
If You're Unhappy, Consider Tech - trevmckendrick
http://sostephosays.tumblr.com/post/74646725507/if-youre-unhappy-consider-tech
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yetanotherphd
I've noticed that the tech industry accords Asian women more respect that they
are generally shown in other industries.

I believe that other industries, especially law and political
lobbying/activism, claim to value women, but actually they are just making up
for one kind of bias (believing that women are incompetent) with another:
wanting to have attractive women around, and therefore giving them
disproportionate respect and reward. White women especially seem to fit the
preferences of these employers in this regard.

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notAbachelors
It's all down to your coworkers. Every single bad thing that is talked about
in this piece? I've encountered, and I work in tech. I've been desperately
searching for another tech job for the past 2 years and striking out every
time. Even when I get a second interview, or I have a great 4 hour interview
and get along great with a potential new boss. Then there's the places that
won't even give me the time of day, who repeatedly reject me for even the most
entry-level helpdesk/desktop support type of position. It doesn't help that
this is not a big town either.

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azakai
Given that you live in a small town, have you considering looking for remote
work positions?

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notAbachelors
How can I find good remote work positions that are not scams?

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transman
> _When the world started behaving appropriately toward me… I was gobsmacked._

(throwaway account to say) As a transgender guy, I have experienced a similar
contrast in how I was treated as a female and how I am treated as a man. There
were certainly clear cases of discrimination, but I never expected the moment-
to-moment differences!

As for the change to a tech job. I suspect there are multiple reasons for such
a change. As @yetanotherphd mentioned, she's Asian, so probably got a boost
from that (not saying it is right, just saying that stereotypes probably
benefited her in this case). Some tech industries do seem to have a younger
and more meritocratious population. Also, some tech industries are simply in
better financial situations, and this can have many effects (e.g., instead of
yelling at her about answering the phones while scrubbing toilets, the
employer could have hired another employee).

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Technophobe
Do you mind elaborating on some of the moment to moment differences? Sounds
interesting...

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transman
The single biggest are intentional inclusion in more technical conversations
and intentional non-inclusion in more self-appearance conversations. Along the
same lines are expected background knowledge.

For reference, I'm in my mid-40's and transitioned over 5 years ago.

Prior to transitioning, I would frequently overhear or walk-into technical
conversations about subjects that were relevant or of interest to me. While
there were a handful of guys who understood my interest in technology and
would intentionally include me, most simply wouldn't even think of including
me (and I didn't know any women who were into technology). Thankfully, I never
had a guy react badly when I included myself in a conversation, although I
would occasionally get odd looks because of my interest and knowledge. Now I'm
very intentionally sought out by colleagues (male and female) during
technology conversations that are relevant or of interest.

Prior to transitioning, I frequently had acquaintances make suggestions about
my appearance; make-ups I should try, how I should fix my hair, etc. While
I've had lots of appearance-related conversations with my trans-friends, and
I've had the typical, "wow you've changed a lot since I last saw you"
conversations (but not as many as I expected). Other than those, I've only had
one person comment on my appearance.

One of the more surprising topics that's changed has been car talk. I've never
considered myself a car-person, prior to transition this wasn't ever a
problem. Since I transitioned, it has come up with alarming frequency. While
I've made a point of letting people know that I don't know a lot about cars, I
still get comments that imply I'm an idiot for not knowing more.

Another thing that I find interesting is that prior to transitioning, I never
had anyone suggest that I go a blind date with a friend of theirs; not one
single time! Since I transitioned it's happened several times.

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mratzloff
@sostephosays, just a note on here (because I don't know how to comment on
Tumblr, probably because I don't have an account) that I like your writing,
and you should keep at it.

The programming skills will come with time, just focus on improving your craft
one project at a time and constantly push yourself to learn something new.
I've been in this industry for over a decade, and considered experienced in a
number of languages and areas... but I am still learning. You'll get it.

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dionidium
_When the world started behaving appropriately toward me… I was gobsmacked._

Let me be clear that you should treat everyone nicely. There's no reason not
to. But what that woman was experiencing is a manifestation of the commonly-
held belief that being 100 pounds overweight is a negative quality that is
_entirely_ changeable (as evidenced by the fact that the person in question
lost the 100 pounds). I don't know why we should regard this as surprising.

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vinceguidry
Why do you have to be so dismissive? You're basically saying, "you're not
saying anything we don't already know, just go back in your hole and don't
bother me with your feminist garbage. This is the way the world works and you
should just deal with it."

That may not be how you meant it, but that's how it comes across.

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mnbvcxza
It's like you're bringing feminism into this just to troll. He said absolutely
nothing about feminism.

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vinceguidry
I know that he didn't actually say it. But that's how it sounds.

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PakG1
I think parent clearly didn't think it sounds like that. I don't think it
sounds like that. Perhaps you should examine why you think it sounds like
that.

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vinceguidry
Considering his downvotes it's clear I'm not the only one.

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PakG1
I think mratzloff's comment is a better explanation for that... sorry for
turning this into reddit.

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cafard
It's nice to think that we in tech are all that she hopes. But four days makes
for a pretty small sample.

