php women

i think you make some very good points - it is odd that more women don't choose careers in development, and one theory i have about this is that, like any other frontier where women are entering a largely male-dominated field, it can be somewhat intimidating. i adopted a fairly gender-neutral nickname and did a lot of lurking at first, but as i gained confidence i began to enjoy being the only girl in the room.

early on, i discovered a site called scriptygoddess.com -- which was both an inspiration, and a great comfort, because no matter how much fun it is to feel unique or whatever, the truth is that you *do* get treated differently if you are in the minority.

i came to choose this career rather late in life -- in 1999 at the age of 38. in my latest job search, i was interviewed by many, many young men, but i was hired by a woman my age. my theory on that was, in cases where i am old enough to be the interviewer's mother, i am at a distinct disadvantage -- who wants to hire their mother? unless their dad is making them do it, of course :)

sorry to ramble on, i'm just very happy you posted this. so thank you.

~lizard

Hey, I too started this journey late in life, much later than you, in fact. I started learning code and later PHP arfter the age of 50. I got my first job two months ago, hired by a young man. I had only applied for a couple of jobs and was pleased to be hired after interviewing for one other job. Of course I wish I had started years ago, but always had the idea that writing scripts and code was to hard to learn. It is, in fact a blast. I should mention that when I took my first PHP class a year ago, most of the students were women, so maybe the tide is turning, eh?

Yep, I started late in life too. 32 and I've only just found my way into the field (I'm a total newb!)
I don't know why more women don't take this up, and it certainly seems we approach things differently.
A friend of mine suggested that we may be intimidated by the early procedural stuff. But (having read some fascinating studies (see Scientific American, for example) on the physiological differences in the female brain, particularly after childbirth) he suggests that women are particularly likely to excel at OO approaches.
Who knows, it's an interesting thought.
Good to know there are other old newb Geek Goddesses out there slogging thtough this stuff with me!

"Good to know there are other old newb Geek Goddesses out there slogging thtough this stuff with me!"

Totally!