Giving the Customer What They Want

I just love this very funny description of project development. Funny because it's true ;-)
Click on image to see large version.

Lack of confidence

I feel like I have had a massive wake-up call today. After reading the following article: Gender Differences: Recognizing and Developing Potential in Female Students. I realised many things about the way I have been feeling.

Before I went to TAFE Tasmania I knew what I knew. I was confident when it came to computing. I was actually proud of my abilities. If you know me; you'll know that's a pretty big deal.

After I started TAFE my confidence dropped. At times almost completely. I'm not even sure about something when I KNOW the answer. Pretty silly aye.

I feel like I was set-up to fail at TAFE. All the projects I was asked to do were impossible to pass. Even when I explained why they where impossible I was made to do them anyway.
What got me was the teachers were then shocked, and disappointed when I failed the tasks. In the end I was made to feel like I only graduated by the good graces of one of the teachers. I was shown over and over again that I couldn't compete in the IT industry, and that my skills where highly inadequate.

I don't know why they teach IT here in Tasmania, as there is NO IT industry, which kinda makes a Technical diploma mute. That probably makes my diplomas worthless. Yet I digress.

After reading this article I have realised that it's perhaps not my abilities at fault. Perhaps it is more that my confidence has taken a massive knock. Perhaps it is more the way that I learn, and how that has not been nourished.
I feel as though I have been letting all of this get to me so badly. At times I'm even worried to do things on my own network.

Also when I think back to my schooling, I might have let it get to me there as well. I am a very logical, and technically minded person. Yet I left college (Year 11 and 12 in Australia) thinking that I would be lucky if I was smart enough to even wash dishes.

Now I have a new outlook on all of this. I want to start believing in my abilities again. I want to find a way to build up my confidence. I know that it'll be hard. I probably need to achieve something small to help bring it back up.
Yet I am grateful that I have realised that it probably isn't my abilities, and knowledge. Maybe I can do this. I guess time will tell.

Women in Computing: addition

I was just reading my rant from the other day and I feel I need to make an addition.

I have never been treated unfairly by people online or in the IT industry. Only in some computer stores, and by others in the community, especially in businesses. I don't really know why.
Yet I don't want to whine about it anymore.

I just wanted that to be clear! Thanks...

Women and computing

Take a deep breath this may well be painful. I need to have a little rant...
I'm sick of being treated like shit because I'm a woman in IT. Don't get me wrong I don't think that I should get special treatment or anything like that, I just wish I existed...

I wish that I didn't always have to prove myself over and above others, just to have my knowledge used against me. I wish that it didn't matter! I don't want it to be an us or them thing. I just want to work with computers, because I LOVE it. It shouldn't matter that I'm female.

I graduated top of my class last year. All the rest of my peers were male, and all now have jobs. I don't, I haven't even had an interview. Maybe there are other factors. Perhaps I'm missing the real reason.

Yesterday I walked into a computer shop. I needed a sound card for my fathers computer. I looked around for a minute, then went and stood by the counter. The all male staff were hurrying around. I stood there.

Then a male customer entered the store, within 20 seconds he was served. So I tried more frantically to gain the attention of an attendant. Nothing...
Then two males walked in together and were served straight away, I couldn't believe it. In the end I had to say load enough for the attendants to hear. "Hello, don't I exist here."

After about a minute an attendant walked up to me and said, "Do you want something do you?" I should have walked out, but there was nowhere else to go. He continued to be arrogant the entire time I was in the store. I walked out and burst into tears. All this is really getting to me at the moment.

I don't understand. I don't think being a women takes away from my ability to work with computers. I don't think that I have less knowledge than others in my situation. I don't think I act like I know it all. I certainly don't push the fact that I'm a woman in anyones face. So why do I get treated like this?

Is this a problem just here in Launceston Tasmania?
Are there other places in Australia were women feel like this?
Are there other places in the world were people feel like this?
Or is all of this just in my head? And women get treated the same as there male counterparts.

I'm sorry I'm just fed up with being nothing and nobody, and being treated like crap doesn't help. All I want is to work in the IT industry yet no one wants to give me a chance.

Why blame technology? again!

I was reading Regina Lynn post today: Breath of Fresh Air: Internet Not Evil, which linked to the following article: It’s the people - stupid.
I thought it was an interesting continuation on my post the other day:
Why blame technology for bad behavior?

Why blame technology for bad behavior?

I would like to congratulate the Victorian government once again on their fear based, knee-jerk reaction to the Internet and computers. Victoria is an Australian state, and it has decided to ban YouTube in government run schools. Supposedly in a bid to stamp out bullying.
Why on earth are people still so scared of computers?
Why do they blame technology for other problems?
Why do they think by banning a web site they can stop anything?
Plus what on earth does bulling have to do with YouTube in the first place?
Wont students just go and look this stuff up at home if they are banned at school?
Doesn't this type of behavior just cause a Streisand effect?

There was no YouTube when I was at school, and I had the same 4-5 girls bully me as apart of my everyday high school experience. I don't think technology had anything to do with that, actually I'm sure of it!

Why aren't we teaching children how to use the Internet? and what to do if they come across inappropriate material. Teaching them to filter themselves, to know what is right and wrong for them. Banning things from people only causes a Streisand effect, and covetous behavior.
Why aren't we finding out why kids are bullying and put a stop to it? (Or at least effort.)
Why do we censor children instead of teaching them?
How can you teach a child to grow and become their own person if they are being banned from things, having their freedom taken from them?
How can you show trust in children when you haven't shown them how to take care of themselves?

Haven't educators/parents realized that "I am what ever you say I am"! If you treat people a certain way then they are eventually going to act that way. It is simple human psychology.

The ONLY thing school teaches you is; your place, it teaches you to follow. Any original thought is squashed, and individuality heavily discouraged. When I entered school, I could read at a 6 grade level, I was quite smart. Smart enough that I scared the teachers into ringing my parents, and threatening them for what I knew. Then I was in trouble from both teachers and parents over and over again, until finally in grade 3 I gave up. I didn't do the work, I stopped learning, and I became a quiet kid that no one knew, and they all left me alone (well until high school). I'm still catching up for all that time lost. I still consider myself to be stupid, after all; "I am what ever you say I am".

Schools are only damaging our children, turning them into sheeple, that follow, and can't make decisions for themselves. Sheeple that you can't trust to do anything without holding their hand, "trained monkeys" (as I have heard a school teacher describe his students). What educators, and governments are failing to realize is that children are way better at computers, and technology than most adults.
Personally I am not at all amazed to watch a child use a computer, show me a person in there 80's or 90's using it, then I will be impressed.

We should be helping teach our children, not sending them off to some strange place and having others squash their potential, and worse! Imagine all of the brilliant minds lost in formal education. Adults that are now to scared (or to well trained) to use any individual thought.

Congratulations again to the Victorian government, for showing us that fear of technology, lack of understanding and knowledge, has once again lead to censoring our children, instead of teaching them. After all isn't the student also the teacher?

The following links are on similar topics, if you get a chance some of them are very interesting: Protect the Children From Porn , THE PSYCHOPATHIC SCHOOL , Bullying in schools.

IT companies with no web presence

I'm currently looking for work in every place that I can find it. Today I decided to pro-actively write a resume for each of the IT companies around my local area, to advertise my skills, and let people know that I am available. I approached the project with excitement and eagerness. I really want a job badly, even if it only gives me some experience and lead into the IT industry.

I thought that after a couple of web searches and some hunting through the phone book I would be able to find many companies, view their websites and then work from there. Finding out what they are all about and weather or not they would be interested in someone with my skills.
However I was to find something very different...

I can't believe the number of IT businesses in my area, which do not have an on-line presence at all, nothing. Some of them don't even have an e-mail address. Others have a contact hotmail or bigpond address, and that's it. It seems amazing to me it really does. I don't understand why as a "IT/computer" company you wouldn't have a web presence.
I am still in shock this may take me some getting over.

Of the companies which do have an on-line presence, I was amazed at the quality of some of the web sites. Don't get me wrong some of them are at a Very high standard! Others I could teach a monkey to write. Worse still some of the bad ones are actually web design companies.

I think I need a break...