Behind LA’s rising digital tech scene are some amazing developers building great products and driving growth. Since only 10 to 12 percent of developers in LA are women developers, Built In LA is giving them some well-deserved attention in this series. In the first installment, a few incredible women shared their stories about how they got started and who is pushing them to succeed now. To recommend a female developer for a future installment, email [email protected].
Michelle Yung, Ruby developer at The Honest Company
[ibimage==30536==Small==none==self==ibimage_align-left]WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE ON A DAILY BASIS?
Definitely estimating LOE (Level of Effort), which is a fundamental skill in any job. Everybody, no matter what job they have, estimates LOE on a daily basis for their own tasks. The difference for developers is that there is a much more formalized process; we record and keep original estimations and compare them to actual time spent. Not only does this ascertain our accuracy, we also use this to figure out our velocity and how much work is possible to fit into a sprint.
DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR WOMEN STARTING OUT IN THE TECH WORLD?
- Find a mentor, ask questions and collaborate.
- Let the high level business needs inform your daily decision making on the job. Keep the big picture in mind.
- If an initiative is critical for the business, attack it with a positive attitude and zeal.
- Constantly challenge yourself and push your boundaries. Become cross-functional.
Katharine Jarmul, PyLadies founder
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WHY DID YOU START PYLADIES AND WHAT LESSONS HAVE YOU LEARNED?
PyLadies started with a group of women who frequented the LA Python community meetups. We aimed to promote diversity of all kinds within the Python community and open source world as a whole. What we found when we began to put on our own workshops and meetups is that the diversity in attendance immediately reflected our goals. And by having women as leaders within the community and women at the front of the classroom immediately created a equal headcount and learning experience.
WHO ARE YOUR MENTORS?
I always had highly academic female role models in my mother and stepmom. My stepmom has a Master’s in math and several technical patents, and my mother led an entire West Coast sales team in technical research. In my house, it was not unfamiliar to do your math and science homework with a female.
Kimberly Shen, front-end developer at ChowNow
[ibimage==30539==Small==none==self==ibimage_align-left]WHAT'S YOUR SECRET WEAPON?
My secret weapon is that I'm really determined. It's also a big weakness, because I'm so determined to do it on my own without help from others. However, development -- and life really -- doesn't work that way. But that drive and motivation has definitely helped get me to where I am today.
WHAT'S THE BEST ADVICE YOU'VE RECEIVED?
Someone sent me an Ira Glass quote when I told them I was switching to design, and even though he's talking about storytelling, it relates to me with design and development. He talks about someone just starting out in a new career, and you knowing your work sucks, but that it takes doing volumes of work to get better. You have to fight your way through this period of suckiness, if that makes sense.
Luz Rivas, founder and executive director at DIY Girls
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR DIY GIRLS?
DIY Girls is an organization that offers hands-on educational experiences for women and girls to increase their interested in technology,engineering and making products. My goals are to continue to offer programs where women and girls learn new skills and gain confidence in technical abilities. I want to expand our reach and double the number of participants we currently serve in the next year.
WHICH GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALS DO YOU ADMIRE IN THE LA TECH COMMUNITY?
- Sabio.la: I like that this company is focusing on increasing women and minorities in tech through its developer bootcamps
- Elon Musk: As a former hardware engineer that worked in automotive product manufacturing, I admire Elon's big ideas for developing and building products.
Find startup and tech web developer jobs in Los Angeles on the Built In LA job board.
