This week’s Wednesday’s Women in STEM series features Kaitlyn Wright, a Technical Consultant that works in computer science. Read on to hear why she thinks being the only girl in the room is an awesome thing!
When did you first become interested in STEM?
I was always interested in nature & observing critters in the forest by my house when I was a kid & that is what initially spurred my interest in science. As I got older, I leaned more towards the technical sciences – a lot due to my father’s interest in watching math, physics, cosmology, robotics, etc. videos & shows with me at home (you can’t deny black holes are cool right?!).
Where did you go to school and what did you study?
I went to school at University of Oregon & got my degree in Mathematics & Computer Science. I initially started as a biology major but realized I enjoyed the math classes much more then the biology classes so I quickly switched & fell in love with creating through code.
What is your current career and how do you use your interests in STEM on a day-to-day basis?
I currently work as a Technical Consultant. On my day-to-day, I am constantly having to use my technical skills to investigate & debug code & configuration issues for clients. I also get to use technical design skills while developing new software features to help clients better utilize the tool to match their needs.
What do you like most about your current job? What do you find most challenging?
I love that I can directly see the value clients are getting from the tools & features I create since I collaborate with them directly. The most challenging part is finding the middle ground of what the client wants & what the client needs. Even if you can pull off the request technically, sometimes it is better for everyone to say no.
What advice would you give to young girls who are interested in pursuing STEM activities or careers?
Don’t be afraid to be the only girl in the room! You may standout but this can be a benefit if you take this attention & use it wisely by believing in your brain & speaking up. Take advantage of any new opportunity to learn about the multitudes of fields you can enter with a STEM degree – once I broke into the professional world, I was amazed at the amount of roles there were for STEM degrees.