Learn to code, find mentors, explore career paths, and connect with a community that gets it. Your village in tech.
freeCodeCamp: Full curriculum, free certificates. The Odin Project: Full-stack web development. CS50 (Harvard): Best intro to CS, free on edX. Codecademy: Interactive coding lessons.
Udemy: Affordable ($10-20 on sale). Coursera: University-backed. Treehouse: Structured learning paths. Frontend Masters: Expert-level web development.
Intensive 12-16 week programs. General Assembly, Flatiron, Coding Dojo, Hack Reactor. Many offer income share agreements — you don't pay until you get a job.
Start with HTML/CSS (build a website in a day), then JavaScript (make it interactive), then Python (data science, AI, automation). Don't overthink it — just start.
Front-end (React, Vue), back-end (Node, Python, Go), full-stack. Median salary: $85K-$130K. Remote-friendly. High demand.
Python, SQL, statistics, machine learning. Median salary: $100K-$150K. Every industry needs data people. Learn pandas, scikit-learn, and SQL.
User research, wireframing, prototyping. Tools: Figma, Sketch. Median salary: $80K-$120K. Creative + analytical. Design thinking bootcamps are excellent.
Network security, pen testing, compliance. Median salary: $90K-$140K. Massive talent shortage. CompTIA Security+ is a great starting cert.
Strategy, roadmaps, stakeholder management. Median salary: $100K-$160K. Bridge between engineering and business. No specific degree required.
AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD. Median salary: $100K-$150K. Infrastructure as code. AWS Solutions Architect cert is valuable.
Women Who Code: 300K+ members, events, mentorship. Girls Who Code: Focused on closing the gender gap. AnitaB.org: Advancing women in tech. Black Girls CODE: CS education for girls of color.
Grace Hopper Celebration: Largest gathering of women in tech (25K+ attendees). Women in Tech Summit. SheHacks. Many offer scholarships and travel grants.
Finding a mentor changes everything. Ask women one level above you. Be specific about what you need help with. Offer value in return — mentorship is a two-way street.
Know your market rate (Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, Blind). Always negotiate — women who negotiate earn $1M+ more over a career. Practice with a friend first. Never give the first number.
Wrote the first computer program in 1843 — a century before computers existed. The original programmer.
Invented the compiler. Coined the term 'debugging.' Rear Admiral in the US Navy. The Grace Hopper Celebration is named for her.
Led the team that wrote the Apollo 11 flight software. Coined the term 'software engineering.' Landed humans on the moon.
NASA mathematician whose orbital calculations were critical to the Mercury and Apollo programs. Subject of 'Hidden Figures.'