Why Chicago Is The Right Place for Women in STEM

Why Chicago Is The Right Place for Women in STEM Carissa Miller had just finished her masters degree in computer science and was ready to leave the world of classrooms behind her. Previously a high school math teacher on the verge of burnout, shed decided to make the leap to software engineering with little technical experience in her past and a lot of hope for more varied waters in her future.And thats exactly what Miller, now a senior software engineer at Chicago-based principal trading firmDRW, found not only in her new role, but in the city as a whole. Known for its burgeoning tech scene and diverse span of businesses, Miller calls Chicago a particularly stand-out choice for women pursuing STEM careers.Being in a place where theres this amount of variety is really helpful in keeping me grounded, as opposed to being somewhere like Silicon Valley where its all tech, all the time, she explained. We have so many different kinds of businesses, and there are a lot of different ways tec hnology is being applied to them.Chicago has long been the capital of the derivatives industry, abfluging with the first exchange opening in 1848 and more recently becoming a hub for financial technology, or fintech. Last year alone, tech employees increased 15% within the city, and the community continues to grow as opportunities expand (including at DRW, which ishiring in a big way).One of the ways this opportunity boom has benefited the Chicago tech community is through its corresponding slew of local meetups and events. At these events, where folks from Chicago industries ranging from manufacturing to consumer web to trading can co-mingle, developers are able to gain a fresh perspective on their work.Being in the financial industry, there are always new challenges that we come across that require us to find new aufgabe-solving techniques, Miller said. These meetups and other groups not only help newcomers become more familiar with Chicago in general, but also its a healthy way t o shake up your mind a bit, so youre not so stuckverzierung in one way of solving technical problems.Though the pace of Chicagos growing tech scene may be energizing, Miller added that shes still given the autonomy at DRW, her employer of more than eight years, to craft a schedule that suits her familys needs.I love how flexible it is, she said, explaining that her start and end times typically revolve around that days child care situation. I just keep my manager in the loop, and Im really able to make a personalized schedule. I think thats how DRW works in general. There arent a lot of strict rules. Its very personal in making sure that employees have an environment and a schedule that works for them.Miller is also able to apply that same emphasis on personalized flexibility to her lunch breaks, which shell spend away from her desk at an in-house yoga class or in DRWs game room, complete with shuffleboard and pool table.Having that midday break is really helpful, because you might encounter a problem in the morning that needs a new perspective, she said. Being able to get away at lunch and do something else, you can go back to that problem in the afternoon feeling like you can take a fresh look.Today, Miller is loving all the flexibility and space for creative problem solving that her work affords and couldnt be happier that she opted to shift career paths. But the actual process of changing careers isnt always the smoothest endeavor, and that can hold even truer when one lacks prior experience in their new field. For Miller, who hadnt owned a computer until college, the first bump along her new path came upon learning she was the only woman in many of her masters-level computer science classes.Instead of thinking about yourself as one out of 100 people in a room trying to learn something new, you start thinking about yourself as the only one I am the only woman here. Should I even be here? she recalled. You really put yourself at a disadvantage when you thin k that wayit puts an extra level of pressure on you.To other women who have an interest in switching over to STEM fields but fear they lack the expertise to do so, Miller advises focusing on the bigger picture.I think its easy to say, in the moment, I cant do this right now, she said. But in a field like technology, there are a lot of well-paying, satisfying jobs out there. So looking at the bigger picture and saying, My future growth and earnings potential will be much greater thats really what carried me through.Interested in continuing or creating your tech career at a company thats as dynamic and diverse as it is flexible? Check out DRWsopenings in Chicago and beyond