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It's Dangerous to Go Alone: Battling the Invisi...

Julie Pagano
September 20, 2013

It's Dangerous to Go Alone: Battling the Invisible Monsters in Tech - Nickel City Ruby 2013

We talk a lot about the things people can do to get the most out of being a software developer. We talk about testing, design patterns, contributing to open source, and many other topics. All of these things are important, but for some of us there's an important piece of the puzzle being overlooked. It can be hard to focus on your love of coding when you are regularly battling invisible issues like insecurity, anxiety, and lack of confidence. These issues create hurdles that get in the way no matter how much you improve as a software engineer.

It is important that we talk about these issues because an unwillingness to admit they're real can make it worse. It makes them feel like the adult version of the monsters under the bed. It's scary and isolating because those around you don't understand or actively deny what you're going through. It's dangerous to go alone! Let's start talking about these issues, so people have the tools and support to fight back.

You may have experienced these issues first-hand and need some help. You may want to learn more, so you can help others. This talk is for all of you. I'll identify invisible issues programmers struggle with, talk about their impact, discuss personal experiences dealing with them, and share some tools I found useful in fighting back.

Julie Pagano

September 20, 2013
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Transcript

  1. It’s Dangerous to Go AloneBATTLING THE INVISIBLE MONSTERS IN TECH

    NickelCityRuby13 Julie Pagano @juliepagano
  2. Dunning-Kruger Effect “A cognitive bias in which unskilled individuals suffer

    from illusory superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than average.”
  3. References • Impostor Syndrome - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Impostor_syndrome • Dunning-Kruger effect

    - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect • All The Things! - http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/ 2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html • Hacker School Social Rules - https:// www.hackerschool.com/manual#sub-sec-social-rules • Aaron Patterson at SCRC12 - http://www.confreaks.com/ videos/1137-scrc2012-open-source-how-to-give-back
  4. Attribution • Road barrier from the noun project - http://thenounproject.com/noun/road-

    barrier/#icon-No4357 • Conversation designed by Anna Weiss from The Noun Project - http:// thenounproject.com/noun/conversation/#icon-No1680 • Ghost designed by Emily Haasch from The Noun Project - http:// thenounproject.com/noun/ghost/#icon-No9345 • Bed from noun project - http://thenounproject.com/noun/bed/#icon-No12395 • Group designed by Benny Forsberg from The Noun Project - http:// thenounproject.com/noun/group/#icon-No14947 • Handshake designed by Marc Nadue from The Noun Project - http:// thenounproject.com/noun/handshake/#icon-No10714 • Scale designed by Stephanie Wauters from The Noun Project - http:// thenounproject.com/noun/scale/#icon-No10409
  5. Additional Resources • Ruby Rogues #107 Syndrome with Tim Chevalier

    - http://rubyrogues.com/107-rr-impostor-syndrome- with-tim-chevalier/ • Geek Feminism Wiki - http:// geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Impostor_syndrome • Kicking impostor syndrome in the head: lessons from AdaCamp DC and SF - http://adainitiative.org/ 2013/06/kicking-impostor-syndrome-in-the-head- lessons-from-adacamp-dc-and-sf/ • Overcoming Impostor Syndrome - https:// medium.com/tech-talk/bdae04e46ec5