Career Girls

I am the youngest of 12 children from a blended family.  The one common thread that has run through my family is that, for the most part, we’re “left-brained” – logical – and with that, most of us have taken logic-driven careers as mechanics, law enforcement officers, engineers or computer scientists.  But, when I set out on my career path as a young girl, my path didn’t seem so clear; I didn’t think I fit in with these types of careers.

We’ve all been told to never say “never”, but when I was 13, it was a part of my daily vocabulary.  One of the things I said I’d never do was follow in my parent’s career paths – not because they were unhappy (quite the contrary!), and not because I was a rebel.  It just looked hard. 

So much math.

So much staring at computers.

So much patience.

They were both computer scientists. My mom was a senior systems analyst in the central IT department at Baylor University, and my dad was a professor and Chair of the Computer Science Department at Baylor.

When I was young, I was struggling with multiplying and dividing fractions. My dad
disappeared for a couple of hours and then called me to come to the computer. He had written a program that helped me practice multiplying and dividing fractions and then quizzed me on it. What? Is that not a ‘normal’ way for a father to help his daughter study?

They are both retired now, but my mom still talks about how much she loved being a developer because it was like working a jigsaw puzzle every day, which she loves to do. I HATE jigsaw puzzles.

When I was in high school, I had no idea what I wanted my major to be in college, but I knew I did not want to major in computer science or engineering. I felt like a tumbleweed being tossed around in the overwhelming options!

…Stay tuned next week for what I ended up majoring in and how I landed in IT!

Adapted from previous guest-blog posts on AdminHero.com and WeAreGirlforce.com.