#Questions from Jase Thomas, SBS News Responses included in Women succeeding in increasingly male-dominated IT industry
###Was making the transition to software developing easy, or was it scary and hard?
Transitioning from journalism to web development wasn't scary at all, especially since the tech community in Sydney is so welcoming and supportive. It just felt like something I had to do, so I took the steps to make it happen.
###Were there women helping you make the change?
I wrote my first line of code back in November 2013 at Rails Girls, a weekend workshop which gives women an introduction to code. I was pretty much hooked from that moment on. I'm extremely thankful for Rails Girls, because I may never have taken the plunge into coding without it.
###Were the men also supportive?
Yes, the men in the industry are incredibly supportive! I'm still friends with many of the male mentors who I met at that first Rails Girls event. I also regularly catch up with my instructor and assistant instructor (both men) from General Assembly, where I studied web development.
It's really not about gender, the tech community as a whole is just incredibly open, welcoming and supportive. Everyone wants to share their knowledge, help you learn and see you succeed. I absolutely love the people in the community, and this is one of the reasons why it wasn't scary to make the move from journalism to tech.
###What would you say to women who want to enter an IT/computing/software role?
I would say go for it! In my opinion it's one of the coolest careers out there. It is incredibly empowering to be able to write your ideas into reality with code.
The three months I spent learning to code at General Assembly were the best three months of my entire life. Last year - when I made my career change from journalism to web development - was the best year of my entire life. I felt incredibly happy, driven and empowered. So what I would say to women is don't even hesitate, if you're interested in learning to code, start taking steps to make it happen, you won't regret it.
###Is the stereotype true - is software and computing just full of men? Did you find that offputting?
When I started my first full-time dev role after General Assembly, I was the only girl on a team of about 20. It's clear that there are more men than women in the industry, but I don't find this offputting at all. Maybe that's because I grew up with two brothers, but I think it's more likely because of how kind and welcoming the community is.
The only times I've ever noticed my gender being an issue is a) when people stereotype and say things like "you don't look like a typical developer" and b) when I feel like being a woman is giving me an advantage. Both of those things make me feel slightly uncomfortable. I want to break down those stereotypes of what a "typical dev" should look like, and I want to be scrutinised to the same extent that my male counterparts are.