When I signed up for my computer programming class I had a few concerns about the class. Would I be able to keep up? Did I have enough experience to pass the class? How time consuming would this class be? What I hadn’t thought of was how many other girls would be in the class.
On the first day I walked into the lecture hall and found out that the answers was not that many. Girls were greatly outnumbered in the class. The class was packed with rows and rows of students, but I could only pick out a few other girls in the sea of guys.
The problem: there are ninety people in total in the classroom and only twenty of them are girls.
There have been huge strides against the stereotype that women can’t be engineers, but women are still discouraged from studying and pursuing a subject that is greatly male dominated. I’ve been interested in computers since I was in elementary school and was in a class simply called “Computers.” When I picked classes for my first semester of college I immediately gravitated to the Computer Programming with Java class.
When people ask what classes I’m taking it’s usually the computer programming class they fixate on. I’ve seen reactions that range from surprised to honestly happy to hear that I’m trying to learn code.
“Why computer programming?” Because I want to minor in computer science.
“Oh that’s probably hard for you, right?” It isn’t easy but it’s a beginner class so everyone is on about the same level.
“Is that a difficult class?” I need to put work into it, but overall it isn’t a difficult class compared to others.
“Do you have experience with computers?” Yes, I worked with them a lot in high school and I’ve experimented with code on my own.
“Wow, that’s so cool.” My favorite response.
I love my Java class. I love that I am learning a practical skill and I know I am only just scrapping the surface in this course, but I am so excited to continue. I wasn’t positive about pursuing a computer science minor when I first started, but I am so sure now. And I wish there were more women around me that felt the same way. We should be encouraged throughout our lives to explore whatever field we want and should never think that certain subjects are exclusive to men. Women can succeed in this field and they shouldn’t be scared to try.
If you’re one of the only girls (or only girl) in your engineering or computer programming class, don’t be discouraged. If you’re scared to be one of those girls don’t be. You might find your new passion if you take a chance and try just one computer science class. What is the worse that could happen?
No one was born knowing how to code and like any other subject it takes time, patience and effort. The results are worth it.
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