I’m Roxy, 41 years old, based in Italy. After a successful career as a Chief Accountant, At my 37th I earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (Magna cum Laude) and decided to fully transition into tech. I hold Professional-level certifications from Oracle (Java SE 11 Developer, OCI Generative AI), OCI Associate, and Microsoft (Foundational C#), and I’m building projects on GitHub. Over the past years, I’ve sent hundreds of applications within Italy via LinkedIn and Indeed, but I haven’t received any replies. I suspect my age and lack of formal experience in tech might be factors. Sometimes I feel discouraged and wonder if I should give up — but I’ve worked so hard to get here, and I don’t want that effort to go to waste. That’s why I’m now looking beyond Italy, hoping to find remote opportunities where my skills, passion, and determination can be valued. I’m open to remote work: internships, part-time roles, anything that allows me to contribute and grow. Has anyone faced a similar situation? What strategies helped you break into the field? Any feedback on how to improve my approach would be deeply appreciated.
I’m not in your situation, however it looks like you have quite a few high level qualifications. Tech is a highly competitive environment, so employers could receive 10,000’s or more applications, so cannot reply to anyone that doesn’t meet their shortlist requirements.
Try talking to human resource departments, and ask them what hard and soft skills they look for, and which ones they value.
Make sure your curriculum vitae and covering letter (if one is asked for) is tailored for each job you apply for. Try not to include too much information.
Since you have some high level skills, have you considered teaching gigs?
I’m not sure what the requirements are in Italy, but don’t list your age in your cv.
I’ve read of people who spent years applying before they landed a job.
Keep up building projects on GitHub, also grow a network of contacts, not just in tech. Let people you know that you are actively looking for work.
Thank you so much for the valuable advice! I’ll definitely keep posting on GitHub — it’s a way of staying active and visible — and in the meantime, I’m also following the freeCodeCamp curriculum to keep my knowledge fresh. You’re absolutely right about the CV: I’ve kept it to one page with only the essentials to avoid overwhelming recruiters. And yes, I agree that removing my age is a smart move — great tip! I realize I haven’t invested much in networking so far, so I’ll make a conscious effort to improve in that area. Thank you again for the encouragement!
I hold Professional-level certifications from Oracle (Java SE 11 Developer, OCI Generative AI), OCI Associate, and Microsoft (Foundational C#), and I’m building projects on GitHub.
Certs by themselves don’t hold much weight when it comes to getting software engineer jobs, the main issue being companies largely care about the experience you have to know what to build in the future, not so much if you took a test and got a cert, since there’s too much “beyond” what is usually tested in the cert.
This just leaves projects, and whatever background you have “out of the box”. One thing to consider is the fact your background/experience gives you a distinct advantage in some situations compared to say a recent college grad with no job experience, but a degree and some projects to show.
For starters you should have:
a pre-existing network of people who you’ve worked with, possible some who could refer you, or at least point you in a direction that isn’t public.
an “angle” that makes you standout compared to a general candidate. The goal is to stand out using the experience you have already, not to “fit in” to a role by promoting skills most candidates will have.
For example your title as a chief accountant means you should have significant domain knowledge with accounting. Toss in having technical knowledge from school, projects, and showcasing all of this in a package would make you a really strong candidate for any company building accounting-related, or adjacent solutions. I wont say you’d be a slam dunk for these roles, as there’s more to it, but its where I’d start and really target role wise.
Finally, if you aren’t getting any responses for your resume, its your resume and methods of applying. Referrals can help get thru the noise, but your resume needs to “sell” your skills and background to get at least a callback.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply — I really appreciate the perspective! I totally understand that certifications alone don’t guarantee a job, and I agree that real-world experience is key. In my case, I pursued certifications precisely because I lacked formal tech experience and wanted to show commitment and stand out from other candidates. They were recommended to me as a way to strengthen my profile — and I truly worked hard to earn them — but unfortunately, they haven’t opened many doors so far. Regarding my CV, I created it with support from the Career Service Center at my university, and I tailor it carefully for each role I apply to. I haven’t limited myself to software engineer roles — I’ve applied broadly: junior developer, web developer, SAP junior consultant, QA tester, and more. I’m open to anything that allows me to contribute and grow. I really liked your point about leveraging my accounting background. I’ve started thinking more strategically about roles in ERP, fintech, and accounting-related software.
Thank you again for the encouragement and insights!
I’ll definitely keep posting on GitHub — it’s a way of staying active and visible — and in the meantime, I’m also following the freeCodeCamp curriculum to keep my knowledge fresh. You’re absolutely right about the CV: I’ve kept it to one page with only the essentials to avoid overwhelming recruiters. And yes, I agree that removing my age is a smart move — great tip! I realize I haven’t invested much in networking so far, so I’ll make a conscious effort to improve in that area. Thank you again for the encouragement!