CARY – Ellen Twomey knows firsthand how hard it can be for stay-at-home mothers to return to work.

As a mother of four, she took five years off to raise her young children.

“When I was ready to re-enter the tech workforce, I felt behind the curve despite having worked as a software developer,” she admits. “My confidence was low, and my options felt pretty narrow. It just wasn’t what I had envisioned for my life.”

Ellen Twomey with her four children.

In the end, she went back to school to earn a master’s degree in learning, design and technology. However, it was time consuming, costly and ultimately, probably not necessary, she says.

Her alternative: “You are techY!” — a technology training and coaching practice that she created a few years back to arm women with the skills and confidence they need to get job-ready in UX design.

“I really wanted other women to know that that’s not the only path,” she says.

“You really don’t have to have the tech background to get into tech. The main thing is that you just have to do it. I called the platform ‘You are techY!’ because much of what I teach involves reassuring women that they really do have the right, the skills and the competency to go out there and get those high-paying tech jobs.”

Getting job ready

The latest addition to the course lineup is a the UX Portfolio Course.

It includes video, audio and transcripts; sample, templates and support documents to guide through step-by-step instruction; and a limited-time offer of free weekly group coaching for month.

The price tag: $247.

“We’ve had some really great success stories,” she says. “One woman got hired after two weeks in our coaching program. The reality is, she was just committed.”

Separately, Twomey also produces the “You are techy” podcast that include inspiring interviews with women in the tech profession.

“Moms really can do this work, and so many of them don’t think they can. With 20 percent of tech positions held by women, it’s just absolutely this huge disparity. It’s so important that women have a voice in the technology sector.”

You can learn more about Twomey latest offering, UX Portfolio course, at youaretechy.com/ux or go to youaretechy.com and click on “courses”.