| |
 |
Career Quick Look
| Salary: |
$30K-$70K |
Education:
|
| Years
in Field: |
20 |
A.S. Degree in Computer Technology; CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate); CNE (Certified Network Engineer); MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) |
| City/State: |
San Francisco, CA |
|
|
"I always really like talking to other women in this field," Caroline says, "because they're a different breed."
"Take a woman who pays attention to detail in her reading and can focus," she says, "and she can do just as well in her work as the person who seems to know it all."
Getting Started:
Caroline had been married with two small daughters - aged six and three - in the late 1970s, when she found herself suddenly on her own. "My husband left me," she says, "and I had no job and no skills." In 1978 she enrolled at Merritt College in Oakland, California, where she spent two years studying Computer Technology.
With so much responsibility on her shoulders, it was important to Caroline to find a reliable, long-term career. "I thought, I need a man's wage so that I can support this family, because I never, ever want to be in that position again." She graduated with an associate's degree, and spent 18 years working for Bay Area Rapid Transit [BART] on their mainframe computers. "I was officially a technician," she says, "and I did hardware maintenance." Her position involved troubleshooting and repair of the whole computer system.
After many years working in the mainframe environment, Caroline decided to shift her focus. "I just wanted to change my field from large computers to working with servers," she says. "In my last year or two at BART, I started studying Network Administration." She left BART and went to work for the San Francisco Unified School District, where she has been a Network Administrator for the last two and a half years. In the spring of 2001, Caroline was hired by the College of Alameda to teach CISCO networking classes, which she does every Saturday.
Education:
Caroline spent two years at Merritt College, from 1978-1980, earning her associate's degree in computer technology. During school, she also worked part-time "for a few different companies," gaining some valuable hands-on experience. Upon graduation she went to work for BART, where she spent the next 18 years working on mainframe computers.
To stay updated, Caroline continued to take classes from time to time at the College of Alameda. About four years ago, she received an email from one of her former instructors, Harold Martinez, urging Caroline to sign up for network administration classes. "So I did it," she says. " I just followed his instructions, and I was very pleased when I got to the class." She continued to work for BART while training at night.
"I did a combination of studying at the College of Alameda and home study and some on the job study," she says. After three semesters she had qualified as a Network Administrator, although as Caroline points out, with the many different levels of certification "it's always an ongoing process." She started by learning the Novell operating system - which was the dominant system in use at that time - but has since learned Microsoft as well. "It's part of the business. You just learn what you have to do to work," she says.
In addition to her original A.S. in Computer Technology, Caroline now holds a Certified Network Engineer Certificate (C.N.E.), Certified Cisco Network Administrator Certificate (C.C.N.A.) and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer Certificate (M.C.S.E.).
Greatest Professional Achievement:
Caroline counts her extensive work in building the SF Unified District's 'Enterprise 2000' system as her greatest achievement so far. "It's a network of servers throughout the district that handles user accounts and data and applications for several different schools all at once," she says. "It joins schools into one large accounting system, you might say."
Barriers:
In her two decades working in the computer industry, Caroline says she has definitely encountered some barriers, and evidence of a "glass ceiling" for women. "There's a certain kind of problem-solving that is necessary in this field," she says. "Some women do have it, but they're not allowed to use it because of who they're around. I've seen that. If they are allowed to use it they can actually fix problems, but too often they're overshadowed by their male counterparts."
In her own classes, Caroline tries to give all students a realistic overview of the field, and to pass along the practical knowledge she's gained from her experience. "I have a large female component in my class, always, and that pleases me," she says. "I don't treat them any differently than the others. I want them to learn something and I think they recognize that, and they like it."
Working with Men:
"This field is dominated by men, so anywhere you go in this field, it's going to be that way. It's been like that since I started out in 1978," Caroline says.
Men are more likely to have a technical background, but with some patience and dedication, Caroline says any student can succeed. "Take a woman who pays attention to detail in her reading and can focus," she says, "and she can do just as well in her work as the person who seems to know it all."
In the classroom, she makes sure to give everyone a chance to contribute, questioning each student in turn and not letting anyone dominate the conversation. "I tell my more experienced students that part of their participation grade will be based on how much they help other students. I tell them, 'Knowledge has to be shared, it can't be kept to yourself.'"
From making cables to connecting an individual computer to a larger network, Caroline is a firm believer in practical, hands-on instruction. "I know what it takes to do this job and what kind of skills they need," she says.
Advice for Women:
"Women who are considering this field usually come from a disadvantage because they haven't ever sat at home with parts of a computer and put it together," she says. "They don't know how to ask the questions or whom to ask the questions of, to make this work."
"What I tell my female students is that they need to take a few classes to help them begin at a competitive level. They need to take a hardware class, to get them into the nuts and bolts of how computers work, starting with electricity. They need to take an operating systems class to understand how that works and how they can troubleshoot it. They also need to take an introductory networking class," she says. "And learning DOS (a basic programming language) is important, as well."
Caroline believes finding the right mentor can be critical for a woman going into this field. "She needs to find someone who is willing to give her some practical advice on how she can further her career. She needs to be able to use the tools of the business as well as she can."
Typical Workday/Environment:
Her work for the San Francisco Unified School District takes Caroline to a variety of environments all over the city. "I work as a consultant at a lot of school sites," she says. "We have 127 school sites and they all need systems in place, along with technicians to store data and run educational applications." Part of Caroline's job is helping the schools make purchasing decisions - from hardware to operating systems - based on their educational and application needs.
"I help them set the equipment up, and help make their network work," she says. "Then we offer ongoing support, after that."
Career Ladder:
"You always start in this field doing desktop work, usually as a desktop technician," she says. "A lot of people start at a help desk." The complicated nature of computer work makes it important to start with the basics - so that a logical progression would be from working on desktops to servers to routers, as she explains. "A server holds data and applications and serves those up to clients (workstations or desktops)," Caroline says. "A router is the box that actually sends the information. It's the gateway you use to get out to the Internet, the box that makes those decisions about where information goes."
"That's why I feel it's important to start with desktop, then server," she says. "You really have to know who your customers are to do router work."
A certified Network Administrator could start off earning $30,000 a year, Caroline says, with salaries reaching as high as $70,000 with experience and further certifications. "Experience is the biggest factor," she says. "Certificates are helpful because they show that you have some training. But if you have experience then you're much more valuable."
Professional Associations:
Caroline is a member of the Association of Women in Computing.
Hobbies:
"My four grandchildren live with me," Caroline says, "so that takes up a lot of my time." Between keeping up with the kids, regular workouts at a nearby gym, and teaching her Saturday classes at the College of Alameda, Caroline says, "every day of my week is filled."
|
|
|
COA : About
WomenTech : Home