Gah! I have to honestly say that I have been intimidated by men recently. This is a big statement for me because that just doesn’t happen. I don’t consider men any better with data or programming than me. The difference is the experience. But, that experience is what creates a ginormous chasm in my mind. Perhaps it isn’t really there, but I see it clearly and rather harrowing at times. I find myself doubting and wondering and second guessing myself. I know I can program and create the code and do the work. All I need is the chance. But, I haven’t been doing this for years and I have no links to scads of programs I have created on GitHub. I don’t have the app on Google Play or iTunes. I have a family with kids and have been working hard in school. Isn’t it enough that I am graduating at the top of my class and have a solid understanding of the SDLC and requirements and how to code? Aren’t I worth investing in? I think I am!
So, I am now done with classes and I am looking for a permanent technical position. I don’t want to compromise – at all. This is what I love and what I want to do. I don’t want to settle for something else because I don’t want to lose the momentum I have created through learning and pushing and testing. So, now I apply and I wait. And, I apply some more and I wait. And I learn the best type of resume and how to put my best foot forward and I wait….
Wait
Wait
Wait
It feels like empty time and space like a Beatles movie – the Yellow Submarine. You know the part, where reality gets bent and twisted and people land in a two-dimensional space only to finally land in nothingness. The echo of their voices are heard and there is no familiarity and no path to walk on and no life to live – just empty white space.
I live in that empty white space right now. And I wait….
Who am I?
So, I recently discovered that women only make up about 16% of the technical world of programmers, engineers, web designers, etc. I am part of that 16%. I am female and I love data. I love programming. I have a passion for problem solving and love to sink my teeth into anything analytical and challenging. It is just the way I am wired – perhaps even hard-wired so that it would be difficult to delineate between that portion of my personality and my essence.
What do I mean when I say I love data? I mean that I love to manipulate data, aggregate data, play around with it and figure out what to do with it. I love to analyze and create results, create databases, and I love to just program….program…program. Java is my favorite. I have learned C++ and SQL (well, technically T-SQL so that I could fluidly create queries for multiple applications). I am also mastering Excel with its formulas, dashboards, Pivot Tables, filters and various look up functions.
Data moves me and pushes me to think hard and stretch my boundaries. I consider myself a data queen because 1. I am a female in a male dominated industry, and 2. because data moves me and challenges me and thrills me and rules me all at once. I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life than working with and manipulating data. I am its queen, and yet it rules me……
dataqueen16 