Why don't all we girls just wear false beards and strap on fake penii?
Why shouldn't girls be able to act like girls and still be geeks and techs?
I don't think that boys think more of you if you 'pretend' to be one of them.
You should be able to be yourself at work, tolerated whether your a girly or a tom-boy, an effeminate male or a jock, that's what 'a non-hostile working environment' means, and what we should aspire to.
Good question. I've always thought I would like to do a degree at some point, my mother got hers at 43, but I think that actually taking three years off work is now out of the question.
To be honest, I don't think that qualifications count for much when you are older. The story from a lot of late starters seems to be that the qualifications didn't open the doors they expected.
If I were you I would try trading on already established skills whilst angling to gain new ones. If I had experience in a scientific field (I wish!) I would probably look at the hybrid IT roles and try to find a path in that way - don't know what scientific branch you were in but there seem to be a lot of relatively new fields, such as bio-infomatics, that are requiring quite a mix of skills. I might scan the New Scientist job ads and write to some of the companies on spec, show them a resume and ask them what skills or qualifications they would recommend acquiring. For the cost of a few stamps you might get some advice at least.
And you can teach yourself to code at any age, if you want to. There are massive repositories of information online, get stuck in and find out how to use all that knowledge. If the industry is where you want to be, then read industry magazines religiously, learn it's history, traipse around trade shows.
I think that it will require a ton of work on your part, and that a lot will depend on your self-discipline, will-power, self-confidence, presentation and ability to take knocks. The Industry can be hard and unfeeling to people of every age, as no doubt you have read here. You will also have to ignore your age in order that others will ignore it.
But don't just get into computing for the sake of it, get into something you like!
As someone of the same gender, but much older, I must say, that my early years in IT were blessed with some truly excellent male colleagues/drinking partners who willingly shared a lot of rounds and technical knowledge. Such men have gotten rarer, though I know they are not extinct.
Most of the old breed of IT males that I knew had a pioneering attitude and despised illogical barriers, thus they were more accepting of anything new - like a young woman joining their ranks. They were not possessive and jealous and IT didn't have as much status. They were the real creative types.
Now I keep meeting the type of IT male that is a young blinkered advocate of some technology or other and so full of their own self-importance that no-one can teach them anything.
By far the most dangerous is the quiet, polite, corporate type - often harbouring psychopathic tendencies. Avoid suits of all genders.
Be feisty, stay gutsy, love what you do, ignore trolls and you'll go far.
I filed an enquiry form and they eventually admitted that the goods went missing in their care. Too much hassle to collect the pittance in compo though, at least the goods weren't valuable.
In 20 years of sending stuff home nothing else has ever gone missing from anywhere.
Sorry, but lots of similar stories from mates about the US Post.
The USPS stole/lost all the gifts I posted home to rellies in Oz on my first visit there, I was broke at the time, so I'm not laughing. I've never sent snail-mail from the US again.
The Competition is for the most creative short film obtained via the Data Protection Act. The subject matter and content are entirely up to you.
You can send the video to us in any format and it can be of any length. The judgement will be made more on what the content is rather than who you obtained the video from. Keep proof that you used the Data Protection Act to obtain the footage.
Mr Jonathan Ross of Film2001 has agreed to judge and award the prize, and Mr Mark Thomas is donating £500 Prize to the lucky winner!!
Entries need to be sent to CCTV Competition, Vera Productions at the below address, however it might be a good idea if you write and tell us that you are intending to enter so that we can register you in. Give us an idea of what you are up to.
Good luck!
CCTV Competition,
Vera Productions Ltd,
Third Floor,
66-68 Margaret St,
LONDON,
W1W 8SR
Being at a convent school in Oz in the mid-70's meant that I didn't do any tech subject at all.
The nuns forced us to take compulsory classes in dish-washing/ironing etc..
I got to 6th form college and work experience cropped-up. We were told we had a choice between teaching and nursing.
I really, really HATED school, and to this day would not spit on a burning nun.
But I had a Math teacher, Miss Stanford, who one day announced that she was veering from the curriculum and that we would learn something she felt could be important to us in the future. She managed to speed us through our proscribed Math so quickly that she had a whole 3 lessons spare in which she taught us some Fortran. She also spent extra time drumming in binary/hex etc..
Nonetheless, I was guided by the nuns into high units of Art and English, which I also liked and was good at, but I lost my faith in the education system along the way and did not take up a place at University.
I wasted 10 years after high school working in various *creative* media jobs (no degree required in those days) before I got a commercial programming job. I taught-myself code using small cheap consoles hooked up to my TV, got on a training course then got an *apprenticeship* in a small software house and for the last ten years haven't contemplated doing anything else.
Almost identical situation for me a year ago, big 5, constructive dismissal etc. They paid, even the legal fees. I got a deposit for my flat.
And as for the comments from other about how bad it feels to be fired, I second that. I was very depressed after being fired, and quite angry, even with the nice little vacation at the end. Being fired from a big, respected company makes you feel like shit, even if you can rationalise how it is mostly their fault. If I could play corporate politics better, I probably would have been more alert to the deteriorating situation and avoided it. But I'm an engineer and a geek, and politics doesn't interest me, I leave that to the PHBs.
You've summed it up nicely.
Luckily for me it wasn't the first time. I took a few precautions, and here's a few tips:
Keep a journal.
Audit your job on a daily basis.
Forward your mail home.
File everything.
Play the game.
Slashdot Mirror
Why don't all we girls just wear false beards and strap on fake penii?
Why shouldn't girls be able to act like girls and still be geeks and techs?
I don't think that boys think more of you if you 'pretend' to be one of them.
You should be able to be yourself at work, tolerated whether your a girly or a tom-boy, an effeminate male or a jock, that's what 'a non-hostile working environment' means, and what we should aspire to.
Good question. I've always thought I would like to do a degree at some point, my mother got hers at 43, but I think that actually taking three years off work is now out of the question.
To be honest, I don't think that qualifications count for much when you are older. The story from a lot of late starters seems to be that the qualifications didn't open the doors they expected.
If I were you I would try trading on already established skills whilst angling to gain new ones. If I had experience in a scientific field (I wish!) I would probably look at the hybrid IT roles and try to find a path in that way - don't know what scientific branch you were in but there seem to be a lot of relatively new fields, such as bio-infomatics, that are requiring quite a mix of skills. I might scan the New Scientist job ads and write to some of the companies on spec, show them a resume and ask them what skills or qualifications they would recommend acquiring. For the cost of a few stamps you might get some advice at least.
And you can teach yourself to code at any age, if you want to. There are massive repositories of information online, get stuck in and find out how to use all that knowledge. If the industry is where you want to be, then read industry magazines religiously, learn it's history, traipse around trade shows. I think that it will require a ton of work on your part, and that a lot will depend on your self-discipline, will-power, self-confidence, presentation and ability to take knocks. The Industry can be hard and unfeeling to people of every age, as no doubt you have read here. You will also have to ignore your age in order that others will ignore it.
But don't just get into computing for the sake of it, get into something you like!
I don't think I'm very inspiring but Grace Murray Hopper was.
As someone of the same gender, but much older, I must say, that my early years in IT were blessed with some truly excellent male colleagues/drinking partners who willingly shared a lot of rounds and technical knowledge. Such men have gotten rarer, though I know they are not extinct.
Most of the old breed of IT males that I knew had a pioneering attitude and despised illogical barriers, thus they were more accepting of anything new - like a young woman joining their ranks. They were not possessive and jealous and IT didn't have as much status. They were the real creative types.
Now I keep meeting the type of IT male that is a young blinkered advocate of some technology or other and so full of their own self-importance that no-one can teach them anything.
By far the most dangerous is the quiet, polite, corporate type - often harbouring psychopathic tendencies. Avoid suits of all genders.
Be feisty, stay gutsy, love what you do, ignore trolls and you'll go far.
I filed an enquiry form and they eventually admitted that the goods went missing in their care. Too much hassle to collect the pittance in compo though, at least the goods weren't valuable.
In 20 years of sending stuff home nothing else has ever gone missing from anywhere.
Sorry, but lots of similar stories from mates about the US Post.
A rather cheap and juvenile piece, I thought.
... "reliable" did you call it?!
The USPS stole/lost all the gifts I posted home to rellies in Oz on my first visit there, I was broke at the time, so I'm not laughing. I've never sent snail-mail from the US again.
Cough, splutter
Brought to you by The Mark Thomas Comedy Product, Channel 4 in the UK:
"CCTV Competition
The Competition is for the most creative short film obtained via the Data Protection Act. The subject matter and content are entirely up to you.
You can send the video to us in any format and it can be of any length. The judgement will be made more on what the content is rather than who you obtained the video from. Keep proof that you used the Data Protection Act to obtain the footage.
Mr Jonathan Ross of Film2001 has agreed to judge and award the prize, and Mr Mark Thomas is donating £500 Prize to the lucky winner!!
Entries need to be sent to CCTV Competition, Vera Productions at the below address, however it might be a good idea if you write and tell us that you are intending to enter so that we can register you in. Give us an idea of what you are up to.
Good luck!
CCTV Competition, Vera Productions Ltd, Third Floor, 66-68 Margaret St, LONDON, W1W 8SR
Or you can email us at theproduct@channel4.com"
sig sig sputnik
Being at a convent school in Oz in the mid-70's meant that I didn't do any tech subject at all.
The nuns forced us to take compulsory classes in dish-washing/ironing etc..
I got to 6th form college and work experience cropped-up. We were told we had a choice between teaching and nursing.
I really, really HATED school, and to this day would not spit on a burning nun.
But I had a Math teacher, Miss Stanford, who one day announced that she was veering from the curriculum and that we would learn something she felt could be important to us in the future. She managed to speed us through our proscribed Math so quickly that she had a whole 3 lessons spare in which she taught us some Fortran. She also spent extra time drumming in binary/hex etc..
Nonetheless, I was guided by the nuns into high units of Art and English, which I also liked and was good at, but I lost my faith in the education system along the way and did not take up a place at University.
I wasted 10 years after high school working in various *creative* media jobs (no degree required in those days) before I got a commercial programming job. I taught-myself code using small cheap consoles hooked up to my TV, got on a training course then got an *apprenticeship* in a small software house and for the last ten years haven't contemplated doing anything else.
One of the 8% of women programmers in the UK.
Almost identical situation for me a year ago, big 5, constructive dismissal etc. They paid, even the legal fees. I got a deposit for my flat.
And as for the comments from other about how bad it feels to be fired, I second that. I was very depressed after being fired, and quite angry, even with the nice little vacation at the end. Being fired from a big, respected company makes you feel like shit, even if you can rationalise how it is mostly their fault. If I could play corporate politics better, I probably would have been more alert to the deteriorating situation and avoided it. But I'm an engineer and a geek, and politics doesn't interest me, I leave that to the PHBs.
You've summed it up nicely.
Luckily for me it wasn't the first time. I took a few precautions, and here's a few tips:
Keep a journal.
Audit your job on a daily basis.
Forward your mail home.
File everything.
Play the game.
Ms Marple