I’m looking for some career advice from people who’ve navigated mid-career transitions in tech, especially women with kids.
I have around 10 years of experience in data analytics and visualization — mostly Tableau, Power BI, dashboards, stakeholder reporting, business insights, etc. I joined my current company right after graduating and honestly never moved around much. The job has been low stress, stable, and flexible, which worked well while raising two kids under 8.
Because of that phase of life, I never really “grinded” hard on interviews, networking, or aggressively switching companies. I’m now making around 90k in a MCOL area at a small firm with limited growth.
But now that my kids are a bit older and I finally have some time and mental space again, I’m starting to feel stagnant and unsure what direction to take next.
I’m debating between:
- Going deeper technically into Data Engineering / modern data stack
- Pivoting toward Product or more strategic/business-facing roles
- Or staying in analytics but leveling up into leadership
I feel reasonably comfortable with both technology and people management, which makes the decision harder.
What I’m struggling with most is:
- How are women with kids realistically preparing for interviews these days?
- How much has AI changed the hiring/interview landscape?
- Is grinding LeetCode/system design now expected even for adjacent data roles?
- How are people staying relevant without burning themselves out?
Sometimes I feel like the tech world changed very fast in the last few years and I’m trying to catch up while balancing family life and limited time.
Would really appreciate hearing from others who made a similar transition in their 30s or after spending many years at one company.