Where do you find professional community? During the pandemic, it’s probably online.
Over the past 18 months, we’ve repeatedly heard from technologists that online communities are stronger and more essential than ever. In Technical.ly’s most recent AMA interview on our public Slack, four women who run technical meetup groups and professional organizations in Philly and Delaware gathered to chat about their respective groups. All four work in tech now, but started their studies or careers on a different path.
As women working throughout the pandemic, their respective communities have proven to be spaces to breathe and continue to learn, even when lives feels unsteady.
“Having that outlet to connect with other people who are having the same or similar experiences allows us to feel less isolated and feel bolder and take more risks,” said Gloria Bell, cofounder of national org and conference, Women in Tech Summit.
Alice Walsh and Karla Fettich are organizers and board members of R-Ladies Philly, a meetup that promotes gender diversity in the R and data science community. They currently work as the VP of translational research at biotech company Pathos and the head of algorithm development at Orchestrall, respectively. But neither started in tech — not exactly. Walsh has degrees in engineering and describes herself now as “more a scientist that can code than a software engineer that works in science.”
“There is a huge data science community in Philadelphia and a lot of people transition into the field from something else,” she said. “A lot of people are drawn in by the opportunities (good jobs!) but also because data work is also very rewarding and creative.”
Continue reading: https://technical.ly/philly/2021/08/30/women-tech-career-pivots-meetups/
Over the past 18 months, we’ve repeatedly heard from technologists that online communities are stronger and more essential than ever. In Technical.ly’s most recent AMA interview on our public Slack, four women who run technical meetup groups and professional organizations in Philly and Delaware gathered to chat about their respective groups. All four work in tech now, but started their studies or careers on a different path.
As women working throughout the pandemic, their respective communities have proven to be spaces to breathe and continue to learn, even when lives feels unsteady.
“Having that outlet to connect with other people who are having the same or similar experiences allows us to feel less isolated and feel bolder and take more risks,” said Gloria Bell, cofounder of national org and conference, Women in Tech Summit.
Alice Walsh and Karla Fettich are organizers and board members of R-Ladies Philly, a meetup that promotes gender diversity in the R and data science community. They currently work as the VP of translational research at biotech company Pathos and the head of algorithm development at Orchestrall, respectively. But neither started in tech — not exactly. Walsh has degrees in engineering and describes herself now as “more a scientist that can code than a software engineer that works in science.”
“There is a huge data science community in Philadelphia and a lot of people transition into the field from something else,” she said. “A lot of people are drawn in by the opportunities (good jobs!) but also because data work is also very rewarding and creative.”
Continue reading: https://technical.ly/philly/2021/08/30/women-tech-career-pivots-meetups/
