Hey everyone,

I’m 29F and for the last ~2 years, I’ve been running operations and customer care for a local (NYC) wellness studio. My day-to-day involves living inside Mindbody handling account adjustments and client experience. Recently, I’ve been tasked with spearheading our new customer retention strategy as we onboard Attentive for SMS and email campaigns.

I am realizing I absolutely love the retention and tech side of this work and I’m trying to figure out if pivoting fully into a CRM / Lifecycle / Retention Marketing role is realistic for me.

My Background & Current Experience

• Education: Humanities / Linguistics degree.
• Experience (~2 years): Operations, handling complex account adjustments (Mindbody), and direct customer care.
• Current pivot: I am currently building out our retention touchpoints and automated campaigns from scratch using Attentive.

My Technical / Adjacent Skill Set

• Coding/Dev: Comfortable with HTML/CSS (can troubleshoot layout/rendering issues) and know basic JS fundamentals.
• UX & research: Fundamentals of UX design, user research, and customer journey mapping.
• Project management: Organized, used to managing workflows, adopting new tech tools, and cross-functional problem solving.
• EdTech/learning design: Understand user onboarding, instructional design, and how to drive product adoptability/engagement.

My Plan

I want to commit ~8 to 10 hours a week over the next months to upskill, earn platform certifications, and build out a dedicated portfolio.

My Questions for You All:

1. Is my background close enough? Given my mix of basic coding, UX, Mindbody ops, and hands-on experience deploying Attentive, am I a plausible candidate for Junior/Mid-level CRM or Lifecycle roles?
2. What should I study/certify in first? I’m looking at HubSpot and Klaviyo certifications to start. Should I focus heavily on HubSpot or e-commerce (Klaviyo)? Is learning Liquid or basic SQL worth it at this stage?
3. How is the current job market for Lifecycle/Retention? Is the field over-saturated at the entry/mid level right now, or is there genuine demand for people with a blend of technical + UX/retention skills?
4. Portfolio advice: For those who hire in this space, what actually impresses you on a portfolio?

Appreciate any honest advice and/or direction! Thanks!