Profile

Creating computer solutions by planning what it will take to do the project to which I am assigned, typing computer code, attending meetings, reading and discussing current events in this field with coworkers.

Log in to my computer, either in the office or from home, around 8 a.m. I check my schedule for the day, read email and resolve any immediate problems, like downloading Windows updates or installing new software. I refresh myself on what I was doing the day before, or start getting familiar with a new project. I spend a lot of time writing code and testing. I take breaks to stretch my mind or body as needed I listen to music privately and have snacks as desired.

• Planning: The ability to understand a problem and then think of some solutions. Make a plan and organize your time.
• Technical skills: Knowing computer programming languages and know which one(s) to use in a particular situation.
• Testing: The ability to determine if your solution achieved the desired result and/or caused unintended problems. Test and fix problems until satisfied.
• Empathy: Understanding what the end user really wants and needs.

Usually from approximately 8-5, with a lunch hour in there somewhere. I have vacation time and holiday breaks.

Generally speaking – corporate environment in a nice office building setting. I work as one of several developers in a room generally in cubicles. It is generally a casual, layed back environment. I spend approximately 25% of my time collaborating with others and utilizing creative skills to solve problems. One perk you generally receive as a software developer is that you work on the best equipment – you generally receive the best, fastest computers with large monitors.

No.

Solving the problems. Every project is like a big puzzle. Most of the time no one looks over my shoulder. My hours are somewhat flexible but I have to be responsible for getting the job done well. I am treated with respect.

Most of my coworkers are younger men. They treat me very well but socially it feels kind of isolated sometimes. Also, there are always new developments in the field of computer programming and I have to keep current on a lot of things.

Women who overcame obstacles to do something meaningful, such as Harriet Beecher Stowe who wrote to help support her family financially, and wrote the great anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin when she was 41 and had 5 children. Jane Austen, who refused to conform to the expected behavior of women and marry someone she didn’t love, so she wrote great books to support herself as a single woman. Nola Ochs who graduated from college at age 95. Grandma Moses who began her successful painting career when she was in her seventies. Marie Curie, who didn’t care that people thought her odd for being smart and socially inept, who won 2 Nobel Prizes.

My mother, who was so smart she skipped the 3rd grade and received a scholarship to college in about 1946 but could not attend because of gasoline rationing from WWII. I didn’t want anything to stand in my way. The boss I had who introduced me to and encouraged me in the computer field. The many teachers who encouraged me to go far. Strong women who have found success late in life.

Give it a try. If you make a mistake I can fix it (my boss who introduced me to computers).

It’s a tie, sort of.

1. Go to secretarial school in case your husband dies. (my father)
2. Don’t bother going to college because you will just go to BYU and get married. (my high school counselor)

Try lots of different things. Don’t just do what your friends are doing or what your mother did, although you may end up choosing to do one of those things in the end. Be proud of what you can do, never ashamed of your abilities. In college no one makes fun of you for doing well in class. There are many areas of interest you probably don’t know about, so look around and ask older people. They had to go through this process too.

Take advantage of a scholarship I was offered even though it was at a university I didn’t want to attend. I would have had a free education 20 years earlier than I did. College is really just a short period of time in life, and it would not have hurt me to spend a few years at a place that was not my first choice, in order to have the rest of my life be better.

In high school I liked math and science so I took many classes in those subjects. Not knowing for sure what I wanted to study in college, I tried studying nursing, but didn’t like it. I went to work as a general office helper but took every opportunity to learn things on the job. My boss offered to pay for me to take business classes at a nearby college, and he offered to show me the computer program he was using to automate our office work. Eventually I took over the input of computer data and the customization of the program, and then started writing spreadsheets to automate our payroll process. I took every business and computer class I could fit into my work schedule. Eventually I realized how much I liked the computer field and after 22 years of attending college part time I graduated in IS&T.

After being exposed to Information Technology “on the job”, I found I really liked it. I really liked that I could take something as raw as math and create a really useable thing. I thought writing code was cool and I loved the creativity of being able to do an entire accounting function in 2 lines of code.

Getting an education while working and having a family. Being a woman has never seemed to be an obstacle, but being older definitely has. Start young!

I am a middle child who went to school in Indiana and Virginia where I received a diverse education among a diverse population of students. As a student, I had neither the highest nor lowest achievements. I spent as much time playing trucks with my brother as I did playing dolls with my sisters. My parents were very supportive of my school efforts. My mother especially encouraged me to go to college and tried to get me to go to BYU, even getting a scholarship for me. I had wanted to study Modern Dance, however, BYU didn’t have a dance program, so I refused to go there. I applied to other schools and ended up living at home, going to George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where I didn’t study dance either. Without any real goals or anyone to guide me I ended up taking only three semesters of schooling before I decided to get married and go to work. Even after I had two children I still wanted to go to college, and took all the classes my job would pay for. It was really hard to manage work, family and education at the same time. The classes my job would not pay for had to be paid by me, and it is expensive to pay for college one credit at a time.

My boss had just discovered computers and liked sharing his computer passion with me, so I started taking computer classes. Eventually I needed to spend time on a computer to do the programming class work. Sometimes I had a home computer and sometimes I didn’t, so I had to go to the school computer lab for that. Occasionally someone would remark that they wished they, too, had the energy or drive to take college classes, but had talked themselves out of it because they knew they would be 40 years old when they finished. My standard answer was that I would be 40 years old when I finished, but at least I would be 40 years old with a college degree.

Along the way I got divorced, then remarried to a man who had three children. For several years we had 5 of our combined 6 children living with us, so life was never dull. My husband developed rheumatoid arthritis and I realized I needed to take on more of the financial responsibility for our family, so I tried to get some financial aid that would allow me to quit my job for two years and finish school more quickly. In Virginia there were many organizations offering financial aid to someone with my qualifications, and I was awarded some large sums. Unfortunately, because of my husband’s deteriorating health, we decided to move away from the humid climate of Virginia to Utah before I could take advantage of them. We hoped the dry climate and some business contacts he had would enable him to work. Finally I finished college at Weber State University with the help of loans and grants. I believe that being female actually helped me get hired right away, but I don’t know that for sure. Many companies try to maintain a diverse employee population, and there aren’t many female developers.

Of course this is not the end of the story. This is just the beginning. Now I have an education and some experience, which gives me options. I can stay in general software development, or specialize in an area. I can work for myself or for a company. I can get an advanced college degree or some computer certifications. Even if I were to choose to do something totally different I have learned that I can do whatever I want to, or need to. My children and my husband have seen that perseverance and hard work pay off. Software development is a sought after skill and I have my own unofficial support group for women who are trying to finish school.