For a long time, tech culture has focused too narrowly on technical skills; this has resulted in a tech community that too often puts companies and code over people. Greater Than Code is a podcast that invites the voices of people who are not heard from enough in tech: women, people of color, trans and/or queer folks, to talk about the human side of software development and technology. Greater Than Code is providing a vital platform for these conversations, and developing new ideas of what it means to be a technologist beyond just the code. Featuring an ongoing panel of racially and gender diverse tech panelists, the majority of podcast guests so far have been women in tech! We’ve covered topics including imposter syndrome, mental illness, sexuality, unconscious bias and social justice. We also have a major focus on skill sets that tech too often devalues, like team-building, hiring, community organizing, mentorship and empathy. Each episode also includes a transcript. We have an active Slack community that members can join by pledging as little as $1 per month via Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode)
052: Master’s Degrees, Double Binds, and Data Science with Emily Dresner
01:06 – Emily’s Background and Superpower
02:49 – Having a Master’s Degree: Was it worth it?
08:08 – Struggles After Retaining a Master’s
10:31 – Role Model: Emily’s Mom and Her Story
12:11 – “The Double Bind”
14:47 – Experiences Working at a Gaming Company
Shipping Out: On the (nearly lethal) comforts of a luxury cruise by David Foster Wallace
18:33 – Transitioning to Upside and Building a Healthy Culture
21:50 – Engineering Vs Management
29:09 – Data Science
32:50 – Self-Selecting for Privilege
36:38 – Data Science and Security/Privacy
46:55 – Having a Background in Actual Science; Conquering Biases
51:35 – The Importance of Mentorship and Internships from the Beginning
Reflections:
Coraline: Having a biases towards hiring people like yourself and other hiring biases.
Sam: Research cognitive biases.
Jamey: Computers aren’t people.
Emily: I really do enjoy teaching.
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Special Guest: Emily Dresner.