Lea Verou wrote an awesome article (thank you so much for putting all of that positivity out there!) What started as a comment in reply is now this article.
I would have loved for Lea’s message to reach me earlier. I felt intimidated by a career in tech and the well publicized uphill battle that plagues this industry. I also received the subtle yet pervasive message that someone like me was ‘best suited’ for a nurturing, artistic path. With a current so strong, is it any wonder that I spent years teaching art before I found my way back to the work that I was meant to do?
I was lucky, I ended up being great at teaching. I graduated from college and started teaching a single design class at a non-profit. By 25, I took on the role of Art Director. At 27 I shifted my role to Creative Development Director, meaning I taught, I raised funds by running a community art education program on the side, I started four summer camps, represented the faculty on the board, and attended graduate school in the evenings.
Despite having achieved so much, I never felt content with my work because it just wasn’t my passion. I looked on longingly as I watched friends grow their tech careers. I had no doubt that they would have encouraged me if they knew how badly I envied them, but by then I had internalized the message that I wouldn’t make it in tech, and kept my ambitions to myself. I felt left out, and I didn’t know how to join in, but how could I? I had been fed way too much misinformation and made many wrong assumptions.
These things only seem simple and obvious in retrospect. When I knew I had to switch careers, I wrote an article about the experience. Deciding to become a developer felt very similar to deciding to go to a party I wasn’t invited to, full of people I didn’t know, alone. It might as well have been high school all over again which, in retrospect, was also simple.
What fears were warranted, and which were imaginary?
Fears: It’s lonely. You’ll be isolated, spending all your hours staring at computers, so if you’re a people person, you should keep out.
Reality: Collaboration, networking, and people are at the heart of tech. I felt much more isolated and lonely as a teacher.
Fears: It’s hard and you’ll never learn enough to catch up or keep up.
Reality: Sure, it’s hard, but so are most things worth doing. It’s only “too hard” if you don’t actually have an interest in what you’re trying to do. For me, working in tech is profoundly more interesting and less stressful than teaching. Plus, I think that embracing a ‘student’ mentality is one of the most important things you can have, and I love that tech encourages that.
Fears: It’s not creative. Creative people should do something else.
Reality: Developers work with ideas — some are made visual, others live in the abstract. Take this artist’s word for it, writing code is no less creative than painting. I feel like I am living my own personal Renaissance when I work on the infinite canvas that is the internet. I feel more creative now than ever.
Fears: Tech is a private party and I won’t belong.
Reality: Assholes exist in every industry, and tech is not immune. But, I never felt treated like I wasn’t wanted there because of my gender or background. I have only ever felt welcomed.
It’s worth stating that the only uncomfortable situations I have encountered were a direct result of individuals being isolated in a homogenous environment for too long, and were resolved with a little bit of good old communication and patience. This phenomenon is not unique to tech — I spent years on the other side of the gender ratio — the teaching field is profoundly dominated by women. The message to men aspiring to teach is quite similar to the one women might hear in tech — it is an uphill battle and the field is meant for the other sex. It’s an interesting feature of our human psychology : homogenous populations tend to reinforce and intensify a narrow set of beliefs in individuals, and that is rarely (if ever) a good thing. I truly mean it when I say diversity is important. It’s good for students to have teachers of all backgrounds, and it’s good for tech to have people with all backgrounds.
The point of this list is that I didn’t know what it was going to be like until I did it. Of course, this is just my experience — but I have had an absolutely wonderful time. The community is awesome, and I can’t help but be optimistic about the future. I love what I do, and I love encouraging others to do it too.
If my words help anyone get the courage to join the party and jump into tech, this post will have done its job.
