The “ideal career path” sounds comforting until real life shows up.
Careers stretch across decades, but family, health, caregiving, commutes, and simple human limits shape what we can do in any given season. So we sat down with three leaders from MathWorks – Tanya Morton, Laura Dempsey, and Jess Welding – to talk candidly about building a career that actually works for you.
We start with three very different routes into tech: Tanya’s progression from a PhD in math and computer science into consulting and global leadership, including a bold move away from MathWorks and a return years later; Jess’s path from first-generation university student to technical writer documenting deep learning and AI, driven by a passion for clear communication; and Laura’s pivot from biomedical engineering and medical imaging into software, leadership, and managing across Northern Europe despite feeling like an imposter at first.
Then we get into the moments that force decisions: shared parental leave, going to four days a week, the challenge of leadership roles that require full-time work, and the way remote work and hybrid work changed what parenthood even looks like for many women in tech. We also talk about the sandwich generation, confidence after maternity leave, and what supportive employers do differently, especially when managers are trained to handle life transitions with trust and care.
