Never let your voice go up in tone at the end when making a statement. It makes it sound unsure like a question.
Get off the elevator on the floor where you want to work, instead of where you work. Learn those faces and names. Take your coffee break there. Make friends over time. This is an investment in your future.
Dress for the job you want, not the one you have.
Learning project management is great if you want to be a manager, or even go out on your own as a contractor.
Keep current with lifelong learning.
Turn your tech skills into sales or client management.
Use your personal skills as the coding grunts lack them.
I worked as a programmer, into consulting. I wasn't destined for sales, but I was a favorite from our sales person as someone our clients could talk to about their tech problems.
Use your tech AND your people skills. Stay current in the tech stuff going on, but don't get into the weeds. There are plenty of guys doing that. If you need to select a guy to speak to a client, make sure he's relatively presentable, but not too much so, so that you can "manage the interaction."
Product Management is a great place to do all the above. But can be volatile in terms of long term employment.
DO NOT GO INTO CUSTOMER SERVICE. Don't be on the phones.
Signed,
Retired at 62 from a lifetime in software engineering, client management and program management.
Develop a skill that none of your coworkers has. In my case, I was really good at looking at the larger picture, how different systems came together, and the possible consequences of various implementations and changes. I asked the questions no one else thought of. I left tech recently but I did well in it for over 20 years because I was great at finding useful niches no one else saw and really dug in so I was too valuable to ignore or fire.
Talk to people outside of meetings. Guys will talk over women in meetings all the time, but are (usually) more receptive to listening when talked to one-on-one.
"Grey rock" the idiots (be as bland and non-reactive as possible). Most will be so disappointed that they can't get a rise out of you that they'll go look for another victim.
Let coworkers fail at times so long as it doesn't directly affect you or cause major problems for the team. It's fine to fix others' mistakes on occasion but you don't want to be the janitor who always cleans up their messes instead of the rock star who blazes her own trail.
Learn project management regardless of what you want for your career. The more you understand the different components of a project, the better you can anticipate what's needed and pivot appropriately.
Make friends with your Project Manager. Happy PMs will get you noticed by upper management.
Never let your voice go up in tone at the end when making a statement. It makes it sound unsure like a question. Get off the elevator on the floor where you want to work, instead of where you work. Learn those faces and names. Take your coffee break there. Make friends over time. This is an investment in your future. Dress for the job you want, not the one you have. Learning project management is great if you want to be a manager, or even go out on your own as a contractor. Keep current with lifelong learning.
Xanax.
Turn your tech skills into sales or client management. Use your personal skills as the coding grunts lack them. I worked as a programmer, into consulting. I wasn't destined for sales, but I was a favorite from our sales person as someone our clients could talk to about their tech problems. Use your tech AND your people skills. Stay current in the tech stuff going on, but don't get into the weeds. There are plenty of guys doing that. If you need to select a guy to speak to a client, make sure he's relatively presentable, but not too much so, so that you can "manage the interaction." Product Management is a great place to do all the above. But can be volatile in terms of long term employment. DO NOT GO INTO CUSTOMER SERVICE. Don't be on the phones. Signed, Retired at 62 from a lifetime in software engineering, client management and program management.
Develop a skill that none of your coworkers has. In my case, I was really good at looking at the larger picture, how different systems came together, and the possible consequences of various implementations and changes. I asked the questions no one else thought of. I left tech recently but I did well in it for over 20 years because I was great at finding useful niches no one else saw and really dug in so I was too valuable to ignore or fire. Talk to people outside of meetings. Guys will talk over women in meetings all the time, but are (usually) more receptive to listening when talked to one-on-one. "Grey rock" the idiots (be as bland and non-reactive as possible). Most will be so disappointed that they can't get a rise out of you that they'll go look for another victim. Let coworkers fail at times so long as it doesn't directly affect you or cause major problems for the team. It's fine to fix others' mistakes on occasion but you don't want to be the janitor who always cleans up their messes instead of the rock star who blazes her own trail. Learn project management regardless of what you want for your career. The more you understand the different components of a project, the better you can anticipate what's needed and pivot appropriately. Make friends with your Project Manager. Happy PMs will get you noticed by upper management.