The Day I Leave the Tech Industry
I was inspired last night by Cate Huston’s post, The Day I Leave the Tech Industry. I decided to write my own, except I’m not as eloquent a writer as Cate so before I go any further please, please, please read her post and not mine.
Mine is going to be a bit different. Lately I’ve been thinking more and more about this. It seems imminent. I’m only 27 and let me repeat: it seems imminent.
I’m going to tell you all the fantasy that plays in my brain for when this happens.
The day I leave the tech industry will feel like a giant weight has finally been lifted. It will be freeing. There are a few scenarios I’ve played out for what I will do after.
- teach math in a third world country
- write a book
- play professional poker
I could do all three. One thing is for sure though, the day I leave the tech industry will be the day I contribute my last piece of code to open source software.
Today, I am not quite ready to give up this thing I have such a “hate/love” relationship with. Today, I want to get more women contributing so that maybe in the distant future we will feel welcome. Maybe we won’t have to fight so hard just to be heard; to have our opinions matter.
Today is not my last day in the tech industry. But it is comforting to me to plan out this very real future. I am not just “the container girl”. I am a human being with feelings, a limit, and a future outside of tech.