Career Roadmap
Molly's work combines: Technology, Design, and Being Creative
See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.
Take Roadmap Quiz
Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Fine/Studio Arts, General
Carleton College
Graduate Degree
Geology/Earth Science, General
The University of Texas at Austin
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Software Quality Assurance Analysts & Testers:
High School
Bachelor's Degree: Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
Attended a liberal arts college where I divided my time between art and science.
2.
Realized that my shiny new Masters was going to land me in Houston, working for an oil company. Yuk.
3.
Stuck my degree in a drawer and started a papermaking business out of my parents garage. It failed.
4.
Got a job at my alma mater, saw a real programmer at work, and got VERY curious.
5.
Heard about coding bootcamps on NPR. Had an epiphany.
6.
Quit my job, took classes. Ate a lot of cheap food.
7.
Landed an internship at Microsoft.
8.
Converted to full time at Microsoft.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
You should pick science as a career, and keep art as a hobby. Creatives never succeed.
How I responded:
I had a couple very bad years in grad school when I tried to be a pure scientist and had no time for art or anything creative. I learned the hard way that "art as a hobby" just wasn't going to work. So I tried the reverse, by abandoning my career as a geologist and starting a papermaking company, but that failed, too. Then I discovered web development. Full of math, logic, analytics: science. But also full of color, movement, design: creativity. And now the whole either/or idea seems laughable.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I never felt like I couldn't hack it. Why? Because I have been lucky and had AMAZING female role models: math teachers, physics profs, geology buddies, rocket scientists, pilots, polyglots, entrepreneurs, volunteers and many more. We can do ANYTHING.