episode 6

In this conversation with software engineer, Kalisa Falzone, she shares how she transitioned from careers between the investment management and solar energy industries to become a software engineer. 

We discuss the motivation behind her industry & career changes.

Connect with Kalisa Falzone on LinkedIn or email kalisa.falzone@gmail.com

Aha! Moment

Where I was drawn to was automating things, and making manual tasks less cumbersome, and so I started to think…I’ve always been interested in these different approaches to solving problems.

Transitioning careers & industries

And it was kind of a difficult situation to figure out like how quickly to make that change. That’s another challenge for people who are transitioning…

That’s something to be aware of is how you time it. Because I had learned to do web development, and I was learning on my own for probably, I think, 6 or 7 months before I left the job at the solar company, and went to the bootcamp.

It was something I was kind of trying out, and a good way of try it out is I think the best advice I could give anybody who is changing careers is to talk to somebody who does that career, and ask them what their favorite part of the job is. Ask them how they got started. 

And a good way to do that is to go to conferences or events, or listen to their podcasts online, and just kind of get a feel for what their day to day is like before transitioning into a job. 

Lasting job happiness

Because if you’re choosing a job just for the money, I don’t think that that’s the best way to go. You want to choose a job that leaves you satisfied at the end of the day. 

Because there’s plenty of jobs you can do where you’ll get money, but you’ll find that jobs you’ll be happier with are jobs that you like for reasons in addition to that.

On being a woman in software

I have done a lot of things that weren’t typically jobs women did like I was a deejay. I was a math major. I worked in construction. I’ve had several jobs where being a woman didn’t even matter, like it wasn’t even a thing.

This is the first career I have ever had where that seemed to be a challenge in a way that I hadn’t seen before.

I don’t know if it’s more because I recognized when these things were happening, whereas before I used to ignore it, or if it was because this career itself enhances things that are problems in general between understanding how men and women work together.

On challenges within software

One thing that I think that makes software challenging for women and minorities and people who aren’t typically in software is that if it’s challenging for everybody. And a lot of people are resentful. 

If you’re a white man and you do really well in software, people think it’s because you’re a white man. And that’s not true. 

It’s not easy for anyone. It’s hard for everyone. And so people feel frustrated that their struggle isn’t seen. 

And so, they see someone like me come along and think that “Oh well, you got a scholarship because you’re a girl, not because you deserved it.” And it’s like, I had the same challenges you did, yes. And I also had other challenges that you’re not seeing. It’s really hard to show people how that works.

Recorded February 2021