Oh, I don't know, let's math it. I keep hearing that women need to be twice as good to make it half as far. Sooo, 20% women in STEM x 2 x 2 (twice as good; and, multiply by two to make up for half as far) = ... 80%
I keep reading this positive stereotype about women needing to be twice as good to make it half as far, and yet this outcome would be a the natural consequence of that if assessment was to suddenly become fair. People need to better choose their 'ladies in the workplace' stereotypes methinks. Unless it's true, in which case...
Let's see, 20% Women in STEM x 2 x 2 (twice as good; and, multiply by two to make up for half as far) = ... 80%
Answering this question feels like the hardest problem I've solved yet... ;) Because, I don't know: I've never really thought "this one! THIS is the hardest!" You just iterate and things get more and more challenging as you build skills. What seemed hard to a junior tech doesn't seem hard to me as a senior tech now. It's all just engineering. It is all just sitting down, reading manuals or prior art, getting familiar with protocols or fundamentals, and building maps in your head until you understand something. Then building proofs of concepts and outlines; then, applying a bunch of troubleshooting principles; repeat until problem is solved. I've written academic papers this way, I've built streaming servers off esoteric industrial process-control database APIs, I've done process visualizations, I put a model railway online (before that was an out of the box thing)... and it's all the same: use what other people did, understand it, and then build from there.
> "That wasn't so hard. Why did it take me so long? Am I bad at this stuff?"
Hah. Always. Hindsight bias and impostor syndrome are a fun mix! I remember writing a blog suite (with comments!) in Perl in the late 90s; back then, without S.O. and other knowledge-sharing beyond some Usenet forums, inventing the wheels as we went along... it was all hard.
I coded the same thing (actually an online magazine with comments on articles, a forum, and a form for signing up for email updates), around the same time. I used classic ASP. I shudder to think of all the security holes I must have had.
You do realize that finance is one of the worst places for representation of women and is recognized as a cesspit? (http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0316/072_terminated_women....). It's wonderful that your friend has had positive experiences throughout her career.
She never said finance was sexist, only that people were rude in general. I'm not making any claims myself, only relating the experience of a colleague.
Found this sneaky advertorial for CodeCore Bootcamp, which promises to make you a software developer in only 8 weeks! 8 weeks! Sos that you can access fabulous jobs in Vancouver for the exceptionally high average salary of $50k a year! FIFTY K, PEOPLE.
So. 8 weeks? To make a software dev? A Hootsuite intern, perhaps...
I'd argue that it takes several years to develop a problem-solving toolkit, best-practices, and just enough fundamental theory to be a half-decent developer with both breadth and depth enough to write non-embarrassing, maintainable code without needing tonnes of support, feedback (which is always helpful, but particularly essential in early days), and nights spent falling asleep with K&R on your face. Whether that's in school or out, getting employable takes time: time spent doing code, and thinking about it, and talking about it. I feel like these CodeGuru guys are being misleading at best, and that article reads to me almost like satire.
@kansface It's not bad for your credit rating. A number is simply a representation of the account. The account doesn't change. It's not like getting a whole new item of credit issued. Just the means to access it.
Also, great idea. But a pain, because most of my bills - cell, internet, insurance(s), etc all go through my credit cards. Is a gigantic pain to change the numbers.
Q.E.D.