Here are a number of assumptions that I have encountered so far:
- Young women don’t think IT careers are cool, and still imagine the industry to be populated with uncool ‘geeks’ and ‘nerds’.
- High schools struggle to present up to date, interesting IT classes and fail to engage the interest of young women.
- Women want creativity and meaningful human interaction in their work, and they don’t feel that IT careers provide either.
- Women enjoy using gadgets (eg mobile phones) but are not interested in the technology behind them.
These seem fairly reasonable, and widely held theories, but while so few people in education really know what women find rewarding or off-putting about IT careers, and while they base their recruitment drives on assumption it is no surprise there are so few ladies entering IT careers.
1. I'm pretty sure the stereotype of geeks and nerds being uncool is outdated by at least a decade if not two. It's a bit hard for women to visualize though, because there's not really a geek girl image in popular culture yet. We know what a startup-millionaire geek guy or a badass male hacker looks like, but we're less sure on what their female counterparts would look like or how they would act. Heck, I don't even know what the IT dress code for women is supposed to be since I'm usually the only woman on my team. I usually just make it up as I go along.
ReplyDelete2. True, at least in the US. Anyone with both decent IT skills and decent social skills can probably make at least two or three times more in industry than they could working for a school.
3. IT jobs are typically quite creative, though it is mostly creative problem solving, which probably isn't what most people mean by "creative." Most IT work is team work, so there's usually a good deal of meaningful coworker interaction which is usually refreshingly gossip-free and non-personal. Different positions in IT have varying levels of interaction with the general public.
4. It is really strange to assume these two things are related. If you like to watch TV, does it follow that you'd like the activity of hooking up a TV to a surround sound system, then connecting a cable box, a DVR, a DVD player, a Wii, and a PS3, assemble a TV stand to hold all your gizmos, and finally figure out how to make the whole thing work with only one remote control?
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What I find rewarding:
1. Flexible and/or unconventional schedules. Want to work from home? IT is probably one of the easier fields to arrange this. Want to work four 10 hour days? not all that uncommon in IT. Nightshift? no problem. Want to travel extensively? be an IT consultant. The downside of this is that being oncall is almost ubiquitous in most areas of IT.
2. Job hopping. In IT, you can temp and job-hop without having to worry about messing up your career (as long as your skills are good). If you get bored easily and need constant change to stay mentally stimulated, IT can be a good fit. However there's plenty of IT jobs that are very stable when you want to settle down.
3. The money. IT is a typically a well-paying job with decent demand in any major city.
4. The free technology. Many companies will pay for your cell phone, laptop, and internet access. If you travel frequently, your meals and lodging will likely be paid as well.
5. The guys. Being constantly surrounded by smart, well-paid men is not all bad. ;) At least if you know how to pick your working environment.
6. The problem solving. There's nothing better than finally finding a work environment where there's not a lot of red tape and they just let you fix things. Problem solving gives me an unmatchable high.
7. Introvert friendly. Not the most outgoing or empathic person? No one in IT will think you're weird for it.
8. Casual work environment. This is probably more common in IT than any other field.