There are a lot of things I have in common with other programmers I've met, but at the same time my life has taken a less-than-stereotypical path. For example,

There are a lot of things I have in common with other programmers I've met, but at the same time my life has taken a less-than-stereotypical path. For example, I worked as a salesperson for a number of years and was something of a bright light when doing so. That being said, a skill at "qualifying" and "closing" prospects them should never be confused with being a people person, sometimes quite the opposite. My mother was a systems programmer in the 1960s, and speaking of discrimination and so forth, she is both Black and Female. There were probably more Unicorns in captivity than Black, female programmers in that decade. She later became a very successful real estate broker, so I was also exposed to entrepreneurship at an early age.