One entry point, if straight-up dev work is too much, mainframe is too antiquated, and data center IT needs certs, is QA. As functional/manual QA, you have a l

One entry point, if straight-up dev work is too much, mainframe is too antiquated, and data center IT needs certs, is QA. As functional/manual QA, you have a lot of responsibility while also learning the ins and outs of software lifecycle. While she does it, she can learn QA automation. That is programming too. From there, she may have better context to determine the trajectory of her career.