Category: women in computer science
-
Book: The Truth About Burnout
I found the Truth About Burnout (Amazon) from this article, which I think gives the main takeaways from the book far more succinctly. I did find the book interesting and I’m glad I read it, but I wouldn’t necessarily encourage other people to. It’s a little dated in places (it was published in 2000), and…
-
On Recent Events
Earlier this year I withdrew from a conference because the organizer refused to implement a proper code of conduct (eventually he put up something but he refused to specify unacceptable behavior). I did not expect this to be such a contentious decision or one I would have to be reminded of nearly 6 months later.…
-
#GHC15: Jo Miller – Build your brand as an emerging leader or technical expert
My notes from @Jo_Miller‘s session at GHC. The Emerging Leaders Quandary – can’t get recognised as someone who is ready to lead a larger team. Why we get stuck – you can’t get that higher level job without the leadership experience… but you can’t get the leadership experience without the job. Do not outsource your…
-
My GHC Survival Strategy
I don’t always manage all of these but I typically regret the ones I miss… If coming from any distance, arrive Monday. Stay until Sunday – and don’t make any plans for Saturday. Stock up on snacks – the keynotes start so early (830) and if you want a decent seat you won’t have time…
-
Communities @ GHC
One complaint that I heard a bunch last year – and levelled myself – was that it was so student focused there wasn’t a lot for mid-career women. But last night I went to two events that were really different from other events I’ve attended before at GHC! So exciting. First was Munchies, Mojitos & Making…
-
The Sixth Time
I’m heading to Houston, Texas this week to go to the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. It’ll be my sixth time attending, and over the years I’ve gone in various guises. As a grad student, a Google employee, in disguise (I de-branded myself and refused to do any recruiting activities), as an independent. This year…
-
The #NotAllMen Project
Last week featured two milestones. I closed the first day of JSConfEU with a talk called “Some Things I’ve Learned about Color”, which is the story of how I left tech (not why). It’s about burnout, and how aside from overwork, there are 5 other things that cause it: lack of control, lack of reward, lack of…
-
Coping Mechanisms and Unlearned Skills
One of the things I’ve been meditating on since escaping the tech industry is what skills do you not acquire when the main skills you are learning are how to cope in a bad situation? And do you have to unlearn them to go back? The other thing about environments where we “cope” rather than “thrive”…
-
Social Media Coping Strategies
Over the last year the way I use social media has changed. It wasn’t dramatic. Just time passed… how much I was willing to share decreased, I started to feel anxious at times. The most vicious things normally end up in the moderation queue of my blog, and I could probably still quote things long…