“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been because for the first time in my professional life I feel fully focused,” says Jennifer Mordi, 31, smiling broadly and clutching a cup of tea. “I know exactly where I’m going and where I want to end up.”

A mother of two young children, Mordi’s career path has been far from linear. Starting out in the world of media production (working on shows such as Penny Dreadful and Call The Midwife) she’s now studying for a Master’s in law while completing a Google Career Certificate in Cybersecurity.

As part of The Big Upskill – a campaign we’ve launched with Google to equip more women with the digital skills they need to pivot their career or re-enter the workforce – we spoke to Mordi about her journey, and how motherhood has made her rethink her professional future…

“I graduated in 2013 from university with a media production degree, and almost immediately started working with Neal Street Productions. 

While this was incredibly exciting for me as a new graduate, I had some doubts about whether this was the right career for me. I loved the media world, but truthfully, the job was making me chronically ill. 

I have really bad asthma and it’s exacerbated by factors such as lack of rest or eating poorly – ie, long working days and grabbing bad food from catering tables. So, I made the decision to step back and take some time to figure out what I wanted to do.

It was during this period of professional ‘time-out’ that I started thinking about how I could combine my media experience with a legal qualification. I always had a natural flair for law. A lot of my family have legal careers, but when you’re a teenager you want to carve your own path rather than follow in the footsteps of your parents. 

But, you only have to look at the news to see that good counsel is essential in today’s entertainment industry – by re-training as a solicitor in media and entertainment law, I knew I could pivot my existing experience into an area that offered huge growth and career potential.

However, everything changed when I fell pregnant in 2018. I had my daughter, then had my son shortly after in 2020. My dreams had been put on hold, but I was so happy to be a mother.”

“Finally, in January of 2023 I started a Masters in Law Conversion, and in two years I’ll be qualified. However, I’m aware that upskilling will help me further specialise once I graduate  – this is what prompted me to enrol in the Google Career Certificate in Cybersecurity.

To be honest, at first I had no idea what cybersecurity was, but I knew it would be important in relation to media law. Social media has become a minefield for celebrities, so knowing how to confidently advise clients in areas such as hacking or data protection will be invaluable. 

Plus in-depth knowledge in areas such as GDPR is crucial for a lawyer (in any field) to help protect a client’s personal information. With each module I complete, I feel more and more confident about how these digital skills will set me above other legal graduates when the time comes for me to fully re-enter the workforce.

I’m not going to lie, juggling these two areas of study can be challenging, especially with two small children, but thankfully, the Google Career Certificate is great because its flexibility allows me to study in my own time, and at my own pace.

I also love the fact that I get to learn from people who work at Google. Employees chat through their experiences with cybersecurity via video clips, and offer their advice when tackling situations within this field. 

Plus, there’s also the opportunity to share your learnings and questions with other students taking the course through an online community portal. Just knowing that peer support is there has been so helpful.”

“Having children has definitely prompted me to make this career change. Every day I want to show them that I can achieve all these amazing things, no matter how old I am. 

Being a mother has also been enlightening for me in the fact that I have retrained my focus to aim higher. Quite often, children can blur the lines. Your existence becomes all about their welfare and this can lead to your own dreams becoming lost in the process.

I’m looking forward to what’s next. In the short term, receiving this Google Career Certificate is just one way I’m boosting my career with the long term in mind. I feel like whatever your situation, whether that’s returning to work after having children or simply getting a business idea off the ground, these courses are incredibly beneficial. The dream is to one day have my own consultancy or law firm, and this Google Career Certificate will have played a big part in that.

My advice for women out there who might be having a bit of a career crisis is to just take a step back. It’s OK to make mistakes in your professional life – believe me, I’ve made many – what’s important is to not feel like a failure because you haven’t accomplished something within a certain timeframe. 

Equally, don’t ever feel obliged to complete something – whether that’s a course, degree or job position – because other people have. Everybody’s journey is different.” 

Offering flexible online training programmes to help more women learn job-ready skills in high-growth, high-demand careers, Google Career Certificates are ideal for those looking to upskill in their own time. Available via Coursera, as well as via free scholarships through selected partners, simply click here to find the right Google Career Certificate for you.