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From: pag00@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com (Pria Graves)
Newsgroups: comp.society.women
Subject: Re: The Technical Core in Computing Firms
Message-ID: <11307@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 23 Jun 88 19:10:47 GMT
References: <11101@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <11165@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
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In article <11165@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> marla@Sun.COM (Marla Parker) writes:
 >
 >The practical aspects of how to switch from being an unemployed history
 >graduate to an employed software engineer are another matter altogether,
 >one that I know nothing about.  Tech writer->tech support->engineering
 >seems to work for some people, but maybe someone who has transferred
 >into software from a different field could write about how to do this.

Actually, I found it easy.  When I first started looking for work in
'75, there were no jobs around here (electronics industry recession)
so I took my BA in philosophy and got a job as a secretary/office manager.
After three years I got fed up with being paid nothing for lots of
responsibility (signatory power on both payroll and general checking accounts
etc.) so I started calling customers who knew and respected me.  One
said "how would you like to be a network technician?" and I responded
"what's that?"  So I went to visit, and he explained about the business
of keeping a data network running and I thought it would be interesting
so I gave it a try.
Later I shifted into system maintenance, data network design, network
operations management and finally into software engineering.  At all
phases the key has been a willingness to learn and people who were
willing to bank on that.  Somewhere along the way I got an MBA but
I don't think it ever helped me much.  The main thing was jumping in
and learning fast!
-- 
Pria            ...!{ihnp4,hplabs,amdcad,nsc}!amdahl!pag00
                (408) 746 7539


(Disclaimer:  even I don't necessarily agree!)