Found My Letters

TL;DR: Follow Marlena Compton on twitter or Blog for a great perspective on the tech industry.

With the innocuous title "Transitioning from Tester to Developer", I did not expect the "oh crap she is on to me" moment I experienced reading the blog. Go read it and then check this out

1. "Why am I doing this?" - Coding & Development is for the curious and interested. 
2.  "Keep asking Questions" - A mentor is just someone you can ask questions and encourages you to ask more. Ask lots. 
3. Mock Interviews - What is this scary witchcraft?!? (Great idea, too scary) 
4. Build Something - Then build it again, and again. (I love this!)
5. "You would be a great ... " - This was personal. I struggle with how people see me versus what I value. They don't intersect, it erodes my confidence and ultimately keeps me in the status quo. (Side note: My status quo is one of great privilege and ease. Maybe that is what keeps me there.) 
6. "You would be a great ..." - The advice I give to all my female 'mentees' is "They will try to get you into management. Don't forget there is a technical track. You will be great at that and can always manage later" 
7. "Pick an Editor" - Yes! 
8. "Pick a Stack" - Yes! But the corollary is you are not married to it. If picking one causes gridlock, don't worry, you can always change. 
9. Show up - Meet up - Analogy Up - No really, this analogy is over. The point is there are a lot of educational and inspirational opportunities. 

Cheers!
Ginny

Oh and of course the music that inspired the title and how I felt reading Marlena's Blog :
Killing me Softly by the Fugees