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Sheila Levine

Today Sheila Levine is a rising star in information technology management at a successful mid-size company. You'd never guess that she has also been a designer of window treatments, a full-time artist, and a happy - but unemployed - liberal arts graduate from a well-regarded East Coast university. Fortunately, ever since she was a teenager, Sheila was also a computer hobbyist, glued to the screen for hours on end. "I taught myself assembly language programming out of a book when I was fourteen," she confesses. "All the years that I was struggling to make a living in the arts, it never occurred to me that computer work was also very creative, and that I could make a secure and interesting career from my favorite hobby. I even tried becoming a window treatment designer as an attempt to combine my artistic flair with a steady income." Unfortunately, the self-employed life was a difficult one. Sheila found that the cost of maintaining inventory and managing clients left her little time for creative pursuits.

"I was complaining one day to my good friend Tom, who was working at the time as a lead programmer for a startup software company. I had called to ask him a technical question about a screen saver that I was developing as a personal art project." Sheila paused to sip her chai. "He suddenly stopped in the middle of the conversation and said, 'You know, Sheila, the best way to get these questions answered is to get some computer training. I know you know a lot, but you're self-taught, and the industry is looking for verified skills. However, if you get some coursework under your belt, I could probably find you an entry-level position here somewhere.'" Sheila thought about it for a couple of weeks and then enrolled in a nearby computer school, taking classes at night while continuing to run her window treatment business in the daytime. Within 18 months she emerged with a diploma in information technology, having studied several programming languages as well as systems administration, networking, security and even some creative courses in animation and graphics. Her friend Tom did find her a position, as a desktop support analyst for the startup company. "My starting salary was lower than I was making with my own business," Sheila confesses, "but the hours were much better."

Sheila spent a year in the desktop support position, taking advantage of every opportunity to learn new technologies and skills. She quickly became known as a wizard at troubleshooting. Sheila went back on the job market. Within a couple of months she had landed a position as an entry-level networking engineer. Four years have passed since Sheila went to work at Tom's startup company. Today, she is an IT manager and she loves her job. "The best thing about the work that I do," she says, smiling, "is that I finally have both the time and the money to enjoy my work in the arts. I'm so glad that my friend Tom got tired of my asking him all those technical questions!"

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