Training for Where The Tech Jobs Are: Coding
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-01-17/training-where-tech-jobs-are-coding
It's an essential job requirement for many positions in today's tech sector: coding. But a lot of experienced workers are nervous about developing new skills, and few public education systems have incorporated coding into vocational training for younger students. We chat with a group of entrepreneurs who are trying to train a new generation of programmers, and equip older workers with skills for today's job market.
Guests
Jeff Casimir
Owner, Jumpstart Lab; Hungry Academy
Rosalyn Lemieux
Partner, Fission Strategy
Ryan Seashore
Founder, CodeNow
Zach Sims
Co-Founder, Codeacademy
Comments
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Do any of your guests provide or support after school programs?
Feel free to contact http://www.upliftdc.org.
Registration is now open!
...and we can also come to your school, if needed.
Thanks.
It is so very sad that neither Kojo's producers or his guests knew that one the earliest computer programmer was a women.
Here's the first sentence from Wikipedia, "Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906 – January 1, 1992) was an American computer scientist and United States Navy officer. A pioneer in the field, she was one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer, and developed the first compiler for a computer programming language."
You might also look for the annual Grace Hopper celebration of women in computing.
Sad, sad, sad.
Not even the women in computing today remember Commander Grace.
I was taught that the first programmer was Ada Lovelace back in the 1840s, generations before Grace Hopper was born. However despite a couple of high-profile examples like Ada and Grace, the vast majority of computer programmers today are men. It's a hotly debated issue in the community and nobody really has the answer as to why it occurs or what to do about it. There are still some women who get into the field (and I've had the privilege to tutor some of them), but many times they feel uncomfortable in the male-dominated field. Whether it's feeling isolated in a class full of boys, or feeling pressured by society to do something "more appropriate" for their gender, or feeling that other students, instructors, or employers don't believe in their ability to handle the work.
I think one of the reasons why the few women coders tend to be exceptional is because they feel they have to work harder to prove themselves to a skeptical world.