Without my mum I probably wouldn’t be programming today. When I was 9-10 years old she gave me a Commodore 64 + printed BASIC book. I remember when I created my first "real" program = number guessing game. In that moment, my beloved programming journey started. Then few years later I switch to Pascal and so on :)
Ask HN: Stories about women who helped you to become a better programmer?
21–27 of 27 posts
Re: Ask HN: Stories about women who helped you to become a better programmer?
#22In college, I had a crush on a girl.. I believed she was my soul mate. Unfortunately, long story short, after years of trying to get her, even dated for a short stint, it just didn't work out. She was so much into her own life and on this path that would -- almost prevent her from having any boyfriends for as long as I've known her -- she is so goal-oriented and focused, that just seems to be her priorities -- but fo…
Thanks for the read, I'm glad you are in a great relationship. ..Why mention the first woman though? She doesn't seem to have help you with programming...
The first girl I mentioned because for a time, she was a huge part of my life. She had become my best friend and we confided in each other. I always aspired to be a better man because of her. I always saw her going for what she wanted and she never let anything stand in her way. I never saw her give up and still to this day, she keeps going. She graduated with her Masters Degree and continues to be that inspiration for me to want to continue achieving all my own goals in life. It was one of those situations where: I'd rather her in my life than not at all, hence why we speak to each other just a few times a year and don't try to make anything more of it. Because our goals in life were so different, despite the fact that there had been chemistry, she continued on with her dreams and I knew I could not stand in her way. It has kept me going just the same. I think before these two women, I didn't really have any direction. I just did things to do them. Now I think I do them with a deeper purpose.
Re: Ask HN: Stories about women who helped you to become a better programmer?
#23My wife is paying for my education.
I quit my last job and decided to take a time to learn to code and become a software developer. I am a full-time student since last November. My wife is paying all the bills (the education per se is free, as I am using freeCodeCamp, and free online tutorials and documentation).
Re: Ask HN: Stories about women who helped you to become a better programmer?
#24One of my first jobs in my early 20s was working on a software 3d rendering pipeline for a racing game. One of my coworkers was a Russian woman who knew all about rendering and transformation pipelines. Learning from her pretty much helped kickstart my career, and kept me fed for the last 25 years.
Re: Ask HN: Stories about women who helped you to become a better programmer?
#25A day late, but I'll join in.
Company I worked at hired a woman to join our team of almost all men at a small consultancy. People who had worked with her before all said she was an excellent developer, and she was. I worked very closely with her for the next three years. She had a different perspective than the rest of the team. More formal. More thoughtful than just crank out some code and move on to the next task. She taught me things I never knew I didn't know.
Re: Ask HN: Stories about women who helped you to become a better programmer?
#26This is a stale thread now, but I have to share this.
At my first programming job (certainly not my first job, but first in technology) I had a female manager who was incredible. She and I were the only women in the group with 15 or so men.
She was highly respected by everyone in the group for her leadership and technical expertise, and she managed to juggle leading her team with being a great mom to her kids. She showed me that as a woman there was nothing standing in the way of my career, and that down the road balancing family priorities was possible.
I'm grateful everyday for her example and the lessons she unwittingly taught me. Hopefully one day I'll be as awesome as she is!
Re: Ask HN: Stories about women who helped you to become a better programmer?
#27My wife me a better programmer and yet better person.
She is HR (in the ICT area) and we are together for 12 years. She was always joking me that I am mediocre or average when I was actually at this level.
However, this was a constant powerful reminder to become better, so eventually, I did.
Everyone - find your motivation to be better.