Nerds
Since childhood, I’ve associated computer science with geeky and socially inept little boys, and for rational reason: because all of the computer geeks I knew were in fact geeky and socially inept little boys! But as I mentioned in my previous post about computer camp, I’ve wanted to go into tech from an early age — before the idea of entrepreneurship ever occurred to me. However, as I became less socially inept, I began associating myself with the non-geeks. The jocks! The cheerleaders!
People often ask me if I feel as if I’m being taken advantaged of, or if being a girl makes things more difficult. No and yes — I don’t feel as if guys are mean to girls in computer science. If anything, guys are more willing to help a cute girl debug her code for obvious reason. But is it more difficult? From a social standpoint, definitely. Most girls in tech are podcasters or videobloggers — Veronica Belmont, Julia Allison, and Alana Taylor among them. They’re all great people, amazing at what they do, but that leaves few girls who are hardcore geeks. There aren’t many girls starting their own companies. It’s almost expected that I go into community or marketing, but I’ve since decided to go against these societal expectations.
I’m now at a crossroads in my educational career because I need to decide my major. Do I major in computer science, economics, international relations, or what? As a friend of mine mentioned, what if I’m terrible at computer science or what if I’m terrible at economics? The educational path I choose will determine the people I associate with in my classes. The computer science program at Simon’s Rock attracts the uber geeks, whereas the economics program attracts the more popular kids. Why does this matter so much? Because I see education as being more than what’s learned in the classroom — it’s the independent projects that I would start with my classmates. It affects my social life, which matters more than you might think for girls. Regardless as to what major I choose, I’ll plan on surrounding myself with both econ and comp sci people.
As time goes by, the negative image of computer science and geeks will fade away. With more “socially capable” individuals in computer science, people like myself will feel more inclined to choose a math or science related subject as a major. I met Leah Culver at a dinner in Amsterdam, and her story is inspiring. She went to school thinking that she’d go into art or graphic design, and left with a degree in computer science. She did what she felt passionate about, and others like myself will follow in a similar path. Just last week, I met a girl through my blog named Cassie Wallender, who also began college at age 16 and took up programming and business from an early age. In the coming few years, we’ll hopefully see more and more girls flooding the halls of science departments!
Jessica Mah is a 17 year old entrepreneur, blogger, and sophomore at early college, Bard College at Simon’s Rock.
She loves chatting with fellow students, readers, and entrepreneurs, so don’t hesitate to email her or message her on AIM! Feel free to subscribe to her blog or stalk her twitter.
April 17th, 2008 at 10:17 am
My take: major in CS. It doesn’t matter one bit if you’re terrible at it … it’s not like you’re going to learn anything about business in an undergrad program, and it’s not like anyone will *ever* care what grades you got in college. So the question boils down to which major is going to teach you the most stuff you need to know?
CS is a degree that teaches you the stuff you need to know to work in tech … even f that happens to be doing the business side rather than the coding side.
April 19th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
This post got to me because I am very much in the same situation, minus the whole being a girl part. I’m currently a sophomore living in NYC and just declared my major. Tech was always my passion but like you I soon started hanging out with different people and decided to get a degree in Business Management. After freshman year I started to question my decision and just recently decided to go with what I like most: CS. Who knows where it will get me or who I will meet, but in the end I know I’ll be happier with a major I’m truly passionate about.
Good luck with your choice and everything you do.
April 24th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Thanks for the shout out, Jessica.
My advice – find what you love doing by taking an assortment of challenging classes right away, major in it, and minor in something that will help you maybe with meeting key players or understanding the parts you don’t like as much.
Your point about your social circle in college is a good one – the contacts you make in college are really important. I found most of what I learned and contacts I made in school was through my college job in the Computer Informations Systems department, and through my internship. If you’re extroverted though, which you seem to be, contacts should come pretty naturally. Having the smarts and ethic to back it up is what really matters. One of my favorite sayings, “Charm and charisma opens doors, but competence and character keeps them open.”
April 25th, 2008 at 11:11 am
You make a good point, but it would be *so* much stronger if you didn’t refer to women as “girls.” It undermines a lot of moves undertaken by women to receive equal pay and equal opportunities in school or out. I know we’re all in college, not far out of childhood, really — but keeping in mind the language itself is important, too.
April 29th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Go with a business degree anyday. CS is the thing to do if you truely understand programming. You’ll make good money in Silicon Valley but elsewhere, it is hard to get into upper 6 or lower 7 figures. On the other hand, you go to business school, your horizon widens, many doors open and you could climb the ladder faster. Eventually, you’ll be good at where your heart is.
May 5th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I find it hard to believe that you’ll ever regret majoring in CS. The Kauffman Fellowship research shows that the majority of tech companies are started by folks with technical degrees, and that CS majors start companies earlier in their career than any other major.
Plus, you can always go back to school to get your MBA (or just rely on advice from AskTheHarvardMBA.com).
December 14th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
I think for people wanting to work in industry, it’s better to get an SE (software engineering) degree instead. This is because in SE they teach you more about the process of software development (more practical stuff) rather than over focus on the more low level things. Or even better, a CSSE.
If you want to be in R&D, then CS is better.
December 14th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
PS. If you live outside of the United States in countries where there are double degrees, consider doing BOTH an art and computer degree.
January 29th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Hey, come on over to devChix.org. Women there do software development, hardware hacking, fun stuff!