I decided that I wanted a new career in programming. I learned Rails through Michael Hartl's (wonderful) tutorial. Several months later, I had a job as a progra

I decided that I wanted a new career in programming. I learned Rails through Michael Hartl's (wonderful) tutorial. Several months later, I had a job as a programmer. My being female has never, ever come up. In fact, of the five programmers in my shop, two are female. Any interested party can learn the skills, and then all you have to do is find someone you can help. There's a huge demand for programming skills, but a lot of potential clients/employers don't necessarily know what value we can bring. You also need to be somewhat of a salesman. (Full disclosure: I did come from a programming background, but I was self-taught. My previous job was in an unrelated field.)