Changing careers into tech? Bring proof.

Many tech roles no longer ask for a degree, but without one you need another way to show what you can do. Build it on Lemma: assessments, live sessions with practitioners and the projects you ship become dated evidence on a Skills Passport.

How evidence is evaluated

Painting of an alpine lake beneath snowy peaks, with yellow wildflowers on the shore

A certificate shows you finished. Evidence shows what you can do.

Hiring still leans on titles and credentials, and both describe your past. When you are new to a field, the most relevant thing about you is what you can do now, and that is the hardest part to show.

A Skills Passport keeps a separate record for each skill. Every record names its evidence, its source and the date it was demonstrated, so a reviewer can follow a skill back to the work. Read how this compares with certifications.

Data analysis course

Certificate of completion · 3 Mar

Claimed

Shows the course was finished. Adds nothing to SQL until evidence is attached.

SQL · evidenceSCI 61

Skill assessment · level 6.8
21 questions · integrity clean · 14 Apr
Proof+8.0
Session with Ines G.
60 min · rated 5 · 20 May
Practice+5.0
retail-sales-dashboard
GitHub · ownership confirmed · 30 Jun
Proof+3.0

Each entry names its source and the date it was demonstrated

Two starting points, one problem.

Whether you are changing field or just finished a course, you have the skills and no track record a stranger can check.

Elena V. · Passport

From teaching

Curriculum design
13 evidenceSCI 71
Public speaking
10 evidenceSCI 63
Stakeholder work
4 evidenceSCI 48

New: data analysis

SQL
9 evidenceSCI 61
Python
3 evidenceSCI 31
Data visualisation
2 evidenceSCI 22

Switching careers

You have years of work behind you, just not in this field. The job title on your CV does not match the role, so it gets filtered out before anyone sees what you can do.

Show the new skill directly, without a matching title
Keep evidence for the skills you bring from your last career
Let a reviewer see how quickly you are progressing

Frontend development · record

Web development bootcamp
Certificate · added 14 Mar
Certificate
Assessment · level 6.8
Passed · 19 questions · 2 Apr
After course
Capstone: recipe-planner
GitHub · owner confirmed · 9 May
Linked

Graduating from a bootcamp or degree

Your certificate says you finished the programme. So do the certificates of everyone else in your cohort, and a reviewer cannot tell from it which of you can do the job.

Add your certificate, then show the skills behind it
Turn capstone and portfolio projects into linked evidence
Keep building the record after the course ends

Building a record from where you are

There is no prerequisite and no fixed timeline. Each step adds evidence the next one builds on.

Choose the skills your target role needs

Pick them from the skill catalogue, including skills you already have from your last career or course.

Set a baseline with an assessment

An adaptive assessment places you at a level. A modest first result is fine: it is the starting point a reviewer will compare against.

Practise in live sessions

Work through real problems with practitioners in live sessions. Completed sessions are recorded as evidence for the skill you practised.

Ship something and connect it

Link the projects you build, from course capstones to your own work, so each skill points to something real.

Share your Passport with applications

Send a link alongside your CV. A reviewer sees the skills you chose to publish and the evidence behind each one.

SQL · SCI over time

61+61 since Mar

MarAprMayJunJulAugSepOct

Skill assessment passed · level 6.814 Apr+8.0
GitHub repo verified · retail-sales-dashboard30 Jun+3.0
Session with Ines G. · rated 58 Oct+5.0

Support while you learn

AI tutor · SQL

Exercise 4 of 6

Return each customer's most recent order date.

SELECT customer_id,
  MAX(ordered_at)
FROM orders
GROUP BY customer_id;

Passed · 3 of 3 checks

SQL · skill record

Dated entries, newest first

Tutor exercise
Passed today
New+1.0
Session with Ines G.
8 Oct
+5.0
Skill assessment · level 6.8
14 Apr
+8.0

Tutor practice3 of 5 max

AI tutor between sessions

Practise with the AI tutor when no session is booked. It works through exercises with you and adapts to the gaps it finds.

Progress you can show

Records keep their dates, so your Passport shows how a skill developed over time, not just where it stands today.

Teach what you already know

Your previous field is worth something. Teach it in sessions, earn Lemma Credits, and spend them learning the new one.

Practitioners, not only instructors

Sessions put you in front of people who use the skill at work, which is the closest thing to the job before you have it.

Turn the course into proof

Your course taught the skill; now show it. Take the skill's adaptive assessment, connect the projects you built and practise with the AI tutor, and the record shows what the course left you able to do.

One record across fields

Old and new skills sit on the same Passport, so a reviewer sees the whole person rather than a beginner in one subject.

Questions from switchers and graduates

Can you get a tech job without a degree?

Many tech roles are open to people without a degree, but you need another way to show you can do the work. Hiring managers look for evidence: projects you built, results on a skills test and how you work with others. A Skills Passport keeps that evidence in one record you can share with each application.

How do I show skills on a resume without experience in the field?

List the skill, then point to evidence for it: a project link, an assessment result or a session rated by the practitioner you worked with. Add your Skills Passport link to the resume so a reviewer can open each skill and see the dated records behind it, instead of taking the line on trust.

Can I build a Passport with no professional experience in the new field?

Yes. Assessments, live sessions and projects do not depend on job titles. A skill record shows what you demonstrated and when, wherever you learned it.

How does a Skills Passport relate to my bootcamp or degree certificate?

Keep the certificate. It shows that you completed a programme. The Passport adds evidence for individual skills: assessment results, sessions rated by the practitioners you worked with and the projects you built after the course.

What if my first results in the new field are low?

That is normal and it is useful. Every record is dated, so a reviewer can see where you started and how the skill developed as you added assessments, sessions and projects.

Do skills from my previous career count?

Yes. Many switchers already have skills the new role needs, such as analysis, writing or stakeholder work. Add evidence for those too, so your Passport shows the whole person rather than only the new skill.

Plan your next step

Browse the skill catalogueSee how each skill is defined and what evidence supports it.The AI tutorHow the tutor fills gaps between live sessions.Live sessionsHow sessions are booked, run and recorded as evidence.Are certifications worth it?What a course certificate shows a hiring manager, and what dated evidence adds.Lemma and LinkedInEndorsements and profile skills compared with evidence you can open.Adaptive skills assessmentsSet a baseline in the skill your target role needs, then retake to show progress.

Start the record now, not after the job offer.

Lemma is opening access gradually. Join the list and we will invite you as places open.