Web Girl Village — Where Women in Tech Connect & Grow

Learn to Code

01 / paths in

01.1

Free Resources

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.

01.2

Paid Courses

Udemy: Affordable ($10-20 on sale). Coursera: University-backed. Treehouse: Structured learning paths. Frontend Masters: Expert-level web development.

01.3

Bootcamps

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.

01.4

Best First Language

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.

Career Paths

02 / where it leads

02.1

Web Development

Front-end (React, Vue), back-end (Node, Python, Go), full-stack. Median salary: $85K-$130K. Remote-friendly. High demand.

02.2

Data Science

Python, SQL, statistics, machine learning. Median salary: $100K-$150K. Every industry needs data people. Learn pandas, scikit-learn, and SQL.

02.3

UX Design

User research, wireframing, prototyping. Tools: Figma, Sketch. Median salary: $80K-$120K. Creative + analytical. Design thinking bootcamps are excellent.

02.4

Cybersecurity

Network security, pen testing, compliance. Median salary: $90K-$140K. Massive talent shortage. CompTIA Security+ is a great starting cert.

02.5

Product Management

Strategy, roadmaps, stakeholder management. Median salary: $100K-$160K. Bridge between engineering and business. No specific degree required.

02.6

DevOps / Cloud

AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD. Median salary: $100K-$150K. Infrastructure as code. AWS Solutions Architect cert is valuable.

Community & Resources

03 / your people

03.1

Organizations

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.

03.2

Conferences

Grace Hopper Celebration: Largest gathering of women in tech (25K+ attendees). Women in Tech Summit. SheHacks. Many offer scholarships and travel grants.

03.3

Mentorship

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.

03.4

Salary Negotiation

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.

“The web was never built by one kind of person. It was built by everyone who refused to wait for permission.”

Foremothers of the Field

04 / who came first

1843

Ada Lovelace

Wrote the first computer program in 1843 — a century before computers existed. The original programmer.

1952

Grace Hopper

Invented the compiler. Coined the term 'debugging.' Rear Admiral in the US Navy. The Grace Hopper Celebration is named for her.

1969

Margaret Hamilton

Led the team that wrote the Apollo 11 flight software. Coined the term 'software engineering.' Landed humans on the moon.

1962

Katherine Johnson

NASA mathematician whose orbital calculations were critical to the Mercury and Apollo programs. Subject of 'Hidden Figures.'