPosted on 2019-06-11 -
How can a 40+ applicant with 16 years of corporate experience in product development pivot into a new industry? I have my certification in Human Resources, internship expereince, and I am working...
By: Nicole, Program/Project ManagerPosted on 2019-06-11 -
Do you know of women in other industries (aside from tech) who found it impossible to be hired again after taking time off for family?
By: Rhonda, Copy EditorPosted on 2019-06-11 -
How did she get career carity when she decided to re-enter the workplace?
By: SophiePosted on 2019-06-11 -
I just had my second child and still deciding if I should try to find a part time job or should I just take a break to focus on my two kids. Do you think you could've done a part time?
By: RocioPosted on 2019-06-11 -
I returned to work as a graphic designer after 18 months as a SAHM, then quit 2 years later to pursue graduate school. Unfortunately, that didn't work out and I'm finding it harder to get a new...
By: NatoshaPosted on 2019-06-11 -
Did you earn any income while you stayed at home to raise your kids?
By: SilviaPosted on 2019-06-11 -
How were you able to get the hiring managers to buy into what you did to keep your skill sets during the break?
By: Kiyoko, Data EngineerPosted on 2019-06-11 -
I am curious to know how did you reinvent yourself? What was the process like to find that alignment of what works for you moving forward?
By: Divya, Program/Project ManagerPosted on 2019-06-11 -
How was your come back? I have seen women have to start at a lower pay and position when you are on a break.
By: Monal, Fullstack DeveloperPosted on 2019-06-11 -
With the ever changing technology, how do we stay updated without feeling obsolete?
By: Sowmya, Business AnalystPosted on 2019-06-11 -
How was your break from professional life perceived by prospective employers when you started to transition back to work? Did you feel discriminated against, or like they were hesitant to engage...
By: Heidi, Sr. Content Publishing ManagerPosted on 2019-06-11 -
Can you please explain the process you took to be successful in interviews and how was the transition back to work
By: Nelly Rany, Backend DeveloperPosted on 2019-06-11 -
What advice would you give to continue to grow your technical skills once you return to work? Thanks!
By: Natalie, Support ManagerPosted on 2019-06-11 -
How do you explain your absence from the workforce during your time at home? Either on resume or in person. How to turn off the judgement around that decision.
By: Amanda, Program/Project ManagerPosted on 2019-06-11 -
I want to get back into the workforce but I don't want to go to a regular 9 to 6 kinda job. I want to know if you have any inputs on how to get into a work from home kind of a career. I was...
By: Bhakti, WriterPosted on 2019-06-08 -
How you managed to get rid of hesitation that why industry will accept you at this age instead of young people fresh out of college or young people with some experience ?
By: Aditi, DeveloperPosted on 2019-06-07 -
Do I need to be up front about the gaps in my history, or wait for them to ask?
By: Sarah, Content StrategistPosted on 2019-06-06 -
Is it a good idea to disclose to the interviewer that you have a career gap because you were a stay-at-home mom?
By: Jane, IosPosted on 2019-06-06 -
How did you get started?!
By: Kim, Category MerchantPosted on 2019-06-06 -
how did the interview process go when rejoining the job force? Did you feel like you had to explain the gaps?
By: aranzasuPosted on 2019-06-06 -
What level of position do you pitch yourself for? I have a friend in HR who told me I was going to have to go back to Junior positions (after a 15 year break) but other people are telling me that...
By: Seonaid, Software developerPosted on 2019-06-05 -
What were some of the big surprises when you started working again?
By: Kayley, ExecutivePosted on 2019-06-04 -
I'm a 3 years old twins mom. I'm a computer engineer and been out of jobs market for about 4years. I want to be profesionally inspired again, to be financially independant and continue to grow as...
Ask a Question
Is there a specific question you have for the speaker? Let us know!
More events you might like