WeAreDevelopers Logo WeAreDevelopers
Sign in
For You LIVE
WeAreDevelopers LIVE • Mar 13, 2024

Fingerboard to Keyboard: Transposing One Profession to Another

Jennifer Reif

Your unconventional background is your greatest engineering asset. Discover how a classical musician translated music theory into graph databases and mastered the art of the career pivot.

Pause
Mute Enter Fullscreen
#1 about 5 min

Building a professional foundation through formal music training

Early experiences in musical performance and teaching build crucial skills in communication, practice, and time management.

#2 about 3 min

Transitioning from a music degree to computer science

Pivoting from classical music to software engineering requires learning programming basics and operating within structured financial tech environments.

#3 about 3 min

Gaining public speaking skills and entering developer relations

Attending technical conferences and learning unfamiliar technologies like graph databases creates new pathways into developer advocacy roles.

#4 about 4 min

Crafting a cohesive narrative for big career changes

Presenting career shifts positively helps professionals highlight the core strengths and motivations that drive their transition.

#5 about 3 min

Balancing logic and creativity across varying engineering disciplines

Recognizing shared structural and emotional aspects between diverse fields allows individuals to leverage both analytical and creative strengths.

#6 about 5 min

Upskilling and preparing ahead of new professional opportunities

Filling knowledge gaps through personal projects and proactive communication ensures a smoother onboarding experience into a new team.

#7 about 5 min

Applying prior organizational and creative skills to technology

Non-technical abilities like pattern matching, research, and diligent practice readily translate to mastering complex technical environments.

#8 about 2 min

Navigating professional unknowns during onboarding and interviews

Admitting knowledge gaps while demonstrating a strong willingness to learn reassures teams of continuous professional growth.

#9 about 9 min

Accelerating personal learning by teaching highly technical concepts

Constructing tutorials and delivering community presentations forces new experts to master fundamentals and understand diverse developer perspectives.

#10 about 2 min

Solidifying engineering knowledge by consistently creating technical content

Producing blog posts, podcasts, and live coding demonstrations turns internal knowledge into valuable resources for the larger technical community.

#11 about 2 min

Setting personal boundaries to maintain sustainable professional growth

Recognizing when to step out of comfort zones and when to prioritize rest prevents long-term occupational burnout.

#12 about 5 min

Taking calculated risks to discover new career opportunities

Embracing challenges with defined safety nets exposes developers to unexpected learning opportunities without catastrophic professional failure.

#13 about 2 min

Overcoming technical failures by adjusting approaches and persevering

Recovering gracefully from live presentation disasters or coding roadblocks requires iterating on the initial approach rather than repeating mistakes.

#14 about 3 min

Ignoring negativity while building professional credibility and respect

Focusing on genuine self-representation and tactful communication builds lasting credibility despite encountering unconstructive professional criticism.

#15 about 2 min

Carving a unique career path through continuous adult learning

Embracing new fields at any stage of life empowers individuals to add unique value regardless of their prior background.

#16 about 3 min

Staying motivated to continuously grow in complex technical careers

Cultivating innate curiosity and a desire to help others serves as a sustainable driving force for lifelong technical learning.

#17 about 4 min

Finding informal mentoring and leveraging online engineering communities

Meaningful technical mentorship can stem from casual peer interactions and engaging with specialized online content rather than formal programs.

#18 about 6 min

Balancing multiple passions and fostering inclusive technical environments

Accepting shifting priorities helps professionals balance diverse interests while highlighting how diverse perspectives actively improve overall engineering culture.

Matching moments

2:46 min

Transitioning between coding, advocacy, and engineering management roles

Cassidy Williams Cassidy Williams · Coffee With Developers

2:25 min

Transitioning into software engineering roles from nontechnical fields

Eleanor Rumsey · LIVE

3:48 min

Navigating career transitions to build unconventional software

Nolan Royalty · Coffee With Developers

2:33 min

Transitioning from music backgrounds into software engineering

Jennifer Reif · LIVE

3:35 min

Mastering the mental resilience required for career transitions

Megha Kadur · LIVE

2:08 min

Transitioning from degree studies to software engineering

Daniela Bonvini · LIVE

More from WeAreDevelopers LIVE

WeAreDevelopers LIVE - Is CSS Catching Up to Flash? thumbnail
1:03:33
10 days ago

WeAreDevelopers LIVE - Is CSS Catching Up to Flash?

Chris Heilmann, Daniel Cranney, Bramus Van Damme

WeAreDevelopers LIVE - Project Chopin: Make Your Team and Agents Play Along thumbnail
1:21:17
17 days ago

WeAreDevelopers LIVE - Project Chopin: Make Your Team and Agents Play Along

Chris Heilmann, Daniel Cranney, Krzysztof Cieślak

Fake or News - AI Toothbrushes, Carrier Pigeon Tech & Life on Mars - Krzysztof Cieślak thumbnail
4:23
19 days ago

Fake or News - AI Toothbrushes, Carrier Pigeon Tech & Life on Mars - Krzysztof Cieślak

Chris Heilmann, Daniel Cranney

WeAreDevelopers LIVE - Open Source Agent Toolkits thumbnail
1:00:38
24 days ago

WeAreDevelopers LIVE - Open Source Agent Toolkits

Chris Heilmann, Daniel Cranney, Eddie Jaoude

Fake or News - AI Music Detectors, Translating Ancient Languages & Tiny Heads in Teslas - Eddie Jaoude thumbnail
6:16
26 days ago

Fake or News - AI Music Detectors, Translating Ancient Languages & Tiny Heads in Teslas - Eddie Jaoude

Chris Heilmann, Daniel Cranney

Fake or News: AI Agents Hire Each Other, Spider-Man Ads in Cars & RAM Thieves - Marc Plogas thumbnail
5:46
about 1 month ago

Fake or News: AI Agents Hire Each Other, Spider-Man Ads in Cars & RAM Thieves - Marc Plogas

Chris Heilmann, Daniel Cranney, Marc Plogas

Related videos

Syntax, Semantics, and Systems: From Linguistics to Software - Yasmine Kordjazy thumbnail
23:09
Coffee With Developers • 4 months ago

Syntax, Semantics, and Systems: From Linguistics to Software - Yasmine Kordjazy

Yasmine Kordjazy

The power of the community thumbnail
30:38
LIVE • over 3 years ago

The power of the community

Anna Leushchenko

Engineering/Manager Pendulum: Generating compound interest on your career thumbnail
34:25
World Congress 2026 Europe • 3 months ago

Engineering/Manager Pendulum: Generating compound interest on your career

Marcin Olichwirowicz

Why building an audience is the best thing you can do for your career. thumbnail
44:46
World Congress 2021 • about 5 years ago

Why building an audience is the best thing you can do for your career.

Nacho Iacovino

How I use public learning to kickstart my career - From marketing to full-stack in a 100 days thumbnail
22:46
LIVE • over 3 years ago

How I use public learning to kickstart my career - From marketing to full-stack in a 100 days

Fanni Friedrich

Coffee with Developers - Saron Yitbarek thumbnail
26:20
about 2 years ago

Coffee with Developers - Saron Yitbarek

Related articles

From learning to earning

Jobs that call for the skills explored in this talk.