From Raising Kids to Writing Code: A Veteran’s Tech Transition

After six years in the Air Force and eight years raising her children across the United States, South Korea, and Norway with her active duty husband, Kana Pankey reentered the workforce. Her success in the tech industry resulted from hard work, a learning mindset honed through her diverse experiences in military service and full-time parenting, and support from the immersive training she received at Code Platoon.

“While I was a full-time parent, I considered many career paths for my return to work. I contemplated being a genetic counselor, audiobook narrator, photographer, and data scientist. But as a military spouse following my husband to Norway, I wasn’t in the right location to pursue these interests,” says Kana.

“In the end, software engineering fell at the intersection of my passions, abilities, and family situation. I’ve always enjoyed solving puzzles, have an engineering mindset (bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering), and could attend Code Platoon remotely—even from Norway!”

Code Platoon played a crucial role in Kana’s transition, offering a structured and intensive learning environment exclusively for Veterans and military spouses like her. The program helped Kana build the necessary skills and confidence to embark on her new career. 

“Having to learn so much so quickly helped me build confidence in my ability to be a software engineer,” she says. “My career has been an extension of Code Platoon, learning new skills one step at a time.”

After graduating from Code Platoon, Kana joined tech startup Bobsled as a junior software engineer and information security manager. Thanks to her military experience, she easily adapted to the fast-paced environment of a tech startup.

“The military believes that people rise to their level of responsibility. While in the Air Force, I was given projects without direction or much basic knowledge,” she says. “There are so many unknowns to figure out while creating software. So taking ownership of my responsibilities, figuring out how to get things done, and knowing when to ask for help have been essential skills for my software engineering career developed during my time in the military.”

A big difference between working in tech and the military is how much titles differ across companies. Unlike the military, where roles are usually defined with consistent requirements, tech jobs with the same title can vary widely in their requirements and expectations.

“I was surprised by how unstructured tech can be,” she says. “The nature of tech teams was also unexpected. When I first started, I thought software engineering would be more individual—like swimming, for example. Instead, it’s more like a team sport. Coordination and planning are crucial to ensure everyone’s work fits together—like how soccer players work together to score a goal.”

This analogy also applies to the transition Kana’s family underwent when she returned to work: “I had to change my approach from putting my needs after everyone else in the family to asking for help with family contributions.”

Today, Kana is a Hiring Our Heroes Fellow at Booz Allen Hamilton, one of Code Platoon’s corporate partners. She continues to learn and grow through on-the-job learning, conferences, joining tech organizations, and project work. Her current learning focus revolves around software engineering, cloud technologies, and AI. She’s also interested in diving into organizational behavior and leadership development.

“I enjoy learning more about what makes tech teams effective and how to create those teams. The military’s focus on leadership and team building is useful in all aspects of life, including software engineering. Eventually, I want to move into engineering leadership as a tech lead,” Kana says. 

“Beyond that, I’d like to get more involved in women and Veteran tech groups. I’ve always thought I could ‘do it alone.’ But last year, I attended a ‘Women of the Cloud’ event. During the panels, I realized how important it is to see women ahead of me on my chosen path. I plan to start volunteering with a local Women in Tech group and see where things go.”