Today we’d like to introduce you to Mikaylah Mccarty
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hi! I’m Mikaylah McCarty, a Scrum Master at Universal Destination & Experiences, as well as a Scrum Master Mentor and Tech Entry Coach.
My journey began in 2018 during a break from work at Starbucks. I was doing my homework when two casual businessmen approached me (in a non-creepy way) and asked what I wanted to do after graduating college. I confidently said, “I want to be a technical project manager,” even though I had just read about it on Google 30 minutes earlier. I picked “technical” because I needed a good-paying job after graduation and thought, “How hard can it be?”
As fate would have it, one of those strangers owned a tech startup and was looking for a student to apprentice as a Scrum Master. He asked me to send him my resume, to which I replied, “Scrum…what?” I didn’t know anything about tech, building software, or managing a team of developers. But the CEO looked me in the eye and said, “If you’re willing to learn, I am willing to teach you.”
That was the start of my journey into the tech world. As a Scrum Master apprentice, I learned from expert mentors who pushed me to grow every day. I became a sponge, soaking up knowledge from back office work, fetching lunch, and handling payroll, to testing software and running Scrum teams. I learned so much during my time as a Scrum Master apprentice, and the best piece of advice my boss drilled into us every day was, “Here, nothing is ever not your job.” That advice still rings true in most startup cultures today.
Two and a half years later, our largest client bought the software company, and I transitioned to running enterprise-level Scrum teams. I was trained as a SAFe Practitioner and helped manage and deliver large medical software solutions to the state of Colorado. In 2020, COVID hit, and we switched to remote work. I found myself working from my kitchen table as the world shut down. That was the first time I realized how privileged I was to work for a tech company that allowed me to continue working from my kitchen table.
A year later, I decided it was time for a change and started applying for jobs. While job hunting, I downloaded TikTok and searched for Scrum content for fun. I saw a lot of content I didn’t relate to and noticed no one looked like me. So, I started posting my own videos talking about Scrum and my experience as a woman in tech. One morning, I woke up to find one of my videos had reached almost 100k views. I was shocked! People were interested in learning about Scrum and transitioning into tech. I kept posting, and my platform grew organically, along with my Scrum Master mentoring and coaching program. My goal is to empower, educate, and help people overcome their fear of the unknown in the tech world, just as I did at Starbucks.
My coaching is my passion project, second only to my career at Universal. There, I’ve had the exciting opportunity to help spearhead the Agile transformation of the Digital Production and Program Management department. Much of my coaching and mentorship is based on what I’ve learned and continue to learn as a full-time working Scrum Master.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a young woman in tech often means navigating an industry where gender biases can still affect opportunities and career progression. Balancing the need to prove technical expertise while facing subtle discrimination or underestimation can create added pressure. The lack of visible female mentors and leaders can also make it harder to find support, but I am so thankful for my job at Universal, where I’ve had the opportunity to learn from strong female leadership and connect with incredible mentors who have guided my growth.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Scrum Master in the Digital Production & Program Management department at Universal Destinations and Experiences, and a proud graduate of the University of Central Florida, where I studied Business Management and Leadership. Leading Universal’s first marketing operations Scrum team, I helped lay the foundation for an Agile transformation, resulting in the creation of 8+ Agile production teams with a scalable approach for new team spin-ups. What sets me apart is my passion for giving back, having coached over 50 women to break into the tech industry as Scrum Masters, driven by my heart to pay it forward.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love Orlando because it’s my home, where my family, career, and friends are all rooted, offering endless fun and opportunities that make it the perfect place to live and grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mikaylahmccarty.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikaylahmccarty/
