Rosemary Wilson

I initially started in computer science, which is what I studied in school, and then went into engineering roles for tech companies because I knew it was a very good skill to have and would provide me with a lot of different opportunities, financial stability, and freedom. I started working at Poshmark, which is circular fashion, and that's where I learned data engineering. Then I moved on to work for Apple as a contractor in more of a health tech focused role, where we were working with health data for the Apple Watch to improve its features there. With each of these roles, I've used the skills that I have to work in industries or on products that I'm passionate about, because I have many interests and would like to pursue multiple careers, but I'm doing the best that I can with what I have as a junior person in their career with few resources. Right now, I'm using the tech skills that I have to work close to things that I'm also passionate about, which is fashion, sustainability, and the healthcare industry. I became enthralled with entrepreneurial stories and had a role model from afar that has a podcast and a business, just a young woman who has been an entrepreneur since very early on. Once I had the freedom with making good money and control over my environment because I started living alone, I decided to use that space to host interviews with young entrepreneurs in my city. I was in San Francisco at the time and continued to do that at a consistent pace for about a year. Then my job at Apple was cut and I was laid off. Instead of immediately looking for a new job in engineering, I chose to focus on the podcast and try to generate my own income. I did that for about 6 months and started freelancing in social media and coding, basically whatever I could find that people would pay me for, because I was unable to monetize my podcast in such a short time frame. Then I got really burnt out and went to find a new job in data engineering. During that period, I was also assessing what I wanted to do and considering stepping away from coding entirely because one of the reasons I initially pursued it was because I knew it would help financially, but I did not want to limit myself to doing something that I was only interested in for money. The space away really helped with understanding that I do actually enjoy working that muscle in my brain, that technical skill set, and being an engineer. So I returned and found a job at Disney, which is where I work now, and have slowly started picking back up my podcast, which I took a pretty big break from because it was very stressful. The podcast is something that I think has the potential to have really positive impact on young women who might want a more fulfilling career or more opportunities for themselves but don't necessarily know what's available to them or don't have the transparency. I think there's a lot of success stories on social media, but it's not always the best environment in which to learn what actually is involved in being an entrepreneur or starting your own business. I really appreciate the more long-form content and getting deep into someone's background and story to help people understand the nuance involved and help them decide what's best for them, because it's supposed to be a resource that could have helped me when I was younger.