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Are you smart enough to be in tech?
What do you really think, are you smart enough?
I mean, really think about the answer you would give and why. The truth is you could find evidence for an affirmative answer or a negative answer. Maybe you didn’t do very well in math. Maybe you were a C student or you got that C that one time. Many of you look at me and think well I don’t have an undergrad in Computer Science like Ellen so I’m not as smart as she is. Is that true? Is that really true?
It’s not. I’m sure it’s not.
Because I think a woman’s decision (a true decision where she acts on it and sticks to it no matter what) to go into tech is directly related to this question — do you believe you are smart enough to be in tech?
It might sound simple, but it’s not. I’ve answered this with yes and with no and with everything in between during my tenure in tech. I remember really having this internal battle while making Mac ‘N Cheese for my kids about whether I could hack it as a developer working part-time back when we lived in the western suburbs of Chicago. Back then I was deciding between getting a part-time developer role or getting my PhD in Neuroscience. It’s been a winding road for me:)
I remember my biggest fear. This feels embarrassing to say so be gentle in your judgement. It really was my biggest fear about going…
