One reason that I was drawn to programming was because I liked spending long hours in front of the computer figuring things out, not talking to anybody else or

One reason that I was drawn to programming was because I liked spending long hours in front of the computer figuring things out, not talking to anybody else or dealing with people. Women that I've spoken to about this have said they couldn't imagine being alone all day. Many men too. I'm not a people person consistently enough for politics but I love tech stuff! When I started programming though I did hang out on IRC a lot. Mostly I was there to ask questions. People there were extremely rude to me just for asking questions or having an opinion. I also started out with a very low paying jobs and I have been discriminated against many times for the fact that I do not have a college degree. Now that I'm older I will be discriminated against for my age. However I persist. If it weren't for my desire to learn, it might have turned me off. If not for my love of tech I might have switched careers. I think people who would rather make a stink about some bit of drama really weren't interested in the tech as much as they were interested in drama, money or respect.