"I am the only woman in the room, and I’m wearing welding goggles and pirate earrings. I look like somebody’s favorite punk."
When I was in high school, my favorite class was programming. I had a rough time with math and science, but when it came to programming, I found myself in my element. Programming felt like something natural to me.
I started learning Python in college and spent my free time trying to learn how to code. I would go on YouTube and find tutorials on how to make certain things work. One of the things that really helped me was when someone shared a guide on how to use welding goggles as a monitor filter so you didn't have glare while coding or using the computer.
I wanted to be a programmer like my father who used to work at NASA. But when I came out of college, I learned that companies weren't looking for programming skills anymore - they were looking for people who could talk to clients and do sales.
Since then, I decided not to take any sales jobs and started working as an independent contractor instead. I made money by writing code online during the day.
I remember this one day where I had just finished watching a tutorial on welding goggles when all of a sudden it hit me - why not wear them all the time? And so I did.
"I need welding goggles!"
I shouted at my computer. I was hunting for pirate earrings on Etsy. My room is full of random treasures from various adventures and I have a particular affinity for piratey things. The problem with being a female programmer is you have to wear a lot of hats to be successful, which usually means actually wearing a lot of hats. In my case, it would be welding goggles and pirate earrings.
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