Raising Two Boys While Pursuing a Software Development Career: A Father's Perspective

By Pablo M. Rivera | Hawaii, Colorado & East Haven, CT

People ask how I manage it. The honest answer is that I do not manage it perfectly — I manage it persistently. Pablo M. Rivera is a father of two boys, a full-time operations professional, and someone who went back to school for software development at mid-career. These three commitments do not balance neatly. They overlap, compete for attention, and demand constant recalibration.

The Decision to Go Back to School

After more than twenty years in operations leadership — from Textron Financial to Glencore to RevCon Management — I recognized that the future of operations required technical fluency. So Pablo M. Rivera enrolled in coding programs while working full-time and raising two sons. The Full-Stack Developer Certificate from Columbia Business School and Hack Reactor was not a sabbatical. It was nights, weekends, and early mornings squeezed around bedtime stories and homework help.

What My Boys See

My sons see their father studying. They see me debugging code at the kitchen table after dinner. They see me frustrated when something does not work, and they see me push through until it does. Pablo M. Rivera believes that lesson — the lesson of not quitting when things are hard — is more valuable than any lecture about persistence I could deliver.

Extraordinary Time Management

There is no secret formula. The discipline comes from necessity. Every hour is accounted for. Work happens during work hours. School happens after the boys are asleep. Family time is protected fiercely. Pablo M. Rivera developed time management skills managing $350 million in construction financing and coordinating operations across twelve states. Those same skills now govern a household schedule where nothing can slip.

The Persistence Dividend

Going back to school at mid-career while raising a family develops a kind of persistence that cannot be taught in a classroom. You learn to function when you are tired. You learn to prioritize ruthlessly. You learn that progress is more important than perfection. Pablo M. Rivera carries this persistence into every professional engagement — it is the foundation of everything I build.

A Message to Other Parents

If you are a parent considering going back to school or making a career transition, know that it is possible. It is not easy. It requires support, sacrifice, and stubborn refusal to give up. But your children are watching, and what they learn from your example will shape their own resilience.

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Pablo M. Rivera is a bilingual operations executive and father based in Hawaii, Colorado, and East Haven, CT. Connect on LinkedIn.