Ohhhh man here I go, I'm gonna pretend I'm an Adult(tm). Here's what I'll say. I can't tell you what the right path for you is. So a couple things.
Life is long, and no matter how it may feel, deciding your very next move at this point in your life will not lock you into anything for the rest of your life. You can try different things, and you can take a while to figure your shit out! If I could tell my younger self one thing it would be "BREATHE, it's gonna be ok. You have. So much time."
So along that vein, if you're not sure what you wanna do exactly, explore! Take some CS course, take some Psychology courses, give them both a try. I was a psychology major so I'm a bit biased. I think psych is awesome and fascinating and learning it is good for any career trajectory. I personally was glad that I didn't lock myself into a major right away when I headed to college - though I recognize that for many people scholarships and such will mean you have to become more specialized more early.
Also you don't have to do a pure CS degree to go into get a coding job. It helps for sure, but I obviously didn't do it at all, and I'm confident I'll have a job in this field in the next few months. I know some people who did sort of combo degrees and have had great success.
But finally, if CS is what you want to do - do it! It's true you may be in the minority gender wise in your courses, and I won't lie and tell you that being the only woman in a group isn't a pain. But those numbers are changing all the time, and you have JUST as much right to be there and potential to thrive there as the guys. And there are a ton of resources out there to support you along your way. Seriously, so many groups and scholarships and things just aiming to help get more women into tech.
If things get scary along the path, remember that That's OK. You'll make it through. If you do your best, you're doing enough, because that's all you can do. You Are Enough.
There, I got my sappy personal mantras in there. You can do this!
Welcome tag moderator AKA Unofficial DEV cheerleader. While most of my friends are found on SnapChat or Tic-Toc, you can find me here. And I OOP, but I’m not a VSCO girl.
Geez, you sound like my parents (just kidding). But it's good to hear it from someone who isn't always asking if my homework is done.
I like coding, but I'm not sure I'd want to do it as a full-time job. Especially if I get stuck working for a large company on some boring data collection and reporting project. Now, if it were a job in the fashion industry working on stuff for clothing or cosmetics, I wouldn't hesitate.
Thanks so much for the pep talk. I'll take it slow and keep my options open going forward.
Oh nooooo I'm a stuffy grown up already what has happened to me ;-; Ah well. It's all true. I will say, there's a wealth of different stuff you can do with coding, and I'm sure you could find options around the fashion and cosmetics industries. Good luck!
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Ohhhh man here I go, I'm gonna pretend I'm an Adult(tm). Here's what I'll say. I can't tell you what the right path for you is. So a couple things.
Life is long, and no matter how it may feel, deciding your very next move at this point in your life will not lock you into anything for the rest of your life. You can try different things, and you can take a while to figure your shit out! If I could tell my younger self one thing it would be "BREATHE, it's gonna be ok. You have. So much time."
So along that vein, if you're not sure what you wanna do exactly, explore! Take some CS course, take some Psychology courses, give them both a try. I was a psychology major so I'm a bit biased. I think psych is awesome and fascinating and learning it is good for any career trajectory. I personally was glad that I didn't lock myself into a major right away when I headed to college - though I recognize that for many people scholarships and such will mean you have to become more specialized more early.
Also you don't have to do a pure CS degree to go into get a coding job. It helps for sure, but I obviously didn't do it at all, and I'm confident I'll have a job in this field in the next few months. I know some people who did sort of combo degrees and have had great success.
But finally, if CS is what you want to do - do it! It's true you may be in the minority gender wise in your courses, and I won't lie and tell you that being the only woman in a group isn't a pain. But those numbers are changing all the time, and you have JUST as much right to be there and potential to thrive there as the guys. And there are a ton of resources out there to support you along your way. Seriously, so many groups and scholarships and things just aiming to help get more women into tech.
If things get scary along the path, remember that That's OK. You'll make it through. If you do your best, you're doing enough, because that's all you can do. You Are Enough.
There, I got my sappy personal mantras in there. You can do this!
Geez, you sound like my parents (just kidding). But it's good to hear it from someone who isn't always asking if my homework is done.
I like coding, but I'm not sure I'd want to do it as a full-time job. Especially if I get stuck working for a large company on some boring data collection and reporting project. Now, if it were a job in the fashion industry working on stuff for clothing or cosmetics, I wouldn't hesitate.
Thanks so much for the pep talk. I'll take it slow and keep my options open going forward.
Oh nooooo I'm a stuffy grown up already what has happened to me ;-; Ah well. It's all true. I will say, there's a wealth of different stuff you can do with coding, and I'm sure you could find options around the fashion and cosmetics industries. Good luck!