Summer is the perfect season to rebuild, refresh, and renew your goals. Career goals are no exception. We invite you to join us and make this summer a #TechGirlSummer.
Flatiron School is celebrating women in tech and doing our part to crush the gender gap with our Women Take Tech Scholarship.
Don’t just take our word for it. We asked some of our favorite social media influencers — who also happen to be Flatiron School graduates — their best tips to encourage women who are looking to get into tech careers.
5 tips for women starting a career in tech
1. Vicky Mei of @vickysdailystandup.
Vicky Mei is a software engineer specializing in front-end development at Dashlane. She is passionate about mentoring coders and advocating for minority women in tech.
What would you tell other women who are interested in a career in tech?
“Be who you are, authenticity is our biggest strength. I want to see the world full of diverse coders, bringing ideas to software engineering. I want to see how we are using computer science to make this world a better place, because the world needs everyone to be part of the upgrade.”
2. Naya of The BlackFemale Engineer
Naya is a finance graduate turned software engineer. After attending Flatiron School in 2020, she was able to secure a job at a Fortune 50 company. Now, through her YouTube channel, she shares tips, advice, and insight in an effort to see more POC and women occupying tech roles.
What would you tell other women who are interested in a career in tech?
“I think the biggest pitfall women face is believing they are not good enough for a certain career, or a certain life. When we mess up, we feel that we are “not equipped” for these roles because that’s what we’ve likely been told all our lives.
It’s important to remember that everything you have to succeed is already there! You are just as smart, just as capable, as your [male] counterparts. However, what will differentiate you is your ability to overcome the hurdles in your path.
It is for this reason you need to know your “why”. Why do you want to pursue a career in tech? Why do you want to be a software engineer? Your “why” is what will steer the ship when it seems like nothing else is aligning the way you had hoped. Remember, you got this.”
3. Jessie Donovan of @jessie.dnvn
Jessie Donovan is a freelance web developer and visual artist located in St. Louis, Missouri. Jessie loves freelancing because it allows her to travel and take frequent dance breaks throughout the day.
What would you tell other women who are interested in a career in tech?
“Don’t be afraid to fail. I started my coding journey by learning Java, but after months of studying, I realized I didn’t understand the basics which made learning more advanced topics very difficult. I was confident that coding was my passion, but I knew that I would need to start back at the beginning to have a better comprehension of the language.
If tech is your passion, don’t be afraid to backtrack if you realize you feel lost or you missed some important topics. There isn’t one right pace for learning coding or beginning your tech career. Go at your own speed.”
4. Janine Luk of @ja9_look
Janine is a software engineer, D&I Ambassador, and Chair of Women@Avast. She is passionate about cybersecurity, coding, and helping others excel.
What would you tell other women who are interested in a career in tech?
“What you decide to do today affects all your tomorrows – so choose wisely. In saying that, don’t forget to have fun and enjoy the process! Focus on your own journey – you’ve got this.”
5. Linda Vivah of @LindaVivah on IG, Tik Tok, & Twitter
Linda is a Site Reliability Engineer & Software Dev at FOX, an AWS Community Builder, mom of 2, part-time wedding singer, and the founder of @codingcrystals, a jewelry and accessories company taking inspiration from STEM.
What would you tell other women who are interested in a career in tech?
“My advice for anyone getting started in Tech is don’t be scared to dive into the unknown. Millions of people don’t take chances because of their own internal fears. Sometimes it’s less scary when you just focus on the next step in your journey as opposed to overwhelming yourself with the big picture. It can be the smallest step— but before you know it you will look back and say “wow I really came a long way”.This is something I remind myself of every day.”
About the Women Take Tech Scholarship
Flatiron School’s Women Take Tech Scholarship exists to combat the gender diversity gap in tech. Women can apply to receive up to a $3,000 scholarship towards their tuition at Flatiron School.
In our latest Jobs Report, 90%* of our women alumni successfully landed jobs within the reporting period — 7 points higher than men. Women also saw a $72,280** average starting salary — $3,915 higher than the $68,365 for men. This scholarship is available for applicants to any of our programs — software engineering, cybersecurity, data science, or product design.
Join us in crushing the gender gap in tech by applying to the Women Take Tech Scholarship.
**for job-seeking on-campus and online graduates included in the 2020 Jobs Report including full-time salaried roles, full-time contract, internship, apprenticeship, and freelance roles, and part-time roles during the reporting period (see full Jobs Report here).
***For job-seeking students who accepted full-time salaried jobs during the reporting period and disclosed their compensation. The average starting salary for students who took full-time contract, internship, apprenticeship, or freelance roles and disclosed compensation was $32/hr. Average pay for a part-time role was $26/hr (see full Jobs Report report here).
