You Can't Stop Me From Being a *Nerdbomber
(*Disclaimer: I say nerdbomber in the most endearing of ways, and do not mean to offend anyone by imply that any and all coders are nerds or bombers.)
It's been quite arduous, explaining why I quit my comfortable corporate job as an IT Business Analyst, left an incredible group of friends and co-workers, and am putting myself in unemployment to do this so called "Dev BootCamp." It's also been equally challenging responding to the nearly ubiquitous face contortion of confusion and follow-up comment of, "Oh, I had no idea you were interested in coding."
Maybe it's because of my neon pink toenail polish, high pony tail, and those two darn X chromosomes. Maybe it's because of my journalism background, passion for writing, and sometimes incessant need for conversation. Or maybe it's because electronic music-loving ravers that wear dinosaur hats to music festivals just aren't "supposed" to be coders. But no one could just accept the simple fact that I wanted to be technical, be a programmer, and you know - be a bit of a nerdbomber; they always probed for some deeper justification of why I wanted to put myself through Dev Bootcamp like I had some surreptitious motive or conniving scheme.
And as much self-assurance and self-confidence as I wield in my desire to program, it can be discouraging and strenuous to be faced with constant skepticism and questioning, especially during such a transitional and taxing time as Dev BootCamp. So with all this havoc going on in my head, I really appreciated Dev bringing awareness to 'Stereotype Threats' this week.
Simply put,a "[s]tereotype threat is a situational predicament in which people are or feel themselves to be at risk of confirming negative stereotypes about their social group" whether it be concerning one's race, gender, age, or socioeconomic class. One astounding empirical study of stereotype threat is: in one experiment, women who took a mathematics exam along with two other women got 70% of the answers right, whereas women who took the same exam in the presence of two men got an average score of 55%.
I'm typically not a big 'girl power!' or feminist advocate, but reading about studies where women undermine themselves, their potential, and their actual abilities due to various stereotypical threats is a huge issue - especially delving into the predominatly male tech industry. Going into Dev with unsettled fears of not being 'smart enough' is already enough, I need to protect myself from any addition fetters to my learning and potential, and awareness of the problem is the first step!
As I go through the program and subsume myself further into the industry, I'm sure stereotype threats regarding not only my gender, but age, race, and educational background will surface. Like with any other threats, it's a matter of being proactive in identifying them, learning how to appropriately respond and counter the threat, and retroactively learn from personal and others' experiences.
I am who I am, and feel extremely proud of my accomplishments and blessed towards my future opportunities. Remaining confident in myself and knowing that I'll be surrounded by an incredibly supportive Dev BootCamp family are grand encouragements I know will get me to the finish line and beyond in my amazing journey!
