Live data from Hacker News

Women Outnumber Men For The First Time In Berkeley’s Intro To Computer Science

techcrunch.com

131–140 of 176 posts

Re: Women Outnumber Men For The First Time In Berkeley’s Intro To Computer Science

#131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nursing can be extremely exhausting though, physically and mentally. That's not to say you can't program a bit after work to get your mind off it, instead of watching TV or whatever; but I don't find it "bizarre" at all that nurses are well paid, I think they ought to be. Just like teachers and people working in kindergartens, I don't think very many people can do that job, certainly not for decades. (Speaking purely…

Yeah. I bet your average person can't understand compiler theory or asymptotic growth of recursive functions. But I see your point. They are as emotionally advanced as computer types are intellectually advanced.

> They are as emotionally advanced as computer types are intellectually advanced.

Some of them are pretty damned intellectually advanced as well.

Re: Women Outnumber Men For The First Time In Berkeley’s Intro To Computer Science

#132

I've started flagging these stories. It doesn't matter how many men or women work in particular careers. Technology is only singled out because the pay is high. Where are the articles about the lack of women in welding?

Oddly enough, I know some people in the welding industry, and it's discussed.

Re: Women Outnumber Men For The First Time In Berkeley’s Intro To Computer Science

#133
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My uncle lost his job recently as a factory worker and is retraining at the age of 50 to be an nurse aide. He wishes he'd trained as nurse but 30 years ago it was near impossible. Not every man wants to be a brain surgeon. And teachers? That has to be the MOST important group where we should absolutely have equal representation.

And teachers? That has to be the MOST important group where we should absolutely have equal representation. As a "traditionally female" occupation, K-12 teaching is woefully underpaid relative to, say, police or firemen. In the SF Bay Area, teaching is just not a middle-class profession at all.

Could I take your comment to mean that men are not teachers because of the low pay-scale? It's a valid point and certainly one we would all like addressed.

Re: Women Outnumber Men For The First Time In Berkeley’s Intro To Computer Science

#134
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My uncle lost his job recently as a factory worker and is retraining at the age of 50 to be an nurse aide. He wishes he'd trained as nurse but 30 years ago it was near impossible. Not every man wants to be a brain surgeon. And teachers? That has to be the MOST important group where we should absolutely have equal representation.

I would never consider being a teacher because of the assumption of men being pedophiles. Well, that and pay.

I think those are precisely the 2 reasons we have so few male teachers entering the workforce these days. It's an awful awful thing. Being a teacher used to be a prestigious career.

Re: Women Outnumber Men For The First Time In Berkeley’s Intro To Computer Science

#135
post #77
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We need to consider, seriously, the possibility that avoidance of high tech in favor of health fields is a very rational choice [...] It's great if people are making a rational. Onsidered choice. I'd love to see research. I suspect that people are not making that informed choice and that segregation along sex happens much much earlier. And if being an RN is so good why are so many nurses imported from other nations…

They are imported because there is a big difference between a nurse and an RN. I couldn't think of a similar distinction in the tech industry. Also I'd also venture to say that RNs are paid very well all across the US.

No, actually not. You can't call yourself a nurse unless you've actually been licensed as a nurse (Registered Nurse). The sub-RNs are CNAs (Certified Nurse Assistants) and LPNs (Licensed Practical Nurses). The step above RN is NP (Nurse Practitioner, which is roughly the equivalent of a general practitioner MD and a small step above PA (Physician's Assistant, which can do all the stuff a GP/MD can do except write prescriptions). Even within RNs there are two categories: "normal" RNs and RN/BSNs, which are registered nurses who also have a bachelor of science degree.

Source: wife is a nurse (RN).

Re: Women Outnumber Men For The First Time In Berkeley’s Intro To Computer Science

#136

Gaining on Ya! Hopefully one day the minorities will outnumber the majority for the first time. :)

Think about that last sentence you wrote some more.

A lot of people use 'majority' when they mean 'plurality'.

Re: Women Outnumber Men For The First Time In Berkeley’s Intro To Computer Science

#137
post #5

This is talking about CS10, not CS61a. CS10 is a class designed mostly for non majors, who are interested in Computer Science; CS61a is the first required class for the major. I know of a bunch of CS guys with their girlfriends in CS10. A lot of people who are already set on taking CS as their major go directly into CS61a, skipping CS10, and this accounts for a lot of the gender ratio difference in CS10. If you look…

So it's probably a good sign in general, but not a sign that the major is changing yet.

At my university I would guess that it was about a quarter women. They were evenly distributed amongst the caliber of grads. Of the top 8 or so in my class (smaller program) 2 were women.

Re: Women Outnumber Men For The First Time In Berkeley’s Intro To Computer Science

#138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would never consider being a teacher because of the assumption of men being pedophiles. Well, that and pay.

I think those are precisely the 2 reasons we have so few male teachers entering the workforce these days. It's an awful awful thing. Being a teacher used to be a prestigious career.

There has been several teacher-student sexual assault cases in the area in the last few years... I think all but one was "female teacher and male student(s)". I believe that a far greater number of people view that as "more acceptable" than "male teacher and female student". It is a very sad double standard.

And we pay our teachers like crap. Which confuses me even more about the teachers that clearly don't care for teaching by the way they half-ass the job. Clearly they are not in it for the money.

Re: Women Outnumber Men For The First Time In Berkeley’s Intro To Computer Science

#139
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what I was thinking. I remember CS101 at my school had a decent amount of women, but by the time you reached 3rd year they all had disappeared.

Back in college, I had a roommate who was a recently-graduated electrical engineer (I, at the time, was a rising sophomore). We had a chat about dating in electrical engineering. "Angersock," he said," do you know how many women there were in my first year?" I thought for a second. "I don't know, maybe 20 or 30?". "About half my class of around 80 or so. Do you know how many I graduated with?" "Erm, 10 or 15?" "Try 3…

Not the best metaphor, dude ...

Re: Women Outnumber Men For The First Time In Berkeley’s Intro To Computer Science

#140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At our school, by the time you reached 2nd year most everyone disappeared, male and female. Fall semester sophomore year was about 25% of fall semester freshmen.

As it turns out, making video games has little to do with playing them.

Yeah I think that seems to be a pretty common scenario. It's pretty unfortunate that there are people who only think of programming in relation to game development rather than the rest of the spectrum.
Post reply on HN