- Maria Gabriela Ochoa Perez Waechter built a career in tech without finishing her degree.
- She is a senior ServiceNow developer at Clear Skye and cofounder of the online community WomenNow.dev.
- Here’s how job-hopping has helped her entire career reach a six-figure tech salary.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Maria Gabriela Ochoa Perez Waechter, a 28-year-old ServiceNow developer at security firm Clear Skye and cofounder of the online community WomenNow.dev, based in Richmond, Virginia, about how he built a career in tech without finishing a college degree. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I’m a Venezuelan American immigrant who went to the US when I was 8. I’ve been a software developer for the past four years – and I did it without graduating from college.
A car accident in 2012-being T-boned by another car on my commute-prevented me from going back to school.
School is too expensive for my family for me to justify spending money when I have no idea what I want to do. And the car accident left me with a slipped disc and chronic back pain that caused a range of medical issues.
I haven’t been able to keep up with it all – and struggling with undiagnosed ADHD and
depression
– and I got a six -month suspension from the academy, so I started working instead when I recovered.
First I worked as a waitress, and it was awful; then as a bank teller, and that was awful, too. I just had to get out-so I started applying for literally every job I saw and went to a company that makes operational software, like point-of-sale systems for golf courses.
I had to take a technical exam to get into the support team, and the interviewer asked me why I wanted the job. I told him I wanted to learn to get into IT. He took the chance on me, and we started by reviewing the technical test that I almost failed. But as it turns out, the job is stressful because there are so many bugs in the company’s software. So I started looking for a job again.
I got my next job because I proved to the interviewer that he could teach me anything by telling him about when my car broke down and I used a YouTube video to fix it. In that job, I proved myself and I was able to make him admin to help implement the workplace software, ServiceNow, in the company.
I was very lucky from there. I’ve used the resources of ServiceNow and the community to help me become a better developer, and more companies have ventured into me because I’ve proven I’m willing to learn.
Today, I earn about $ 150,000 as a senior ServiceNow developer at security firm Clear Skye, compared to the $ 33,000 I gratefully earned at the golf-course-software company when I first started in tech.
I’m fake it – and you should, too
I learned that it was really about going for it. I have never applied to a job position that I think is fully qualified, and I have been able to convince people during interviews that I can do it.
Don’t put yourself on the run before you even have a chance.
Don’t be afraid to jop-hop
Promotion is the hardest thing I have to do.
Companies are really good at hiring you for a certain amount and then only giving you a 2% increase per year-but if you go to another company, you can negotiate a completely new package of compensation.
I found that the most job momentum I gained was when I moved to a new company.
Not having a degree can be scary, but it hasn’t deterred me from any job I want
Not having my degree became an issue when I was trying to do government contracting, because it had specific requirements. But not having a degree would not have been a problem otherwise.
I’ve shown my abilities without a degree, and I’m really proud of that. In college, I tried three times to pass calculus but I couldn’t – and that didn’t stop me from being good at a job.
But the biggest challenge is being a young, brown, weird woman in technology
It’s so hard to get people to believe in me and trust me and respect me.
I overcame that because, honestly, I’m faking it. But I’m not doing it for me, I’m faking it for every other person out there who has to fake it, too, to show them that they can do it. That’s why I started WomenNow.dev, an online community for female developers.
Job descriptions are wish lists. Don’t let them stop you from applying
My advice for other people entering technology is: Remember that job descriptions are a wish list by hiring managers for the perfect unicorn candidate that they can never afford. Show them you want to learn and you are excited. Apply anyway. Networking is really important. Make friends and find a community that will support you.