It’s no secret there’s a shortage of women working in IT. While this is a complex problem, with a whole host of factors influencing the current makeup of the employee landscape, there’s one point that seems to get brought up again and again, often accused of being the main culprit responsible for this deficiency—there are no careers in IT that appeal to young girls. And if young girls can’t get excited about IT, how are we supposed to get more women involved in the profession? Of course the truth is you can leverage a career in IT to find work in a huge variety of industries. Whether it’s a user experience designer or environmental engineer, interested young girls can pursue a career in IT that will take them just about anywhere.
While the stereotype of a career in IT may be that of the sequestered professional who never sees the light of day, hard at work deep in the bowels of their company's IT department, the reality is far different. Today’s IT professional has an incredible number of career options in a vast number of industries to choose from. Consider the following areas where one could pursue a career in IT:
User Experience Designer
A user experience designer is primarily concerned with how people process information and interact with technology. Carefully considering each and every aspect of the user experience, from the boot-up process to the shutdown screen, this IT professional strives to create interfaces so seamless, simple and intuitive, using them feels effortless. A fascinating career that combines aspects of psychology with technology, this career path is great for people who are curious about other people's thought processes and how they interact with the world.
CGI Artist
Since its inception, computer generated imagery has grown to become a resource used in all sorts of industries, from rendering the complex scientific models used in biology to creating big-budget action scenes in Hollywood blockbusters. This field leverages an interest in art and IT to produce all sorts of visuals we never would've been able to accomplish with the practical effects that were so popular decades ago.
Environmental Engineer
Environmental engineers do their best to make the world a better place. Among the many specializations in this field, an environmental engineer may work on cleaning up polluted or toxic sites; sustaining the available air, water and land in a given habitat; or developing solutions for long-standing public-health concerns. Environmental engineers leverage the latest science and technology to meet these incredible challenges, working to secure a bright future for all life on Earth.
Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg. The diversity of IT jobs available today is staggering, and the future promising. Check out the Advancing Women in IT (AWIT) community’s recently released video to learn more about the diverse number of careers available in IT. Want to find out how you can help girls learn about the promising future of a career in IT? Check out the AWIT community to learn how you can get involved.
