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by CourseAdvisor

Information Technology and Engineering are considered nontraditional occupations for women. CourseAdvisor is fortunate to have three women on staff who chose high-tech careers anyway. The company's editorial director asked her colleagues to discuss how they made a "nontraditional" profession work for them.

Were you ladies always interested in math, computers, or engineering?

Addie: Yes. I remember being glued to my Mac Classic from Day One.

Courtney: I was always interested in math, but didn't know much about computers or engineering when I was in high school. I had a wonderful calculus teacher in high school who inspired me to continue studying math, or perhaps biology or chemistry.

Carol: I was very interested in English and writing but I was also good at math. That, coupled with wanting to always be able to support myself, made me decide on a career in engineering. You never know what is going to happen in life and it is essential to be able to financially stand on your own. I tell my daughter that whatever she decides to do, she should position herself so she can support herself and two children, if necessary.

Did you study high-tech subjects in school?

Courtney: When I started college, I took one math course and hated it. I got a good grade, but the teacher was awful, and mean, and I didn't want to take any more math classes after that. I was also very turned off by my science classes, which were too big and impersonal. I took one computer science class but felt like I was in over my head because I hadn't grown up using computers. After trying a couple of other subjects I finally settled on a studying sociology because I had gotten very involved in community service work.

Carol: I studied computer engineering. In the higher-level courses I was the only woman. That didn't bother me because I knew I could do the work.

Addie: My major was economics. There were a few women, but we were definitely the minority.

How did you get into high-tech and Internet careers?

Carol: The Internet provided a way to have a high-tech career from home with young kids. Before that I worked at a company where I had to go into the office.

Addie: Two ways. I got interested in it when I was working on starting my own business. Then I happened to have dinner with the director of online marketing from a big e-commerce web site. She recognized my intuitive understanding of Internet technology, and what it can achieve, and encouraged me to pursue a high-tech career.

Courtney: When the WorldWideWeb was becoming popular towards the end of the 1990s, I started making web pages for fun, and then for the nonprofit organizations where I was doing internships. I eventually got hired by a graphic design firm, making web pages, though I still didn't know anything about computer programming. I wanted to learn more web-design skills so, not quite realizing that's not really what computer science is about, I decided to take a couple computer science classes. I went back to school — starting with summer school! — and spent a year taking computer science classes, which reminded me of what I had liked about math in the first place.

There was a small group of women in my first computer science classes. We kind of banded together and are friends to this day.

As women, have you felt accepted by the male colleagues in your "nontraditional" high-tech careers?

Carol: Yes. Absolutely.

Courtney: At the last company I worked for, there were about 50 engineers on staff and only three were women. Everyone was perfectly nice to me, but I never felt like I fit in there. At CourseAdvisor I feel completely accepted by my male colleagues.

Addie: Right out of school, I worked in Finance, which really is an "old boys club." I definitely felt at a disadvantage. I wouldn't get invited to several dinners and outings because they were doing "guy stuff." Since moving out of Finance into IT, I haven't had that problem.

Frankly, Information Technology still seems a little scary to some women. What is it about high-tech careers that can feel intimidating particularly to women?

Courtney: For me, it was not starting out on a level playing field. In my first computer science class, it seemed like there were many guys there that started programming as children. I barely knew how to use the computer! It was more than 10 years ago but I can still remember spending hours one day in the computer lab, trying to figure out how to do something very basic. I was afraid to ask anyone because I didn't want to look stupid.

Addie: It's kind of a vicious cycle... It's difficult for many career women to feel comfortable working with departments that are all men.

Carol: IT might be scary because it requires technical knowledge and training. But I don't think it should be any more intimidating than any other career if you have the background, education, and skills.

Could IT become a more appealing career for women? How?

Addie: I think it will happen naturally over time. That process could be expedited through making career women aware of the great opportunities in IT.

Courtney: I also think programs that get girls involved with technology at a younger age would help. I think having more career women choose to join the field would help. I've heard that boys tend to get interested in the technology itself, whereas girls tend to be more interested in how it can be applied. I don't know if this is true in general, but it's certainly true for me — I'm not that interested in computers on their own, but I became interested in using computers to make web pages, and then wanted to keep learning to do more and more.

When I went back to school, I had a lot more confidence, partly because I was older and partly because I had taught myself a lot since my discouraging experience years before. Plus, I had had a lot of fun learning those early computer skills on my own, so I wasn't so worried about looking stupid any more.

Carol: If you do get intimidated, try to know your stuff better than everyone else and have the education and training that will give you the edge. Fortunately, IT is unique in that there are a lot of online degree programs and computer courses you can take from home.

As an editor, I've had to learn some basic technical concepts for Web publishing. One day it occurred to me that learning "tech stuff" was a lot like learning to speak a new language. Once I spent enough time speaking "Internet," I became familiar with the language and became more fluent in it. Since then it hasn't seemed so daunting.

Addie: I think that's a fair statement.

Courtney: Yes, I think that's how most of my work is.

Carol: I think it was Aristotle who first said, "Practice makes perfect."

Is there any advice or insight you can offer to career women thinking about high-tech careers?

Courtney: It's smarter to ask questions than to avoid asking questions for fear of looking stupid!

Carol: There are a wide range of interesting IT jobs available. Career women should research the many options and follow their interests. After that, gain the necessary skills to get the job. Work hard and be confident in your skills and in what you bring to the job. You can do it!

Addie: IT is actually a much more creative profession than many believe it to be. IT isn't just for nerdy guys with pocket protectors anymore!

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