The seasons have changed. The wind is bitter cold, biting at any exposed skin it can find. Snow drifts and swirls in the stiff breezes, claiming casualties in auto pileups. I am never ready for winter when it appears.
My first semester at college has come and gone. I have learned so much and yet discovered there is much more I didn't know in the process. My boss rallies behind me, and starts to include me in meetings and discussions with the department I hope to join after my degree is completed. Her efforts are appreciated, and a good way to lay groundwork for the transition, but I am not enjoying much of what I find in these verbal transactions.
I'm going for a degree in programming, and I have known from the start that the field is primarily dominated by men, an uphilll battle for the brave entrants of a female persuasion. I like to think that as long as I'm good and engaged my work, I will be doing what I can to reach some form of equality in the ranks.
Things with the department at my current employer are hard to gauge though. I admit my lack of knowledge and experience in the actual working field may skew things in a different way, but I get concerned about what potentials I might be "allowed" to bring. They seem to be steadfast -- too steadfast -- in what we can do and what options there are, reverting to old school programs and approaches while new (sometimes better) options present themselves and projects of the past cease to be relevant, or even functioning.
If I learn all these new options and the potentials they have, will I even be able to use them, or voted down by a majority? I'm excited my career path is changing, finally evolving in a direction I specifically chose, but I worry about the limitations I may face from others. I want to be passionate and enjoy what I do 40 hours a week, and I'm doing my best to make it a reality. I just never considered the roadblock might be something besides myself.
