Credit: flickr / infinitooples
When I found out about Cate and Maggie’s idea of creating a blog for and written by women in computer science, I was really excited! Having sat through numerous computer science courses in huge auditoriums where I needed a new prescription on my glasses in order to spot the one other girl, and having gained some work experience in the technology field, I can definitely say that women in computer science are a rarity. Though I am only an honorary computer scientist (I major in math, and minor in comp sci) I truly believe we have a lot to learn from each other.
So now the big question, how did I end up in computer science (sorta)?
I have always enjoyed working with computer software, and though I never realized it until this summer during my IBM Extreme Blue internship, I am really quick at figuring out how to use pretty much ANY program handed to me in a matter of minutes. But when applying to university, I set my goals on one career and one degree – architecture.
However, as it turns out, my drawing skills are questionable, my patience for perfection is limited and I much prefer solving complex logical problems to making things pretty. As such, I am eternally grateful to the admissions judges at Carleton University for refusing me before I had figured this out for myself. At the time, I was upset, but I went forward and started university in a math program – with the intention of switching if I hated it.
Turns out, I LOVED so much about my program. The small classes, the unexpected ways math came into the picture and of course all of the math friends I made. On top of all of this, I got a fair amount of electives, one of them being “Introduction to Object Oriented Programming”, taught by Marc Lanthier. I went into that class knowing NOTHING about programming, let alone that Java was more than a coffee bean. The class was basic, but well structured and clear, with notes that I still reference today. I was exposed to a whole new world of creation – and one that did not require physical drawing! I was in heaven (though admittedly sometimes in hell as I stayed up late trying to figure out the proper two dimensional array needed in my coding assignment!), and declared computer science as my minor, figuring it would come in handy someday.
And did it ever. Not only did coding improve my logical thinking, it helped me get jobs! And lots of them. Within a math co-op program, 95% of jobs posted cater to students who know at least some programming, as there are no jobs out there where you sit around all day proving theorems like we do in class. Programming gave me a huge advantage, and has even helped me demonstrate how mathematical thinking comes into play through programming. And so, on a final note I encourage all those who get rejected to keep going and realize that everything probably happens for a reason. We don’t always know what we want, and we don’t always see our strengths. But coding allows us to be creative, and set ourselves apart in the field, whether we need it to be employable (me + other math majors) or allows us to be doing something we find fun all day (comp sci majors!). Oh, and math is fun too!
Nikolina
Nikolina Beg is a fourth year student at Carleton University studying mathematics with a minor in computer science. She recently completed a work term at IBM as part of an Extreme Blue team. She is currently working at Environment Canada in the Ice Services Division and is interested in learning more about how mathematical modelling techniques can be applied to the sciences. In her spare time, Nikolina likes to play soccer, Croatian folk dance and generally do anything outdoors. She is the former Vice President of Finance of the Carleton University Math Society and the current secretary of the NCR Folklore Ensemble “Croatoan” administrative council. In the future, Nikolina hopes to pursue a master’s degree in applied mathematics. She can be reached at nbeg@connect.carleton.ca
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