by Paul Curzon, Queen Mary University of London
Originally Published in the CS4FN “Women are Here” special
Some (female) computer scientists and electronic engineers were asked what they most liked about their job and the subject. Each quote is given with the job they had at the time of the quote. many have moved on or upwards since.
Here is what the real Pros think …
“Building software that protects billions of people from online abuse … I find it tremendously rewarding…Every code change I make is a puzzle: exciting to solve and exhilarating to crack; I love doing this all day, every day.”
Despoina Magka, Software engineer, Facebook
“Taking on new challenges and overcoming my limitations with every program I write, every bug I fix, and every application I create. It has and continues to inspire me to grow, both professionally and personally.”
Kavin Narasimhan, Researcher, University of Surrey
“Because computer science skills are useful in nearly every part of our lives, I get to work with biologists, mathematicians, artists, designers, educators and lately a whole colony of naked mole-rats! I love the diversity.”
Julie Freeman, artist and PhD student, QMUL
“The flexibility of working from any place at any time. It offers many opportunities to collaborate with, and learn from, brilliant people from all over the world.”
Greta Yorsh, Lecturer QMUL, former software engineer, ARM.
“Possibilities! When you try to do something that seems crazy or impossible and it works, it opens up new possibilities… I enjoy being surrounded by creative people.”
Justyna Petke, Researcher, UCL
“That we get to study the deep characteristics of the human mind and yet we are so close to advances in technology and get to use them in our research.” – Mehrnoosh Sadrzadeh, Senior Lecturer, QMUL
“I get the opportunity to understand what both business people and technologists are thinking about, their ideas and their priorities and I have the opportunity to bring these ideas to fruition. I feel very special being able to do this! I also like that it is a creative subject – elegant coding can be so beautiful!”
Jill Hamilton, Vice President, Morgan Stanley
“You never know what research area the solution to your problem will come from, so every conversation is valuable.”
Vanessa Pope, PhD student, QMUL
“I get to ask questions about people, and set about answering them in an empirical way. computer science can lead you in a variety of unexpected directions”
Shauna Concannon, Researcher, QMUL
“It is fascinating to be able to provide simpler solutions to challenging requirements faced by the business.”
Emanuela Lins, Vice President, Morgan Stanley
“I think the best thing is how you can apply it to so many different topics. If you are interested in biology, music, literature, sport or just about anything else you can think of, then there’s a problem that you can tackle using computer science or electronic engineering…I like writing code, but I enjoy making things even more.”
Becky Stewart, Lecturer, QMUL
“… you get to be both a thinker and a creator. You get to think logically and mathematically, be creative in the way you write and design systems and you can be artistic in the way you display things to users. …you’re always learning something new.”
Yasaman Sepanj, Associate, Morgan Stanley
“Creating the initial ideas, forming the game, making the story… Being part of the creative process and having a hands on approach“,
Nana Louise Nielsen, Senior Game Designer, Sumo Digital
“Working with customers to solve their problems. The best feeling in the world is when you leave … knowing you’ve just made a huge difference.“
Hannah Parker, IT Consultant, IBM
“It changes so often… I am not always sure what the day will be like“
Madleina Scheidegger, Software Engineer, Google.
“I enjoy being able to work from home“
Megan Beynon, Software Engineer, IBM
“I love to see our plans come together with another service going live and the first positive user feedback coming in“
Kerstin Kleese van Dam, Head of Data Management, CCLRC
“…a good experienced team around me focused on delivering results”
Anita King, Senior Project Manager, Metropolitan Police Service
“I get to work with literally every single department in the organisation.”
Jemima Rellie, Head of Digital Programme, Tate
More on …
- The women are still here [PORTAL]
Related Magazines …
EPSRC supports this blog through research grant EP/W033615/1.
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