Quick introductions of both board and members in WiC!
JamieSue from Google:
-From Manning, SC
-Mom was first person in family to go to college
-Didn’t get a degree in Computer Science, first computer experience in 4th grade.
-High school newspaper got a computer and Jamie was the only one who really knew how to work a computer.
-Went to college at USC, got a degree in English
-Worked as a graphic designer
-Last semester of senior year took her first computer science class and loved it!
-Started writing documentation for CSS in Colorado
-Went to NY and worked for a consulting company
-Worked for a company called Zygat and wrote code for about a year.
-Became Co-Director of technology for about 10 years
-Worked in Argentina and other places for awhile.
-Worked with maps in Google for about a year and a half
-Now works with Google education
JamieSue comment on WiC:
Suggests we read the book Unlocking the Clubhouse. It talks a lot about guys getting into computer science very young because when computers came out it was marketed towards boys. While women don’t focus on computers until college and how we feel put down being compared to guys who have been computing since age 10. It’s okay if you don’t identify with some specific tool or language, in some ways it’s more beneficial. The book made her feel like she belonged to the computing world better after reading.
Group questions:
Q: What has been your best experience in your many jobs?
A: Coding when it was not as big of a deal
Q: Something about the importance of different degrees vs real life.
A: It depends a lot on the company. Having a degree, it’s you passed the application and to the interview. Some places are different, having a portfolio can also be very important. Open source projects can help make you stand out, it helps show your passions.
Q: Do you know anyone who went directly into project management?
A: Yes I know a few people, there are ways to go directly there. However, having some coding experience doesn’t hurt to have. I do feel like having some background in the coding world is huge, because when someone says that a project involving coding will take two days, I know that that is not true.
Q: What else do you do in addition to your project manager position?
A: I work closely with the engineers and make suggestions on projects. It’s really up to the person to define the roles.
Q: Can you describe a day-to-day / what you are doing tomorrow at work?
A: I do a lot of people management, I manage about 15 people. My day consist of a lot of people coming and asking how to do something.
Q: How was working for a consulting firm?
A: The difficult thing about working for a consulting firm is that you are always trying to prove yourself when you start on something new.
Q: Any tips for traveling with work?
A: Work on your people skills, make someone trust you and that’s a good way to be sent places.
Q: Helping with soft skills?
A: Crucial conversations book and finding common ground.
Q: What are some yays and nays for interviewees?
A: (Rob) Do say “yeah that’s the end to my knowledge in that area” if you don’t know about the topic. Be truthful and honest. I am a big fan of open-ended questions. i.e “Tell me about your network experience.” and a lot of hypothetical questions to see your thought process.
(JamieSue) I look for the word “we”. We did this or we worked on this. It shows that your a team player. I love to hear your thought process, don’t sit in silence thinking about hypothetical questions.
Q: Can you talk a little more about CS First?
A: Our website is cs-first.com. We created a curriculum through videos. We use a tool called Scratch. Our concept was reaching out to minorities and girls. We are trying to get a diverse group interested in the computer industry. To volunteer, go to the website and sign up. A single theme is 8 session, twice a week for four weeks or once a week for eight weeks, about a total 10 hour commitment.
