Any females on here?

I did search and see a couple posts about females in the Cisco forum. Mainly replies in posts. It is very difficult for me to admit my interests in technology. I've only met a few females with the same interests. One thing that has caused me to be very shy about sharing my interests is I was knocked down by a male TA when I was in the CS program. I have a BA in Finance but never finished the CS program. Kind of glad I didn't because programming is not something I want to do for a career. Although, I really enjoyed taking the classes. I don't have any female friends, or really any to begin with. Being someone that has interests in what females usually aren't interested in has made it hard to make and keep friends.

I discovered Cisco certifications randomly and went for it and I really enjoy learning. I do feel overwhelmed with info sometimes. Something I've read more than once is females in interviews not knowing anything. I suck at talking to people to begin with. I don't feel like I have to prove myself more than a male would. I'm curious about what people mean by people not knowing things in interviews. Do they not know anything as in they seemed to pass exams by memorizing ****? That question is more of a general question, not based on gender.

Thanks for reading this post. I need friends!

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

PC509

I've met some very talented women in the IT field, some way more knowledgeable that most men I've met. Sure, there is a stigma with women in the IT field, and you probably do have to do a bit more than a male to prove yourself (sad, but true). But, don't let that stop you from following your dreams. IT is a great field to work in, and there are some great women out there.

There are men out there that think IT is a man only job, but they are wrong. I've seen three men work on a routing issue all day only to have a woman (with a much lower job title) come in and see the problem and know how to fix it in 10 minutes (True story, too).

Oh - "Don't let the man get you down!"

chrisone

At my previous job our IT President was a female and our IT VP was female too. They were very knowledgeable in general IT and knew how to manage such infrastructures, but obviously they weren't hands on due to their position. In other words they didnt know how to configure a router but obviously knew what they are used for and why we need them, they weren't clueless. I respected them a lot and felt at ease when talking to them. They never played the power trip role that many males in those positions tend to play.

I have seen many females on these forums in my time here, many i have on google+ from here as well. Just build your network of contacts and you will see, you will find many female geniuses. I am sure many will be glad to help you out and motivate you from a female stand point, us men might not be good enough to get the message across to you , but hey we are men

gouki2005

About women in tthe field i had a lot of bad luck working with "useless" girls they dont know anything if you gave them the easiest job they do the job in the worst way I had just one good experience with a female it was in the cisco academy WOW that girl was so smart she solved the practical exam in half hour while rest of guys needed like 4 hours even a guy who talked a lot of crap about his job (i do a lot of networking in my job , I fixed the firewall last week etc) the exam was simple it was just acl but he didnt as these girl too bad she isnt my coworker because she is so good in this field

superbabe_uk

hi there, here's another female! I'm 32, have two kids ( 7 & 5 yrs) and started my IT training last year. I'm hugely enjoying it too, much more than any of the work I used to do, and this was certainly the best choice I ever made!

I can't really say how good I'll be at it as I only just passed my A+ last December (dead easy admittedly) and now booked for CCNA next week Thursday. Practice exams have been going "ok" but not great so I might not pass the first time round.

let's see... !

gosh1976

One of the best team leads at my first IT position was a female. I've interviewed with females that were in IT management positions at more than one company. I've worked with females in big help desk type settings. It is a male dominated industry but in my opinion not too an extent that it needs to weigh on your mind.

tek2advanced

If any of you are interested in "Networking/Making new friends", especially IT related ones. Capitanu and I have been communicating on Skype discussing CCNA related topics and just life in general the past day. He's from Romania and I'm from the U.S. He's currently finishing up his CCNA Academy and I'm still in the Third Module of the Academy.

I think it's wise to surround ourselves around the people with the same like minded goals.

We could create a Skype Group easily, post your Skype Usernames here at the link below.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccna-ccent/68185-ccna-online-study-group.html

r_durant

I work in a job where our networking devices are all Cisco, and the very first person I consult when I'm stuck with a routing, switching or firewall problem, is a female. She's much more knowledgeable than I am, and I hardly ever second-guessed her solutions. In no way do I feel intimidated, I look forward to our discussions on the subject...

I think it's a mental thing, knowledge is relative, it has no gender, be who you are, like what you do. There will be the odd chauvinist, or biased person...don't change because of that.

Ironically, just the other day I was wondering if or how many females are actually on here.

I'm sure you will find lots of friends on here...

mikej412

schmalz2 wrote: »

I'm curious about what people mean by people not knowing things in interviews. Do they not know anything as in they seemed to pass exams by memorizing ****? That question is more of a general question, not based on gender.

About 50-60% of candidates who get selected for a simple technical phone screening (10 simple questions) can't pass it. We don't know if those people dumped their CCNA exam, crammed for the exam thinking it was the piece of paper (and not the knowledge and skills) that was important, or if they just froze up. We just know that we're not going to waste anyone's time by bringing them in for an interview.

While fewer females than males apply for our networking position, about 80% of the females selected for the technical phone interview pass.

Within our divisions the bastions of male dominance took the biggest hits during the layoffs (due to the economy) -- probably since they weren't as effective or efficient in getting the job done as the groups that hired the best (male OR female) candidates available.

schmalz2

superbabe_uk wrote: »

hi there, here's another female! I'm 32, have two kids ( 7 & 5 yrs) and started my IT training last year. I'm hugely enjoying it too, much more than any of the work I used to do, and this was certainly the best choice I ever made!

I can't really say how good I'll be at it as I only just passed my A+ last December (dead easy admittedly) and now booked for CCNA next week Thursday. Practice exams have been going "ok" but not great so I might not pass the first time round.

let's see... !

I'm scheduled for the ICND2 next Thursday.

I'm 28 and no actual work experience in IT.

schmalz2

mikej412 wrote: »

About 50-60% of candidates who get selected for a simple technical phone screening (10 simple questions) can't pass it. We don't know if those people dumped their CCNA exam, crammed for the exam thinking it was the piece of paper (and not the knowledge and skills) that was important, or if they just froze up. We just know that we're not going to waste anyone's time by bringing them in for an interview.

While fewer females than males apply for our networking position, about 80% of the females selected for the technical phone interview pass.

Within our divisions the bastions of male dominance took the biggest hits during the layoffs (due to the economy) -- probably since they weren't as effective or efficient in getting the job done as the groups that hired the best (male OR female) candidates available.

Thank you for answering this. When you say 10 simple questions are you meaning the basics of networking?

Turgon

schmalz2 wrote: »

I did search and see a couple posts about females in the Cisco forum. Mainly replies in posts. It is very difficult for me to admit my interests in technology. I've only met a few females with the same interests. One thing that has caused me to be very shy about sharing my interests is I was knocked down by a male TA when I was in the CS program. I have a BA in Finance but never finished the CS program. Kind of glad I didn't because programming is not something I want to do for a career. Although, I really enjoyed taking the classes. I don't have any female friends, or really any to begin with. Being someone that has interests in what females usually aren't interested in has made it hard to make and keep friends.

I discovered Cisco certifications randomly and went for it and I really enjoy learning. I do feel overwhelmed with info sometimes. Something I've read more than once is females in interviews not knowing anything. I suck at talking to people to begin with. I don't feel like I have to prove myself more than a male would. I'm curious about what people mean by people not knowing things in interviews. Do they not know anything as in they seemed to pass exams by memorizing ****? That question is more of a general question, not based on gender.

Thanks for reading this post. I need friends!

If you want advice you can PM me.

superbabe_uk wrote: »

hi there, here's another female! I'm 32, have two kids ( 7 & 5 yrs) and started my IT training last year. I'm hugely enjoying it too, much more than any of the work I used to do, and this was certainly the best choice I ever made!

I can't really say how good I'll be at it as I only just passed my A+ last December (dead easy admittedly) and now booked for CCNA next week Thursday. Practice exams have been going "ok" but not great so I might not pass the first time round.

let's see... !

If you want advice you can PM me.

tek2advanced wrote: »

If any of you are interested in "Networking/Making new friends", especially IT related ones. Capitanu and I have been communicating on Skype discussing CCNA related topics and just life in general the past day. He's from Romania and I'm from the U.S. He's currently finishing up his CCNA Academy and I'm still in the Third Module of the Academy.

I think it's wise to surround ourselves around the people with the same like minded goals.

We could create a Skype Group easily, post your Skype Usernames here at the link below.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccna-ccent/68185-ccna-online-study-group.html

There are some very smart people in Europe and English isn't their first language.

It's a male dominated profession. Few women are drawn. What I will say is that of the few women drawn we do get some smart individuals. It's a man thing so everyone goes along...but as for women, its not an expected field so I suppose it's a case of it's something they really 'want' to do. Perlman for example, Oppenhiemer. There are so many others..great intellects.

Jinuyr

In my time I have worked with a number of very talentended women in the IT industry.

When I first started my career in IT, the Property Manager for the Corporate Office in charge of IT was female. I was an intern at the time and she showed me a lot about IT. I eventually came back a few years later after she had moved on and assumed her old position.

At the hotel level, there were a few females PC technicians that were favored by most of the people on staff (end users) because not only were they more friendly, they got the job done a lot faster.

Working as a DBA, our Director of Application Development was female. She was one of the best programmers I have ever seen. She could only be bested by her brother who was also a prommaing executive and a published author. She was also a Microsoft Certified Trainer.

For my current organization, our VP of IT is female.

So don't let these stereotypes fool you, women do great in this industry. Heck, my wife also did IT and now she's in the video game industry.

vbodner

I have been in the IT network and security field for 15+ years. I can say that with the government there are as many females in IT as males. Don't let gender intimidate you. IT is a great field.

ITdude

Turgon wrote: »

Perlman for example, Oppenhiemer. There are so many others..great intellects.

Ditto on that!

NetworkingStudent

schmalz2 wrote: »

I did search and see a couple posts about females in the Cisco forum. Mainly replies in posts. It is very difficult for me to admit my interests in technology. I've only met a few females with the same interests. One thing that has caused me to be very shy about sharing my interests is I was knocked down by a male TA when I was in the CS program. I have a BA in Finance but never finished the CS program. Kind of glad I didn't because programming is not something I want to do for a career. Although, I really enjoyed taking the classes. I don't have any female friends, or really any to begin with. Being someone that has interests in what females usually aren't interested in has made it hard to make and keep friends.

I discovered Cisco certifications randomly and went for it and I really enjoy learning. I do feel overwhelmed with info sometimes. Something I've read more than once is females in interviews not knowing anything. I suck at talking to people to begin with. I don't feel like I have to prove myself more than a male would. I'm curious about what people mean by people not knowing things in interviews. Do they not know anything as in they seemed to pass exams by memorizing ****? That question is more of a general question, not based on gender.

Thanks for reading this post. I need friends!

I know there are a few women on here. One of the Females on TE is Plantwiz. She hangs out in the A+ subsection of the A+ forum a lot. She’s always helpful and has a lot of advice offer.
Some links on women in computing:
Grace Hopper Celebration 2011
ACM-W Council Women in Computing News Blog: Women in technology conferences and women's rights: The DisconnectAmbassador: Gayatri Buragohain, India
‪1982HopperSafer1‬‏ - YouTube
ACM-W

BXANGEL

Yes female 35/ NYC

scaredoftests

Yes, female..56 years young, wash metro area...

koz24

This thread is a creepshow

snowchick7669

Another female

. I currently work as an information security analyst and I'm studying for my CCNA. It definitely is a male dominated profession, but it's never bothered me too much. I've never had any issues/bias in interviews due to my gender, in fact it's always been a good conversation starter.

gadav478

My first REAL supervisor in IT was female. She was definitely awesome and knowledgable; great management qualities as well. It's male dominated as far as numbers are concerned but I think your sex matters much less than how well you can DO YOUR JOB.

theodoxa

mikej412 wrote: »

About 50-60% of candidates who get selected for a simple technical phone screening (10 simple questions) can't pass it. We don't know if those people dumped their CCNA exam, crammed for the exam thinking it was the piece of paper (and not the knowledge and skills) that was important, or if they just froze up. We just know that we're not going to waste anyone's time by bringing them in for an interview.

I had a coworker who had multiple CCNPs. He had been out of R&S so long, when he was asked a simple R&S question in a phone interview that a CCNA could have answered, he couldn't remember the answer.