3 ms·
My niece had almost the exact same opinion despite having multiple family members who didn't fit that description, including her mother! It wasn't until I intro
by deeg 6y ago
My niece had almost the exact same opinion despite having multiple family members who didn't fit that description, including her mother! It wasn't until I introduced her to some of my younger female co-workers that she committed to being a CS major. She's now a third generation software engineer, which has to be fairly unique.
- cs702 6y agoThat is unusual indeed! The question for which I don't have a good answer is, why did your niece have the same opinion despite so much firsthand evidence to the contrary?
- deeg 6y agoI've talked to her about it and she can't really articulate why. I'm closer to the nerd stereotype in that I'm on the computer a lot but her mother (my sister) definitely is not. I think it's mostly pop and teen culture still harboring the antisocial stigma. I'll have to talk to her some more. There is probably some connection with video games, in that boys overwhelmingly play games where girls do not. I don't think the games cause the disparity; whatever it is that draws boys to VGs is what draws them to CS as well.
- mcv 6y ago> "She's now a third generation software engineer, which has to be fairly unique." The profession isn't very old yet, but it's coming. My oldest son is also planning on becoming a third-generation programmer.