Stacey’s Story: Pivoting from Oil & Gas to the Tech Sector

Life is what you make it, and no one knows it better than Stacey McLennan-Waldal, a data scientist who currently works in PwC’s Calgary office for advanced analytics.

Her professional low point came three years ago when the oil and gas sector was hit by two blows: the COVID-19 outbreak and low oil prices. Her McLennan-Waldal, who worked for an exploration and production (E&P) company as a chemical engineer, received the layoff notice while on maternity leave with her second child, not while she was at work.

After realizing it was time to look for another career in a different industry, Highpoint’s beginnings were when I signed up for a three-month bootcamp with technical education firm Lighthouse Labs.

According to McLennan-Waldal, it was an easy decision. “One of her roles I had was a reservoir engineer who was introduced to simulation and neural network models,” she said. “I always said, ‘I found the bug then,’ and always wanted to investigate it further. Really, it was a great opportunity to develop my passion after quitting my previous job.”

It all happened when her daughter was only 18 months old and her son just turned 3 and a half, so “it wasn’t an easy time in our lives.” I’ve been doing things, so I can do this.The boot camp is temporary, it’s three months.I called it my third child’s fourth semester.

“The great thing about it is that it’s quick, immersive, and you can get in and out.”

McLennan-Waldal has also stopped sending resumes, opting instead to build a network of contacts. They were very proactive. ”

It paid off. Her first job was at Avanade, her IT services firm that specializes, and from there she moved to PwC, where she is today.

An advocate for women in tech, she has the following advice for any woman considering a career in tech: I always tell my mom If you’ve ever raised a child, you’ve done something much harder than pivoting.

“There are so many opportunities where women are underrepresented, and I hate them for fear that it’s hard to keep them because they can do hard things.” And certainly mothers, women, I want to see them succeed in technology.”

She described boot camp as “an immersive way to learn a new language.” If you want to learn French, there is no better way than living in Paris. Immerse yourself in writing code and working with algorithms to develop a strong foundational skill set. ”

Lighthouse Labs CEO Jeremy Shaki describes her as follows:

“What you see in Stacey and many others are incredibly grit and resilient individuals who have a lot to contribute to our industry and workforce.”

According to Shaki, there are many people who have “made massive changes during often very difficult times in their lives and are now productive and positive” in industries that need the skills they can offer.

“I think the most striking thing about her journey is that when you’re dealing with something like the one she was dealing with, a lot of people are trying to keep doing the same thing they know they’re doing. I think. It will change more.”