Barriers to Entry
Learning to Program is the Easy Part
A Different Kind of Diversity
Experiential Diversity
"People who build technology should
represent all the people who use it."
Successful career(s) in the past
!==
Seamless entry to life as a programmer
Unrealistic Expectations
Adult/Second-career considerations
Terminology
Code-->Production=Complicated!
Nothing is Transparent
ASSUME NOTHING!
New or aspiring programmers...
-->Feel afraid of breaking things
-->Feel self-conscious and embarrassed
-->Are less likely to ask all (or any) questions
--> Are more likely to make mistakes
------------>>>
---> Increased Likelihood of Failure
sudo chown -R ruth:ruth /
Our expectations, Ourselves
What can you do?
-
Offer to answer questions.
-
Share stories.
-
Be careful when ridiculing popular resources.
- Model good behavior.
- Reassure and encourage but don't sugarcoat.
http://llkats.github.io/2014/01/10/gather-the-singletons/
"I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
--Thomas Edison
How can we encourage potential newcomers from diverse backgrounds to take the leap?
- Refer interested friends to accessible resources that are aimed at beginners-- teamtreehouse.com, codecademy.com, etc...
- Invite all interested people, regardless of experience level, to conferences and meetups.
- Have them follow or talk to me!
THE END
Thank you!
Barriers to Entry
By Ruth Baril