Men may still outnumber women in the tech field, but that’s something the amazing women profiled below are changing. In their own words, read stories from women on the front-line of coding in Colorado. Learn how they are forging their way, making great products, impacting the lives of those around them and get their take on entering the field.
Shannon McCoy, GNIP
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What got you interested in technology?
I graduated from CU in 2012 with a degree with Spanish language and literature, which at the time didn't seem like the fast track to technology. Throughout college, I often worked out of a coffee shop where I met developers who were making things with code. I remember watching some of them get really frustrated with the final pixel placements-- they were into what they were creating and they were seeking perfection. I needed more context to understand most of the concepts they were throwing around, so I started to ask questions.
I had a mentor early on who said I should try this thing called Ruby on Rails. I moved onto actually building and creating things and loved getting into that problem solving headspace.
What was your first job as a developer?
I freelanced for a while. A lot of it was committing to finishing a task without previous experience with the implementation details. And I just did it--figured things out. I had a lot of really supportive people who saw my potential skill ahead of where it actually was and that just pushed me farther.
What is the best advice you received for your career?
I think there’s a lot to be said for being patient with yourself as you inevitably mess up and break things. Software development is a craft – it takes a long time to become an expert. Learn to ignore thoughts that suggest you're not capable and just focus on chasing the answers to problems by continuously adding to what you know. Just keep going and don't stop.
Which groups are making a strong impact on the Colorado tech community?
I just started mentoring a student at gSchool-- she works really hard and I'm excited to watch her take off. The program is an intensive developer training course and it's good to see it come to Boulder.
I'm also (biased) and really fond of my company, GNIP. There’s a lot of messaging that suggests you need to adapt yourself to your work environment to be successful, which is true to a certain extent. But then there are a handful of organizations that lend themselves to personal and professional striving, while also meeting employees half way to create a healthy place to spend a whole lot of your time– GNIP is one of those organizations. People come to work, are good to each other, and make some pretty cool things happen.
What advice do you have for women starting out in the tech field?
If you know that writing code is what you like to do, don't be scared to run with it. If you're worried about getting pigeon-holed into the developer career track: know you can apply to any job you'd like or start your own company with the independence and pay grade of someone who can quickly prototype an app. You can go as broad or as deep as you'd like in the pursuit of technical competence, which is all about allocating time. Respect what you love doing and put your time into that.
You talked a lot about overcoming doubts – is this something you see within the entire field or is it more pervasive with women?
I think that the fear of not being good enough is a pretty universal experience, perhaps felt more acutely at different times. Most people can identify with feelings of self doubt, and even more so when they're perceived as different from others or as though they don't belong-- it's hard to thrive in that space. I think there are many more dimensions to self doubt besides just gender, and that complexity requires us to think critically about what it means to be perceived as an outsider and to ask questions about who bears the responsibility to cultivate work and learning environments where diverse groups can relax, actively participate, and creatively solve problems.
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