My first job in the United States was waiting tables at a Mexican restaurant, without speaking a word of English.
If today you're cleaning houses, caring for kids, serving tables or doing any job that feels like it doesn't represent you — stay. This is exactly your starting point too.
The turning point: late 2014
At the end of 2014 we moved to the United States: my husband, my two older children and I. Before that, I had worked as an educator in Venezuela since 2010, at a bilingual school — without speaking English, which is why I never qualified for a better salary. I graduated in Physical Education, Sports and Recreation from Universidad de Carabobo in 2011.
We landed in Florida with no job and very low pay. I couldn't work because my youngest child had no school available. On December 31 of that year we relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, thanks to my sister and her husband, who welcomed us.
The crossing: from waitress to an English-language certification
Our first job in the United States was waiting tables, side by side with my husband, at a Mexican restaurant — something neither of us had ever done in our lives.
After that, I cleaned houses and cared for babies who weren't mine. And at some point in that process, I decided to study for and pass a Personal Trainer certification entirely in English. It was the first big break in the belief I had about myself: if I could pass a technical exam in a language I barely spoke, what else was possible?
In 2016 my third child was born, prematurely. We spent a month with him in the hospital. That same year I landed my first formal job with an interview in English — on the floor of a YMCA gym, tending the machines and guiding members.
The school cafeteria: the humblest way in
Soon after, I decided to enter the school system through the most accessible door I could find: the cafeteria, as a food service assistant. A physically demanding job I had never done before.
Weeks later, and just two years after arriving in the United States without speaking English, I got in as a Spanish teacher in the Shelby County public school system. I worked as a Spanish teacher in Memphis from 2016 to mid-2019.
"Educator, Latina, woman, mom... impossible." — that's what I thought in 2019, when I started looking at technology.
The cycle of doubting and trying again
For two full years, from 2019 to 2021, I went in and out of the same cycle: I'd learn a little HTML and CSS, doubt myself, stop, and try again months later.
What finally broke it wasn't feeling less afraid. It was a weekend as a volunteer at GiveCamp Memphis, in February 2021, building a website for a nonprofit. I ended up leading that two-person team. It was the first real proof that it was possible.
The bootcamp and the first remote job
In April 2021 I joined a Full Stack coding bootcamp — without leaving my full-time teaching job or stopping caring for my three children. For six months I slept from 1am to 5am: I studied and built projects before and after teaching.
At the end of September 2021 I landed my first remote job as a Software Engineer, without a formal tech degree.
What I learned
You don't need perfect credentials, the ideal moment, or to feel ready. You need a real project, however small, that proves you can. I started by serving tables without speaking English. If you're in a job today that feels like it doesn't represent you, it isn't wasted time — it's your starting point.
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