I was inspired by Selena Deckelmann's list of Career Resources for Women (http://www.chesnok.com/daily/career-resources-for-women/), but couldn't think of much to contribute. So I thought maybe those of us already in the field and in a position to mentor could work on creating more. Please fork or comment and add your own!
Also: there is a wealth of info online and elsewhere dating back to the first time it occurred to our species to exchange labor for currency on these topics in general. What I hope we can provide here is our take as individuals. What we would say to someone if we were sitting across from her acting as a mentor. I don't think we should worry about being objectively "right", or about duplicating topics. I add this bit of anti-editorializing in hopes that women will contribute without feeling pressured to be experts, which I worry might prevent them from doing so. TY. :)
- "developer resumes in < 5 minutes" from @garann https://vimeo.com/47550018
- "Cover Letters in 5 minutes" from @selenamarie https://vimeo.com/47559205
- "being nice at work" from @garann https://vimeo.com/47560508
- "Salary Negotiation: Make More Money, Be More Valued" from Patrick http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/
- "Conflict Resolution" from @selenamarie http://vimeo.com/47562873
- "getting paid what you're worth" from @garann https://vimeo.com/47628626
What happens to my career when I want to have kids?
I have been getting this question from a lot of women reaching mid-career recently. I am a mother of 2 kids, and I have been through that phase. My kids are young, husband works full time and I am still working through balancing life.
What am I doing?
I took 6 months+ off with each kid. I wanted to have that time with them. For me that meant establishing myself as a contractor long before having kids. I contracted on and off after kids - the most important thing being to keep up with my skill set. When off contract, I built websites with my own ideas. Lot of it failed. But, I'd demo it to user groups, that would lead to software contracts. 6 months to max 1 year off continously is ok. Beyond that makes things harder. Recently, one of my projects that I built when off, is doing well, and I am building on that. Now, I plan to take off for longer. But, I will have more to show. I also started teaching at a university. It doesn't pay as well, but again, keeps me in the game. It also increases my creds for when I do want to work for someone else. When the kids are a little older, maybe I want to go back to climbing the ladder - as someone put it. I keep that option open.
A friend of mine went the route of dropping out completely for 5 years. She wants to get back now. I am helping her learn mobile programming, and build projects with me she will get credit for. I can't pay her though. So after that, it's upto her - if she wants to continue working with me for equity, or find a job. I will help and support her either way.
Some women have very supportive workplaces - that will make adjustments for them - though that's rarer. You will need to work on your passions, sometimes alone, or find another way to keep up. That's the only way to get back to tech after a break.