Pathways - a step-by-step guide to a paid job in technology | Joyous
Pathways: a step-by-step guide to a paid job in technology
Pathways is designed to help women, Māori, Pasifika, and other underrepresented people into a paid software technology role in six months to a year - without needing a degree first.
Download the PDF Read it online
The major parts of Pathways
Pathways is divided into four major parts:
- Understanding the opportunity
- Getting ready for a role
- Landing a role
- How to run an internship program (for organisations)
We want women, Māori, Pasifika, and other underrepresented people to have a single easy resource that can help guide and support them into a paid role in technology.
We also want more technology organisations to create internships open to non-graduates shifting into tech. Our goal is to improve the lives of underrepresented people while also improving diversity across the entire technology sector, not just in Joyous.
Ruby Kolesky and Laura-Jane Booker
Courses & Resources
Youbee
See how research, design and coding work together to produce professional and creative sites. Domestic students from $1,575
Whitecliffe
An array of information technology areas from web and software development and design to network engineering and security. Free till Dec 2022
Tech Futures Lab
An applied short course to supercharge your Product Management skills.
UX Design Institute
Build your UX career with a globally recognised, industry-approved qualification.
Product School
Industry-Recognised product management certificates
Open Polytechnic
This online course will provide you with the knowledge and skills required to implement software development. Domestic students $752
Mission Ready
You’ll learn to develop sophisticated applications in a short time and become a confident ethical problem solver using leading Cloud resources.
NMIT
Learn to design and create a great user experience with website interface design. 1 year, free till Dec 2022.
Media Design School
Industry-endorsed courses in AI, Game Art, Game Programming, Graphic Design, Creative Advertising, Motion Design, Interactive Design, AR/VR, and 3D Animation and Visual Effects.
Kicking SaaS Webinar
Ruby Kolesky and Mike Carden join a line-up of software-as-a-service experts talking about the hiring process, onboarding, structuring career ladders… and much more!
General Assembly
Get ahead with expert-led training in coding, data, design, digital marketing, and more.
Future Learn
Use the foundations of data science to develop your skills in Microsoft Azure.
Enspiral Dev Academy
Free till December 2022. Learn to code with industry professionals, and graduate as a work-ready programmer in just 15 weeks.
Free code camp
Learn to code — for free. Build projects. Earn certifications.
Developers Institute
Get the skills to secure a job as a Web Developer in 10 months. Free till Dec 2022
Colab Cohorts
A community for product professionals to learn, share, and grow.
Read Pathways online
Introduction
Less than 25% of people in tech in New Zealand are women. We've put together a guide to help women and other underrepresented people get into a paid software technology role in six months to a year - without needing a degree first.
Traits of a good technologist
Technologists are quick learners, natural collaborators, good at receiving feedback, and adapt easily.
Software organisations as a place to work
Working for a software company you're likely to be well-paid, part of a great culture, and have opportunities to progress your career quickly.
Five steps to getting a role in tech
There are five simple steps to complete in order to get a role in tech: exploring options, short courses, building relationships, internships, and entry-level roles.
Which roles to go for
Learn about common technical and non-technical roles in tech and what each of those roles entails.
Forget about the stereotypes
Many people still have outdated perceptions that software technology roles are more suited to men than women. This simply isn't true.
Alice's story
Alice shares the story of the roundabout way she landed in tech as a software engineer.
Jae's story
One of our Software Developers, Jae Huh, shares the story of how she made the switch from a teaching role to tech.
Farhat's story
Our Data Scientist, Farhat Jehan, shares the story of how she landed in tech.
Laura-Jane's story
Laura-Jane Booker, a Product Manager at Joyous shares the story of how she landed in tech from an organisational psychology background.
Opelo's story
One of our Reporting Analysts, Opelo Kebaitse, shares the story of how she landed in tech from a background in Chemical Engineering.
Kat's story
One of our Product Managers, Kat Rodriguez, shares the story of how she landed in tech from a position as a Relay Operator where she was a “human telephone wire".
Davina's story
Product Specialist, Davina Png, shares the story of how she landed in tech from a background in Business Development.
Ruby's story
Ruby Kolesky, Heart of Product and Co-CEO, shares the story of how she landed in tech after starting her career in drama and musical theatre.
Explore further before deciding
Use our recommended resources to explore what a role entails before deciding.
Overview
Here we cover everything you need to get ready for a role including resources, courses, and funding options.
Resources you might need
Set yourself up for success by having the right setup and equipment.
Non-university short courses
University can be expensive and take many years to complete. Consider enrolling in one of these courses, most of which take six months or less.
Funding options
We recommend top options for funding your pathway into tech.
Overview
We’ll talk you through how to build relationships with people who might help you get a role, how to get an internship, and how to land an entry-level role.
Build relationships
Get started by building your network, comparing start-ups and scales ups to corporates, creating a LinkedIn profile, and joining some Tech Slack groups.
How to get an internship
Learn some tips for creating a good cv and cover letter and where to look for internships.
How to get an entry level role
Update your cv, apply online, and when you land a role, don't be afraid to ask many many questions.
How organisations can help
This is our call to action for organisations to:
- Consider opening internships to candidates from non-university pathways
- If you already have an internship program, consider expanding it to cover more roles
- If you don’t yet have an internship program set up, consider starting one
Overview
Learn how to run successful summer internships including recruiting, selecting, and onboarding interns.
Recruiting candidates
There is a big diversity imbalance in tech at the senior level. However, there is a lot of diversity at the junior level. Use your internships as an opportunity to recruit diverse candidates.
Selecting the ideal candidates
Seek diverse candidates with strong capabilities. Providing a take-home exercise will give you a sense of a candidate's ability before you interview.
Onboarding your interns
Onboard your interns the same way you would onboard your engineers. They should work on high impact problems that match their skill level so that they are always making a meaningful contribution.
Our top tips!
Our top tips for running a successful internship program include recruiting and retaining top talent, as well as full integration and collaboration with your permanent engineers.
Conclusion
Our plan is to begin approaching more organisations to create internship opportunities, support and funding to help people transition into software technology roles.
Thanks
A huge thanks to everyone who shared their tips, wisdom, resources, and stories with us. We couldn't have shaped this guide without you!