Google announced the other day that they are going to put their money where their mouth is by paying for women to learn to code. HOORAY!
Instead of a company just talking about getting more women involved in tech they are actually going to help make this a reality. Now is our time as women entrepreneurs and women in tech to stop talking about the lack of women in our space and actually do something about it. Let’s take advantage of this lovely opportunity to learn to code and make the technology space more women friendly.
You can learn about the opportunity for Google to pay you to learn how to code here- http://www.cnet.com/news/google-to-pay-for-women-minorities-in-tech-to-learn-more-code/
You can apply for their program here- https://docs.google.com/a/hubspot.com/forms/d/1hVfdHMoIphbL3x2fMTjW532zS_B2aojA5ifefZlG8YQ/viewform
This program is meant for women ALREADY in tech to advance their skills. Women will be picked by Google to learn to code through an application process. Google is going to pay for 3 months of coding school for 1000 women picked by the program.
The reason I applied is because I am a woman working in technology but I don’t know how to code. That seems silly to me and I need to put my annoyance with not having more women in tech into action. At some point in my life I plan on starting a company. But I sure as heck don’t want to rely on someone else to have to build my dream for me. I want to be able to build and code things that I dream up myself. Here is my chance to do that.
So when my a ha moment happens and I realize there is a space in a market for me to create something useful I want to be able to create it myself. Learning to code not only will help me on my day to day job at HubSpot selling marketing software but it will push me forward to hopefully having the skills to build out something in the future that I can say is my own.
I want to make a dent with something I built. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE selling HubSpot, but I didn’t create it myself and I didn’t come up with the idea. I have a yearning inside to do something myself and I am fully aware of that. Learning to code will only help me prepare for that moment when I am ready to create something of my own. I feel it coming and this is the first step towards enabling myself to be ready.
As a woman in tech why do you think it is important to learn to code? What will you do with your coding knowledge and how will help you advance your career and position in the tech industry?
