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December 13, 2021 - 7 minutes

From Event Management to UX/UI Design with Ironhack Paris

From Event Management to UX/UI Design with Ironhack Paris

Ironhack - Changing The Future of Tech Education

There are linear life paths and people who have always known what they wanted to do. Jordane Lelong is not one of them.

Between passion, questioning, and personal quest, her story is like each of ours: unique. Whether you are a student or a professional in transition, you may find yourself in her story. But regardless of that, her story will not leave you indifferent. 

And for those who are a little lost in finding their "way," just like Jordane, we invite you to discover the excellent advice that she shares at the end of this article.

From Education to Passion

Jordane was a young woman of 28, passionate about music and travels "even if it's a bit complicated to travel at the moment." Product designer at Free since last July and co-founder of “UX Challenger” that she created with another Ironhacker, Morgane Favchtein, Jordane seems to be really fulfilled today. But it wasn't always like this.

Like many, she was asked at 18 what she wanted to do with her life without having any idea how to choose. Her taste for school was limited, "except for English, art and computer science" and without really anyone to help her, she settled on a "safe" choice: that of a career in international trade "because there are more opportunities in this field.” But several years later, with a master's degree in hand, her questions were still there and none of the jobs that her studies could lead to appealed to her.

As creative as she is passionate, Jordane turned to the only environment that really attracted her: music. This was followed by 6 years as an event manager organizing concerts all over the world. But far from a life of dreams, as an intermittent performer, she had to face a lot of dedication, difficulties, and sacrifices. At the beginning of 2020, a burnout, and the first confinement later, her job and her health were gone. So it was time to "think about what I wanted to do with my life."

Being Inspired by Others

Beyond her incredible personality and proven creativity, Jordane's independence and need for freedom is striking.

It's not surprising that, while searching on social networks, she was drawn to videos of women explaining how to avoid depending on a salary. That's when she first heard about web design and her future job. 

Little by little, Jordane trained herself in "no code" tools and started to create her first websites for friends. By the end of 2020, not only was she financially successful thanks to several projects and clients, but she also discovered a new and growing interest in web design and UX/UI issues.

Thanks to her thirst for learning and her unlimited curiosity, Jordane managed to completely turn her career around in a few months. So why jump into a bootcamp when everything is so well (re)launched?

You probably know the answer. It's sometimes really difficult to fight against imposter syndrome and to succeed in thinking that you are ready to jump into a new sector or job. That's why she joined Ironhack: to learn the basics and apply them on concrete projects, but also to join a community of enthusiasts.

She had a lot of hesitations and fears:

  • "3 months is short, what's going to happen after?"

  • "I'm a woman, do I really belong here?"

  • “What if I fail in this area?”

Becoming an Ironhacker

However, thanks to her determination and the help of an Indeed scholarship created especially for people who lost their jobs during the pandemic, she quickly joined the bootcamp. From that moment on, all her doubts evaporated: theory combined with practice every day was her magic formula. 

She learned to trust herself by practicing, by "putting her hands in it," and especially by seeing how much she was able to progress day after day. Not to mention the fact that, at Ironhack, you learn in a group. Having feedback, being able to share her questions, and receiving support when things weren't going well were all essential elements in her learning process.

Knowing how to do things and knowing how to behave were the two keys that allowed her to unlock the door to the self-confidence she was missing.

What asked what the bootcamp did for her, she said:

"I came out of it energized. I was a new person, prepared for this new adventure that I was about to embark on. [...] Ironhack taught me that I can start from nothing and go far. [...] I had a really bad experience when I left the music business because of my burn out, my world collapsed and with the bootcamp I proved to myself that I was not an old dinosaur who could not do anything anymore, quite the contrary. Too often we think we are too old to learn new things, change careers, start a business, but we are not. In general, habits condition too much our way of doing things and of apprehending changes. You need to have a good environment and a good mindset to learn new things, that's what Ironhack gave me".

                                           

Staying True to Herself

Jordane finally reconciled her life as a freelancer and a salaried employee by joining an agency just a few weeks after the bootcamp and later, the Free group: "I didn't think I would find a job so quickly. Ironhack has a very good reputation in the UX world and companies are impressed to see the work we manage to do in 9 weeks. I felt confident talking about my background and I wasn't ashamed at all when I walked out even though I didn't have a specialized profile."

To stay in line with her convictions (editor's note: she has been vegan for 8 years and practices "0 waste"), she had given herself the mission to accompany entrepreneurs in the field of ecology, health, or well-being.

Finally, she finds her usefulness not only in these projects but also at Free on a daily basis. Her job consists in taking a more responsible approach towards the user, putting them at the center of the strategy so that "technology is at the service of people and not the other way around."

One might think that Jordane is already quite busy with all this, but that's not knowing her well. As if that wasn't enough, she set up a volunteer project “UX Challenger” with another Ironhacker, Morgane Favchtein, whom she met during the training to "give back what she benefited from." The principle is simple: 1 pitch = 1 project. Between the two of them, they regularly launch "design challenges" so that young designers can practice and they offer mentoring after the project is submitted. "The designers in the making are very happy to have constructive feedback that will help them progress".

Spontaneity is Key

As you can see, her desire to help is matched only by her passion for her job. Here's her advice:

"If I had met myself back when I was lost, I would have said to myself: stop overthinking and trust yourself. It's too easy to compare yourself to people, especially on social networks, you have to take a chance and go for it. Ironhack was almost a spur-of-the-moment thing but I had nothing to lose. At first, I felt bad about making a decision so quickly but, in fact, it takes spontaneity to shake things up. If someone had told me a year ago where I would be today I would have laughed.

When the bootcamp is over, we continue to learn, that's when the work really starts. Then it's a different kind of learning, you're confronted with reality, with business problems, you have to deal with all parts of the company. You have to tell yourself that every opportunity is good to improve. That's how you learn who you are and what you want to do, or not do.”

Want to be like Jordane?

Start your UX/UI, web developer, data analyst, or cybersecurity journey today by taking one of Ironhack’s Bootcamps. Our courses will equip you with the essential skills to get started on a career path in the dynamic and exciting tech industry.

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Web3 companies are mostly startups, but there are also blockchain projects within larger companies (such as IBM and Twitter ). Most of these companies are working on infrastructure or tools for decentralized systems like Ethereum. Some examples of web3-specific companies include: ConsenSys ; a company offering consulting services, as well as development teams, focused on building applications on Ethereum's platform; and Melonport ; a Swiss startup who aim to create an autonomous community where individuals can manage their digital assets without intermediaries. Among the growing number of companies foraying into Web3 are tech giants like Twitter and Instagram , as well as FinTech companies in the crypto currency space (like PayPal and Alchamy ). Is Web3 Hard to Get Into? As a newcomer to Web3, you’ll be joining thousands of talented professionals seeking to help shape this new technological landscape. But before you do, you might be wondering how hard it is to break into the space. So, is Web3 hard to get into? Well, yes and no. As a new space, there are far fewer ‘guarantees’ than you’ll find in other digital discplines. It’s still unclear what long-term career progression looks like in Web3, as the workforce is technically still being formed. As so many Web3 and blockchain products are still being built, the baseline requirements for entry-level Web3 professionals can vary massively depending on the industry. On the plus side, joining Web3 as one of the early professional cohorts makes the Web3 job market a lot less competitive than other tech disciplines. You’ll be up against fewer candidates for Web3 roles, which means a higher chance of finding a job quickly and more leverage to negotiate a higher salary. Learning Web3 skills also demonstrates a commitment to staking your claim in this rapidly-growing space — which is bound to give you the edge you need when it comes to landing your first role. What Skills Will Web3 Professionals Need? Web3 is a complex and multidiscplinary field which requires a lot of problem-solving and analytics. Entry-level Web3 professionals are expected to be proficient in a wide range of technical skills, including: Front-end development. This includes frontend programming languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — as well as object-oriented programming, DOM manipulation, version control, and ReactJS. Back-end technologies. You’ll need to know how to create a MERN stack application, set up a NoSQL server, and use ExpressJS, NodeJS to create and deploy robust applications. Blockchain and cryptography. Web3 professionals need to be well-versed in the blockchain trilemma and how hash functions, digital signatures and proof of work and proof of stake consensus mechanisms function in practice. Etherium, smart contracts, and token standards. You’ll a working knowledge of smart contract development, Solidity and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) through writing and testing smart contracts. Decentralized applications (dApp) development and tooling . Understanding how to develop and deploy dApps using front-end libraries such as ethers.js and web3.js. For complete beginners, this list might seem overwhelming — and even intimidating. Worry not! Beginner-friendly courses like IronHack’s soon to be launched Web3 bootcamp will see you learn all the skills needed to forge a career in Web3 — as well as benefitting from tailored career support to help you land your first role. Sign up now to be the first to hear when spaces are available! What Makes a Good Career? Web3 isn’t just a hyped-up buzzword: It’s already a well-established space with limitless potential to transform the way we use the web, forever. With a growing number of big tech companies recognizing the value of Web3, it’s safe to say the field is here to stay — and the demand for forward-thinking Web3 professionals is only set to climb. Web3 might be fertile ground for a new career opportunities, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right career path for you. High salaries, remote work, interesting projects, a future-proofed career, and other compelling factors might all sound good on paper — but in order to do the job day in day out, you need to feel passionate about the work. In the absence of a crystal ball, you might be wondering how to figure out what career path is right for you. We’ve come up with a resource to help you along your way, with our Career Vision Planner . Check it out!

  • 5 minutes

    ChatGPT: What's with All the Noise? 

    Ironhack - 2023-02-02

    Careers

    Samantha . This is the name of the artificial intelligence that Joaquin Phoenix’s character falls in love with in the movie “Her”. He does precisely that because of his own solitude, but also because the software has been configured to be frighteningly human. Doesn't that sound familiar? Just 10 years after the release of this very intriguing anticipation movie, Chat GPT showed up. OpenAI, a San Francisco-based AI company also responsible for tools like GPT-3 and DALL-E 2, the breakthrough image generator that we talked about in our AI creativity post , has created this clever artificial intelligence program. It has the answer to absolutely everything and it has been configured and trained to interact in the most human way possible . It works so well that you would think you had a friend or relative at the end of the keyboard, except it’s a robot that has a sense of humor. How was Chat GPT configured? What is it already able to do? How will it change the way we work? Here’s a portrait of an AI like no other. Birth of a Humanoid AI Leonardo da Vinci would have dreamed of it; San Francisco entrepreneurs have done it. They configured an artificial intelligence program capable of answering any question in a qualitative way in just a few seconds. ChatGPT, which stands for Generative Pretrained Transformer,” is the best AI chatbot ever released to the general public. Feel like reading a set of 50 Haikus about the Sequoia National Park? Let's go. Want the software to invent the rules of a new board game? No problem. Fix a complex code bug? Sure. Write your best man’s speech for your friend's wedding? Believe it or not, it can do that too. To successfully adapt to any situation, Chat GPT has scanned, absorbed, and analyzed hundreds of millions of texts. That is to say, it has processed almost every word published on the Internet from its creation to 2021. Did you think Wikipedia represented an infinite volume of data? It's only 0.6% of the database known by this AI. In just 5 days after its release, more than a million people tried to query Chat GPT. Today, this AI is imposing itself at a lightning speed at work. To name just a few examples, it can write marketing texts, create code, write a sales pitch, help you negotiate a salary increase or even coach you to settle a conflict with a colleague. For Alexis Grinbaum, Research Director, this software will find its place in the working world and change its uses. " Entire sectors of the workforce will evolve but not disappear”, he states. “There will always be lawyers and doctors and journalists, but the content of their jobs will change.” This means that Chat GPT is already shaking up the professional world. Surprising Uses of Chat GPT One Twitter user asked Chat GPT to " write a biblical verse in the style of the King James Bible explaining how to remove a peanut butter sandwich from a VCR” . But that's not all! It can also: Write jokes: Tell me the difference between a balloon and an elephant. “The difference between a balloon and an elephant is that you can inflate a balloon, but you can’t inflate an elephant just like that!" Write 4 lines of the Hotel California song in the style of Shakespeare: “In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, Upon a balmy eve, in days of yore, The Eagles sang a tale, most tragic and mean, Of a hotel, called California, forever more." Solve the mystery: who came first? The chicken of the egg? “ The egg came first, it was just too chicken to admit it." Imagine and describe a world with Elon Musk as our leader. “If Elon Musk was the leader, the world would be a very interesting place! We'd all be living on Mars by now and probably have jetpacks for personal transportation. Traffic jams would be a thing of the past because we'd all be zooming around in our Teslas. And forget about power outages, we'd have solar panels on every roof! The only downside is that we'd all be working 120 hour weeks to pay for it all. But hey, at least we'd be saving the planet and colonizing Mars, so it's totally worth it, right?" Surprising? It can also: Find ideas for party themes or costumes Write an essay Ask for compliments Write a resignation letter Get relationship advice Get advice on how to pitch ecology to your climatosceptic uncle Jamie and so much more. How Far Will Chat GPT Go? A series of articles would not be enough to list all the implications that GPT Chat could have on our society. This tool is already being described by some as a more powerful technology than Google. But will it flop or rock: who knows? However, we’re sure that we will have to regulate the use of this very intelligent and fast learning AI quickly. In the United States, Chat GPT is already banned from schools and colleges, where professors have watched in amazement how the robot writes essays. This, in addition to the ethical problem that it poses if some students no longer do the work but are graded like the others, can have serious consequences on the intellectual capacities of those who instead of training to think, ask the AI to do it for them. What about the law, where AI could be used by lawyers in trials, even though we don't know where and how it gets its information and law professors have noted that it makes mistakes? Or art, which, if generated by robots, will probably lose its standardization value? Can GPT chat eventually replace content creators, translators or web developers? According to PwC , 73% of workers think technology can never replace a human mind; however, 37% are worried that automation might put their job at risk. In any case, we can think about what will happen if, just as today, Chat GPT’s server is down and inaccessible while this tool is being used by millions of people at work. It's all going to be fascinating: let's get some popcorn and while we're watching it happen, think about what you can do to transform tech with Ironhack.

  • 5 minutes

    Campus Spotlight: Paris

    Juliette Erath - 2023-04-20

    Paris

    Paris: the City of Light, capital of fashion, city of love. All these nicknames can’t even begin to fully represent this city of a thousand faces. Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is internationally known for the Louvre, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower and for being a romantic and cultural city, in addition to its high-quality gastronomy and numerous cafes. This ancient city with a rich history has not forgotten to modernize and keep up with the times. Today, it is also the birthplace of many world-renowned high-tech companies and the heart of the French tech ecosystem. Why Paris? Paris has always been at the heart of history. There are monuments and buildings from all eras; whatever your favorite historical period, you are bound to find a monument or museum that suits you. Some of its monuments and places, in particular the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Champs Élysées, and the Arc de Triomphe have become such strong symbols that they are regularly featured in films or series. In addition to its many monuments, Paris is also home to a multitude of museums (more than 144!). Whether you are passionate about art, science, or history, or if you want to introduce your friends or family to one of these fields, you are bound to find a museum in Paris that suits you. Known worldwide for its gastronomy and its wines, there are many French specialities, both sweet and savory and a visit to Paris is the perfect opportunity to taste them. There are restaurants to suit all budgets and tastes, as well as exceptional bakeries and pastry shops. Cafes and their terraces are an integral part of the Parisian lifestyle; you can find cafes on every street corner. Some of these cafes are known throughout the world and have hosted artists from all eras. The oldest café in Paris and in France is over 300 years old; sit on its terrace, have a drink, and watch life in the Parisian time. Paris is not just a city of concrete; there are beautiful green spaces all over the capital and parks for walking, relaxing, or picnicking. Paris is also one of the fashion capitals of the world. This city of light has been associated with haute couture and major trends for several centuries. Chanel, Saint Laurent, Vuitton, Dior, Hermès...all these names familiar to fashion lovers got their start in Paris. Home to the famous Paris Fashion Week, this city hosts one of the most important events in the fashion world. As every fashionista in the world knows, Paris is a must for shopaholics. In Paris, one out of every seven inhabitants is a foreigner; in France, one out of every ten foreigners lives in Paris and within Paris, two out of three foreigners are from countries outside the European community. These figures and this diversity are characteristic of a major capital city. Ironhack in Paris They say Paris is the city of love and we want to make sure you develop a new passion for tech here. Our offices are located in the 11th arrondissement, one of the most dynamic areas of the capital. No matter if you choose remote, full-time, or part-time courses in Paris, Ironhack’s campus offers you something beyond your course; we offer events, chances to network and connect with your fellow Ironhackers, an awesome space to get your best work done, and much more. Unsure if you should take the full-time bootcamp? What about part-time? Or remote? Let’s discuss: Our full-time bootcamps are ideal for those looking to get a new job soon and can exclusively dedicate nine weeks to learning. If you want fast results, this is for you. Our part-time bootcamps are for those who can’t dedicate nine weeks to just the bootcamp; if you want to keep your job elsewhere or continue your studies in another institution, our part-time bootcamps are perfect for you. The results are the same as our full-time course, just spread out over more weeks to allow you time to handle your other commitments. Our remote bootcamps are an option for everyone, even if you’re already located near our campus. These courses offer more flexibility and start dates , in addition to language variations, to help you choose the perfect course for you. Remote students are also welcome on campus at our face-to-face events to meet other students and professionals in our community. Ironhack courses in Paris Choose one of our four bootcamps to kickstart your tech career: Web development : learn front and back end technologies and everything else you need to know to become a full stack web developer. Data analytics : become a data analyst through learning tools such as Python, SQL, and Tableau and learn to interpret data to make the right decisions. UX/UI design : user-centric design is key here; learn design thinking to build digital experiences created specifically for users. Cybersecurity : cybersecurity professionals are in high demand, due to their wide range of skills pertaining to protecting companies from risks and hacks. Financing options in Paris We know our bootcamps may not fit everyone’s budget, which is why we offer various payment plans to help make our bootcamps a reality for everyone. Bank financing You should always check with your bank or your financial institution to see what options are available to you, but we have a few we’ve checked out for you: BNP Paribas: Ironhack has a negotiated student loan offer with BNP Parisbas with favorable conditions for our students, available to international students with a French guarantor. Pledg : our students can pay in 3, 6, or 10 monthly installments, whether it is for our full-time or part-time bootcamps. Pôle emploi and governmental aids CSP AIF CPF OPCO FNE Formation Transitions Pro Company financing Apprenticeship POEI Paris is the perfect place to kickstart your career in tech and we can’t wait to see all that you’ll accomplish.

  • What is UX Design? The Evolution of Web Design

    Ironhack - 2020-06-01

    UX/UI Design

    All Courses

    Design is a pretty vague term. When someone says they’re a designer, it can mean anything from industrial design for cars to designers who work with clothing and print media. However, in the last decade, the tech industry has seen the emergence of a new type of designer: the UX Designer. This new job title can be confusing to grasp, so let’s take a dive to get a better understanding. Design is a pretty vague term. When someone says they’re a designer, it can mean anything from industrial design for cars to designers who work with clothing and print media. However, in the last decade, the tech industry has seen the emergence of a new type of designer: the UX Designer. This new job title can be confusing to grasp, so let’s take a dive to get a better understanding. What is UX Design? A User Experience (UX) Designer is primarily responsible for how a product feels to a user. It encompasses all aspects of the interaction between the user and the complete product experience (from onboarding to end-transaction). The broad responsibility of a UX designer is to ensure that the product logically flows from one step to the next. Uber’s new user onboarding process would be a perfect example of great UX Design. A User Interface  (UI) Designer is responsible for how the product is laid out. It is a sub-discipline of UX Design and is focused on the interaction between the user and the product. They are in charge of designing each screen or page with which a user interacts and need to ensure that the UI visually communicates the UX Designer’s path. For example, after the UX Designer creates an onboarding process for new Uber users, a UI Designer would visually create the interface for that process. In most small to medium-sized companies, a UX Designer is responsible for both UX and UI Design needs. However in larger companies such as Google, Facebook, Uber, AirBnB and Tesla (the list goes on) where hundreds of millions of end-users are involved, the role of a designer becomes very granular. Why does it matter? Often cited by UX evangelists, Tom Gilb’s research in the 80’s found that every dollar a company invests in UX can yield a return of up to $100. UX Design plays a critical role in both user acquisition and retention. That is, if you build something awesome, more people will want to use it and keep using it. It’s what allows Apple to charge a premium and sell millions of iPhones, iPads and Macbooks on launch day. It’s what allowed companies like Uber, AirBnB and Tesla to disrupt the century old taxi, hospitality and automotive industries. They completely altered the user experience around their product/service to become industry leaders and innovators. Some of the most valuable brands in the world have employed a design-centric philosophy to differentiate themselves from the rest. Often cited by UX evangelists, Tom Gilb’s research in the 80’s found that every dollar a company invests in UX can yield a return of up to $100. Another study conducted by the Design Management Institute (DMI) , one of the largest communities of design leaders, revealed that over the last 10 years, design-led companies have maintained significant stock market advantage and have outperformed the S&P by 228%. Some of the companies in the study included Apple, IBM, Ford, Nike, Starbucks & Walt Disney. If this isn’t convincing enough, according to a study conducted by Missouri University of Science and Technology, 94% of the factors that affect a user’s first impression of a product, are design related. In fact, by 2020 UX Design will overtake price and product as the key differentiator in consumer decision. What’s the bottom line? UX is increasingly playing an important role as a market differentiator for emerging companies. To be a competitive player in the market, companies need to focus on creating a lasting experience around their product. How can you become a UX Designer? UX Design does not require a University degree , yet there’s a big shortage between the number of job openings and qualified candidates. According to EMSI, IT related jobs (a category which includes UX Design) are 28 percent of all average monthly unique job postings, making this the industry’s second most in-demand group of professionals. At Ironhack, we offer UX design bootcamps in both full-time (9 weeks) and part-time courses (24 weeks). The course is meant for individuals with no prior experience, looking to break into the UX Design industry. At the end of the course, students will be connected with Ironhack’s hiring network of more than 600 companies with the goal of being hired as UX Designers. According to CNNMoney/PayScale, UX Design ranked #14 among the top 100 careers with big growth, great pay and satisfying work with a median pay of $89,300 with the top pay hitting $138K and a growth rate of 18%. Interested? Check out our Design Bootcamps here .

  • 26 minutes

    The Gender Gap in Tech…Let’s Talk About It

    Juliette Erath - 2023-03-09

    All Courses

    You’ll often see us talking about how great the tech industry is ( naturally ), and we truly believe it is. It’s a place where we see all kinds of people build the careers of their dreams, no matter their background, socio-economic status, demographic, or even personality type. However, we would be remiss to discuss the state of the tech industry and not include the prevalent problem of the workforce gender gap. Apart from the obvious social implications of an incredibly male-dominated field, it also affects overall political, economic, and cultural behaviors. The simple truth is that the workplace and skill gap in the tech industry can largely be attributed to the wide gender disparity ; to meet this both international and growing gap, a serious effort needs to be made to understand the origin of this problem and solve it. We see efforts made in this arena every day from all corners of our community across the US, Europe, and South America. But there’s no sense in combating a problem that we don’t truly understand. So we wanted to look into the current state of the gender gap in tech, trace the root of the problem, and look towards future solutions. Sexism and Gender Discrimination The tech industry is not unique in facing diversity challenges: far from it. Sexism and gender discrimination are, unfortunately, tales as old as time. Sexism is a complicated concept but one that includes the belief that one sex or gender is superior to another. Gender discrimination, on the other hand, is when someone is discriminated against because of their gender identity. Historically linked to favoring men, this kind of discrimination can have drastic effects. Societies are heavily influenced by gender expectations and can alter career choices, workplace options, how we dress, how we should act, what we should study, and much more. One of the clearest examples of the effects of gender-based societal expectations is the workplace. Both men and women are heavily influenced in their career choices by what they’re taught society expects . 97.78% of nurses and nursing assistants, 95.65% of legal secretaries, 89.09% of dancers and choreographers, and 88.45% of receptionists are women. On the other hand, 99.19% of vehicle technicians, 98.97% of carpenters and joiners, 96.4% of electrical and electronic technicians, and 95.38% of telecoms engineers are men. But these huge discrepancies in certain jobs aren’t the only thing to keep in mind. Globally, there’s a gender pay gap of 20% , meaning that women make, on average, 20% less than what men make. This is of course exacerbated by the actual roles that men and women hold: if high-level and higher-paying jobs are dominated by men, it’s natural that they’ll make more money. Unfortunately, however, that’s not the only reason: Like we mentioned above, women tend to work in sectors that pay less than male-dominated industries. Leadership roles tend to be held by men. Men get promoted more often. In every single country worldwide, women make less than men for the same work. Women face incredible pressure when getting pregnant or choosing to stay at home with their children. Women take on a lot of unpaid roles, such as childcare or caring for a sick relative. The differences between men and women are due to centuries of patriarchal beliefs that have put men in a position of power over women. In most parts of the world today, the gap between men and women has closed considerably; men used to have complete control over women opening bank accounts, driving, how they dressed, healthcare access, education access, or voting rights. Even though most of us can’t remember a case of the aforementioned examples of gender discrimination in our own lives, there are still major issues with gender equality in today’s society. And it affects everyone; only 50% of women in the world are in the workforce, compared to 80% of men. Gender Inequalities To measure the gender gap by country, the annual Global Gender Gap Index by the World Economic Forum uses four main categories to determine a country’s level of gender inequality: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Countries received a ranking from 0 - 100 in each section; 100% means gender parity has been fully achieved. Economic participation and opportunity In this section, five factors are evaluated: labor-force participation rate, wage equality for similar work, estimated earned income, legislators, senior officials, and managers, and professional and technical workers. The report showed that on average, higher-income economies scored 69%, upper-middle-income economies scored 68%, low-middle-economies scored 63%, and low-income economies scored 66%. Gender equality is linked to economic opportunities and those with higher-performing economies score slightly better. Educational attainment This section defined the literacy rate and enrollment in primary, secondary, and higher education. Here, 29 countries were able to boast full gender parity across three different economic levels. Worldwide rates range from 48% to 100% and as the report gets to the lower-ranking countries, the gaps get even bigger. Health and survival This index used the sex ratio at birth and healthy life expectancy to produce the section with the least variation and smallest gender gap . No one country has reached parity, but 141 have closed the gender gap by at least 95%; Qatar, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, China, and India are the only countries with gender gaps bigger than 5%. Political empowerment Women in parliament and ministerial positions and years with female heads of state (in the last 50 years) are evaluated to define the gender gap as it relates to political empowerment. This is the section that has the largest gap with an overall global percentage of 22% ; the range here is also massive with the lowest country, Vanuatu, scoring 0% and Iceland scoring at 87%. Only 11 countries worldwide have closed more than 50% of their gender gap: Finland, Norway, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Rwanda, Germany, Bangladesh, Sweden, Ireland, and South Africa. Only 39% of countries are above the global average, meaning more than 60% are below it. The United Nation’s Path to Gender Equality The United Nations has established sustainable development goals to be achieved by 2030 and gender equality is the fifth. Made up of nine steps, these are the UN’s priorities when it comes to achieving gender equality: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere. Eliminate all forms of violence against girls and women everywhere, including trafficking and exploitation. Eliminate all harmful gender-based practices, like early or forced marriages and female genital mutilation. Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through public services and public protection policies that promote shared parental responsibility. Ensure the full and effective participation and equal leadership opportunities for women in all levels in political, economic, and public life. Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health education and rights. Undertake reforms to provide women with equal rights to economic resources and access to ownership and control over land, financial services, and inheritances and natural resources. Use technology to promote female empowerment. Adopt and strengthen policies and legislations to enforce gender equality protection for all women and girls. The Gender Gap in Tech Gender-based digital exclusion has serious effects on society and the tech industry itself. “Hurdles to access, affordability, (lack of) education and skills and technological literacy, and inherent gender biases and socio- cultural norms, are at the root of gender-based digital exclusion. Enhanced, safer and more affordable access to digital tools is critical, as are policy interventions addressing long-term structural biases.” The first matter regarding gender equality is its ethical and just implications. A more equal world, however, could bring about benefits in lots of areas, especially global economics; research shows that a smaller gender gap improves global GDP, increases productivity, and promotes innovation . Need more convincing? Empowered women have been shown to: Increase consumer spending Improve decision-making processes Encourage more inclusive societies Increase sustainability efforts The IMF reports: “We know that in countries with greater gender inequality just closing the gap in women’s labor force participation could increase economic output by an average of 35 percent [...] In Norway, the expansion of universal child care increased the likelihood of mothers’ employment by 32 percentage points.” The World Bank’s Gender Employment Gap Index (GEGI) reports that if the gender gap were closed and men and women had equal access to paid employment, GDP per capita could increase by almost 20% . But in tech specifically, the gender gap is quite wide in four areas: internet use and access, digital skills and tools, STEM participation, and tech sector leadership and entrepreneurship. The gender gap and internet usage Internet usage is key to providing women with more opportunities, in tech and other areas. Europe and the American continents have the highest rates of internet usage and have reached gender parity or are very close to it; however, almost half the world’s population doesn’t have internet access. The majority of this group is made up of women in underdeveloped nations. Universal internet access is one of the UN’s SDGs and is absolutely essential to closing the gap. Worldwide access could provide women with educational options, widened healthcare, and more opportunities. The gender gap and digital skills Digital skills aren’t required for just tech jobs; everyone needs digital skills to fully participate in society and access financial services, educational opportunities, healthcare services, and more. But the gender gap could be shrunk even further if women had the same advanced digital skills to meet the gaps in the tech market. As the Digital SME Alliance reports: “Gender inequalities are most pronounced in disruptive tech skills, which are strongly requested in emerging sectors like AI, robotics and cloud computing. According to the World Economic Forum, women make up only 26% of AI jobs globally. The situation is even more dire in cloud and data, where the numbers are 15% and 12% respectively.” The digital economy is advancing rapidly and tech professionals are needed in practically every industry. Ensuring digital skill access will help achieve gender parity and improve the global economy. The gender gap and STEM participation Globally speaking, women have almost reached parity in their studies: undergraduate education (45%-55%), graduate education (53%), and PhD studies (43%). However, they only make up 35% of STEM students . This is problematic for two main reasons: one, STEM fields are rapidly gaining importance and if women aren’t studying them, they won’t be able to access jobs in those industries. Second, STEM jobs are some of the best-paid positions worldwide and if women don’t have access to those because they lack the necessary education or skills, the gender pay gap will only increase. We can equate the lack of women in STEM to these three causes: a lack of self-confidence, stereotypes of tech workers, and a male-dominated culture . These 2020 statistics help highlight the severity of this gap: Women made up just 16% of bachelor degree recipients in computer and information services, 21% in engineering, 27% in economics, and 38% in physical sciences. Women hold less than 20% of tech leadership roles. Only 19% of senior vice presidents and 15% of CEOs are women. 39% of women in tech see gender bias as a hindrance to getting a promotion. 34% of Apple’s employees are female but only 24% of their technical roles are held by women. During the COVID-19 pandemic, women were nearly twice as likely to either leave their jobs, be furloughed, or be fired. The gender gap and tech leadership and entrepreneurship As we already discussed obstacles that women entering the tech field face, this section will center on the problems that those already in the industry see, especially when up for promotion. Frequently, women face problems that men don’t even consider, such as taking on caregiving responsibilities, lacking role models and other women in similar roles, and greater pressure to prove their skills. Even though women make up 40% of global early-stage entrepreneurs , men still tend to start more businesses than women. Surveying entrepreneurs helped us learn that women are more likely to start a business due to making a difference or job scarcity while men do it to build wealth or continue a family tradition. In tech startups, only 2.7% women are involved, compared to 4.7% of men. The Gender Gap by Country Global statistics can help us get an idea of the overall gender gap in tech, but it’s essential to look at country-by-country data to get a more accurate picture of each market, its areas of improvement, and specific things to do to reach gender parity. The United Kingdom Five million people work in the tech industry in the UK but only 17% of those roles are held by women. When looking at the UK’s entire workforce, however, women make up 49% of all workers. This difference between the number of employed women and women employed in tech is precisely what we call the gender gap . This issue starts before women even enter the workforce - just 35% of higher education STEM students in the UK are women. Looking at this issue, we can separate three causes: Girls are less likely to choose to study STEM . This comes down to a few reasons: in such a man-heavy industry, girls don’t see role models or a place for themselves. Teachers are also ill-prepared to show girls the possibilities of tech roles and therefore aren’t even encouraged to promote girls in STEM. 33% of men had a technology career suggested to them and just 16% of women can say the same. Girls aren’t considering a tech career. Girls are more likely than boys to consider their future career when choosing their A-levels and when they don’t see a tech career as a possibility, they don’t take STEM courses. There’s a lack of female role models . Representation is absolutely essential; girls who don’t see female leaders in tech and instead see a vast majority of men won’t feel like a tech career is for them. And these numbers directly correlate to salaries. According to the UK Tech Workplace Equality Report , the average salary for male tech workers is £ 66,000 and £ 63,000 for women. To combat this gap and encourage more women to join the tech industry, some British companies have hired empowerment mentors to help women gain confidence when applying for jobs, ask for the right salary, speak up about harassment or other issues, and start new jobs. However, this isn’t a personal decision that women are making; it’s a systemic societal issue and for this to be fixed, a proactive approach by society as a whole is required. The United States The US tech market employs just 26% women , despite a nearly equal divide in the total workforce (49%). And despite the fact that 45% of STEM majors were women in 2020, only 22% and 20% graduated with a degree in engineering and computer science, respectively. Two years of collected data can help us determine where this problem originates: There are few female role models . Since the tech industry is largely run and made up of men, girls don’t see themselves as future tech workers. Stereotypes are prevalent in tech . Lots of girls are steered away from tech due to stereotypes and ideas that tech is a career for men and they should choose “feminine” paths. 44% of women surveyed between 18 and 28 years old were never given information or resources about getting into tech; just 33% of men said the same. The STEM industry is hostile for women . Women in STEM report feeling isolated, being the target of microaggressions, and having lower confidence in the workplace. In addition to not having their opinions heard at work, these are all reasons why women don’t choose tech or decide to leave the industry. Another problem occurs when women actually reach the workforce. 38% of women with computer science degrees are working in the industry, compared to 53% of men; engineering has similar data. Women also feel that the glass ceiling, a metaphorical barrier that prevents women and minorities from advancing like men, is stopping them from holding leadership roles. 48% of women account for entry-level hires but just 40% of first-level managers; this gap continues to grow as the leadership role gains more importance. However, the data is promising. The National Science Foundation reports that more women than ever before are earning STEM degrees . As Gen Z enters college and then the workforce, we can expect to see more and more women joining the tech industry, thanks to their status as the first digital native generation. Spain In Spain, only 20.6% of tech workers are women. And in the tech sector, the number of professionals needed doubles every year, leaving a wide gap for women to get into tech. But in Spain, women earn 9.4% less than men ; it may not seem like that much, but that means that they work for free 34 days annually. As we’ve mentioned, the lack of women in tech stems from problems that occur long before women enter the workforce . Only 35% of higher education STEM students are women and just 3% study Information and Communication Technology and related subjects. Women made up 55.3% of all students from 2020-2021 but just 29% of them were in engineering programs and 13.4% in computer science programs. Interestingly enough, however, science is a female-dominated field in Spain . 75% of biomedicine students, 68.7% of medicine, 65.8% of biochemistry, and 61.7% of biotechnology students are women. In tech careers specifically, however, 87% of men are in telecommunications, 74% in industrial, and 73% in physics. This large distinction is due to differences in socialization for boys and girls; strong gender stereotypes dominate young Spanish children’s lives and boys are expected to invent and calculate while girls take on a more caring role. Women make up just 20% of the Spanish startup ecosystem and that number hasn’t changed over the past eight years. 51% of women are serial entrepreneurs; 62% are men. 42% of women have failed in a previous entrepreneurial venture and only 24% record having successfully sold a startup, compared to 33% of men. Spain, however, has the most female FinTech startup executives in Europe (25%). Spain is taking real steps to close the gender gap; in 2012, there was an 18.7% wage gap, nearly 10% higher than what it is today. And the Spanish government is also working to guarantee equal pay through its Real Decreto 902/2020 , which educates workers about the pay gap and wage discrimination, opening every company up to transparency. Germany 17% of German tech jobs are held by women, even though women and men are nearly equal in the general workforce. And despite making up more than half of the university population (52%), women only make up 35% of STEM students. Negative stereotypes contribute to German women’s reluctance to enter the tech industry, in addition to lower levels of digitalization for women which has the following effects: Limited information access Complicated job opportunities Reduced industry efficiency Increased gap between different socioeconomic groups Increased risk for cybercrimes A survey by Microsoft tells us that girls are interested in STEM at age 11 but have a change of heart by age 15; the main reason for this switch is a lack of role models. In addition, the gender wage gap in Germany is one of the worst in Europe; male tech workers earn approximately €15,000 more per year than female coworkers in the same role. In the engineering sector, for example, experts believe that women are socially conditioned to choose lower-paying industries and are more willing to accept part-time jobs . Women are also leaving the tech industry earlier than men; by the age of 45, only 9% of women are still in their tech field. In the startup ecosystem, German women struggle with receiving funding and receiving support to help them manage their work-life balance. In fact, 63% of startups are entirely founded by men and just 6% of female founders are active business angels. What Germany now requires is an equality-centered approach that focuses on eliminating both structural and cultural barriers for women. Portugal A key detail in Portuguese workforce data is that the pay gap between men and women in tech and men and women in all industries is quite similar, meaning choosing a tech career is not as financially risky of a decision as in other countries. Although the wage gap isn’t as severe as it is in other countries, male tech employees average 16% higher salaries than women in the same roles. This deters women from joining the industry: just 18% of tech professionals are women; many cite limited growth opportunities and low salaries as reasons for either avoiding the industry or leaving it. Many of its neighboring countries severely lack female representation in STEM courses in higher education, but Portugal actually has a female-majority of STEM-enrolled students , at 57%. However, this percentage lowers as the courses become more advanced and students report not feeling included or integrated into the courses. Similarly, students reported working in departments with one to two women for every ten men and 10% work in a department with zero women. Groups like Portuguese Women in Tech and the PWIT Salary Transparency Project are working to both close these gaps and educate the general population about these issues; these problems stem from an overall lack of diversity in the workplace and as tech continues to propel Portugal’s economy forward, women will play a key role. The Netherlands Long viewed as a male-dominated field, the tech industry in the Netherlands is beginning to open up to women. In the digital industry, women represent 38% of the total workforce ; this number falls to just 18% in the IT sector. And just 36% of women hold leadership roles (25% of those are CEOs). For entrepreneurs, this number has risen from 2% to 8% since 2005. Secrecy clouding diversity, inclusion, and salaries doesn’t help the Dutch tech sector attract women, either. 88% of companies don’t report salaries and 99% don’t have a public strategy on how to close the gender wage gap in the Netherlands. Not being forthcoming about pay, equality practices, and company diversity can promote stereotypes, myths, and inaccurate information and further deter women from entering the tech industry. The Netherlands suffer from specific societal views and norms about gender, education, and career choices that severely limit womens’ options. Curiously enough, women-dominated industries like healthcare (70%) and education (48%) boast mainly women working part-time and more than half of those working part time do so because of childcare obligations, housework, and informal care ; only 27% men say the same. These societal views also impact the educational choices young Dutch students make; the Netherlands has one of the lowest numbers of women in STEM in Europe and the lack of female role models makes joining the tech sector largely unappealing to women, in addition to long-held stereotypes or sexist beliefs. Although it may seem like these problems are insurmountable, the key to success in the Dutch tech industry lies with women. If women joined the workforce at the same rate as men, the national GDP could grow by €100 billion . To achieve this, PwC suggests establishing networking options for women in the industry, reskilling female talent, sharing success stories for female role models, promoting inclusive environments, and focusing on hiring and training women for tech roles. Brazil Although Brazil can say that 39% of roles within the tech industry are held by women, there’s an important distinction to be made: only 20% hold tech-related positions and the majority work in support or administrative roles. Until 1964 , Brazilian women didn’t have access to their finances and couldn’t even have an ID until 1963, therefore limiting their access to bank accounts; financial independence is still something to which Brazilian women are getting accustomed. Due to strong social stereotypes, the Brazilian tech industry lacks both gender and racial diversity; Black women are extremely underrepresented. But studies show that more diverse and inclusive offices are overall more productive and positive, where employees feel valued and empowered. Just like lots of Latin American countries, Brazil’s stereotypes are strong and hard to change: women are expected to become nurses and men engineers. In 2019, just 26% of graduates in STEM fields were women. Here are some changes companies could undertake to promote diversity and inclusion: Ensuring job descriptions use inclusive language Conducting anonymous interviews to remove any conscious or unconscious bias Providing training to help employees identify and report incidences Promoting work/life balance, which helps women feel that they are not missing out on home responsibilities if they choose to work The truth is that these techniques won’t just help women; they’ll improve the overall workplace experience and job satisfaction for all. And when it comes to female leadership, there are 20 times more male-founded companies than those founded by women and women-founded ones grow much slower and are limited in what they achieve. An imbalance of women in leadership positions can make it harder for younger girls to see themselves in tech and choose to study STEM-related fields. But women need more than just a nudge to get into tech; Brazilian girls need to receive the proper training and empowerment to see that they belong in tech and see that both success and leadership options are a true possibility for them. France Despite the never before seen growth of the French tech scene and wide talent shortage, female workers make up just 20% of total industry workers . This is an improvement from 2020 where the percentage sat at just 17% , but there’s still a long way to go. Just 12% of French startup founders are women and just 11% hold a c-suite role; the money they receive to fund their startups is also less than male-founded startups, which doesn’t encourage women to jump into tech entrepreneurship. In addition, 46% of women in tech report experiencing sexist behavior , such as gender-based mockery and the lack of women in tech generally creates less innovation and a less inclusive culture. Others fear imposter syndrome, the feeling of not belonging, or facing unfair stereotypes. However, organizations such as La French Tech are working to combat this with their 2022 Parity Pact which aims to ensure the following in their member companies: Reaching a minimum threshold of 20% of women on the company’s board by 2025 and 40% by 2028. Training 100% of managers on diversity and inclusion and how to fight discrimination and harassment. Guaranteeing that 100% of published job descriptions are aimed for men and women. And starting in 2023, companies applying to join the French Tech Next 40/120, large companies with the potential to enter the CAC 40 stock index, must commit to working to improve gender inequality and receive gender equality monitoring. Mexico In Mexico, the gender gap in tech stems from a much more systemic problem: digital skill and internet access to the general population and, of course, women. When compared to other countries on gender gaps in tech, Mexico scored well below the global average. This is because state-by-state, digital access varies significantly with rural areas experiencing extremely low levels of access. Men generally have more digital skills than women and this goes from basic to advanced, sending an email to coding. And for women over 36, the gap expands even further ; however, girls and women between 16 and 25 are the most digitally literate, creating the perfect opportunity to welcome more women into tech . Only 12% of university tech graduates are women and only 10% of women who graduate with a degree in a STEM-related field actually work in it. In Mexico, 44% of women are in the workforce , compared to 77% of men; regarding management roles, only 9% of digital and tech companies have women in leadership roles and 23% have a female co-founder. And the outlook isn’t that much more positive on the salary front: male software developers can make 26% more than women with the same skills and experience. We can attribute this lack of women in the workforce to a few factors: Financial independence : few women boast financial independence in Mexico and taking an extra course or starting a new job would mean shirking on their childcare or family care responsibilities. COVID : Mexico lost 1.1 million employers due to COVID and women bore the brunt of lots of layoffs, in addition to taking on additional family care responsibilities. Non-paid domestic work : studies show that Mexican women across all socio-economic statuses dedicate more than 30 hours weekly to non-remunerated domestic work and care. Despite the troubles facing Mexican women in tech, many organizations are taking the next step to reach gender parity. The Women in Digital Award was first awarded on March 8, 2022 to president Salma Jalife Villalón of Centro México Digital, which publishes annual reports about the digital and tech industry. The Confederación Patronal de la República Mexicana provides scholarships to women to encourage remote work and developing digital skills; NIÑASTEM PUEDEN works to promote tech among young girls and Codigo X works with all levels of education to encourage women and girls to participate in tech. Women in Tech are the Future It can be daunting to take that first step into tech, especially as a woman. But don’t stress; it’s a great choice that will benefit both you and future generations of women in tech. If you don’t know where to start, take a look at some of the things you can do to get into tech: Create a strong network : use LinkedIn, your university connections, or people you already know in tech to help you gain confidence, get advice, and receive support from women already in tech. Be persistent and resilient : there will be challenges along the way and you might feel discouraged at times but remember to ask for help, keep learning, and continue pursuing your goals. Remember that you belong in technology: women are meant to be in tech and every field. Even if you can’t see as many, they’re there and eager for you to join. Advocate for yourself: know your worth and ask for promotions, raises, new opportunities, and any other thing you want on the job. You belong in tech and can achieve anything. And as you can see, the problems that women in tech face differ from country to country but there are overall themes that are constant across the globe. We spoke to some international experts about seven of the biggest challenges worldwide and what society can focus on to address them. Eliminating gender biases from childhood The gender gap begins in childhood and in very innocuous ways: giving girls dolls to play with and boys cars and legos encourages different behaviors and therefore conditions the way in which girls and boys choose their future career paths. When children see a majority of nursing or caregiver roles held by women and STEM and critical thinking roles held by men, they’ll assume that’s their path as well. Men are frequently given the most risky roles as well in group activities, giving women “safer” tasks such as organization, design, or details. Many countries have already placed a focus on this, but ensuring that children are raised in a more gender-neutral environment without societal-based gender expectations can help expand children’s minds and prepare them to take on whatever role they desire. Build womens’ self-confidence Here’s a quick stat: women tend to apply to jobs only where they are sure they meet at least 90% of the requirements; men apply even if they don’t meet them. This could stem back to societal expectations; men are encouraged to take risks and not be afraid of failure, women are more cautious. In addition, women can be faced with different kinds of scrutiny at work and asked about their family plans, marital status, or other questions that are reserved for just women. An increased focus on impartiality in the interview process and inclusive language could help women feel more comfortable when approaching new situations. And companies that offer maternity and paternity leave, supporting both parents equally, can help fight stereotypes. Create more female tech role models Women lack role models and examples of successful tech women; when women see the biggest tech companies with a male-dominated staff, it can be tough to feel encouraged. However, women’s associations and communities can help women connect with other female tech employees and access resources, tools, and mentoring programs. Companies can also work to give women more opportunities, offer scholarships, and provide mentorship connections to women. Create healthy work/life balances Women are disproportionately affected by domestic and family-related responsibilities and this can cause them to work part-time or leave the workforce entirely. Providing women with hybrid or remote options, in addition to childcare and flexible parental leave, could make tech roles an option for many more women. The gender gap in tech can be intimidating but here’s the key: it’s improving worldwide and more and more countries are taking action to ensure that all women have access to tech education and the same career opportunities as men. Women in tech are the future and here’s a fact: achieving gender parity in tech and all areas will improve overall life for everyone in every sector. At Ironhack, we're dedicated to helping more and more women enter the tech sector. Interested in being part of the change? You're in the right place.

  • Ironhack News

    3 minutes

    State of Tech in 2023: Ironhack Launches Global Reports

    Ironhack - 2023-03-16

    All Courses

    Outcomes

    It’s not easy to keep up with the tech industry. Understatement of the century. There are so many forces and influences that shape the global tech industry, and each country faces its own challenges and celebrates its own unique successes. So when we asked ourselves ‘what’s going to happen in the tech industry in 2023?’, we knew we had to look to more than one place for the answers. We wanted to know, (among other things)… What does the tech job market look like in 2023? How wide is the skills gap? What are recruiters desperately looking for? How are governments supporting their country’s tech industries? What future trends should all tech professionals be looking out for? We sat down with tech industry leaders, new hires in tech, and Ironhack’s own local market experts. We also looked at recently published research, government initiatives, and got elbow-deep in some pretty intense spreadsheets! Finally, we’re excited to be launching our State of Tech 2023 reports. That’s right, reports . Plural! Who are these reports for? Career changers . This is the ultimate ‘get-to-know-you’ guide for professionals in other industries looking to break into tech for the first time. Understand the tech hiring landscape and the hot topics that everyone is talking about. Tech professionals and entrepreneurs . Deepen your knowledge of the tech industry at large. When you’re busy trying to reach your next launch date, it can be easy to lose sight of the big picture. Get back up to speed with the State of Tech! Recruiters/HR managers. Get to know the talent market, understand the tech skills gap, and learn how to create job offers that top talent won’t be able to resist! Job seekers. If you’re actively job hunting right now, this is the guide that’ll unveil the ins and outs of the tech industry, helping you understand what recruiters are looking for. How We Made These Reports There are a lot of whitepapers and opinion pieces out there. And you might want to know why this one is worth your time. By prioritising diversity: you don’t just want to hear from one type of person with one type of background. Instead, we interviewed a diverse pool of participants in each local market to get a truly representative view of what it’s like to work in tech right now. By interviewing over a hundred people (via proper, face-to-face conversations) and looking into over 720 recent and relevant sources, we’re pretty sure we’ve done that. Only trusting recent information : in tech, there’s no point looking at information gathered ten years ago! The only sources you’ll find inside are no older than 2020, with the majority of our research being conducted over the past four months. Balancing government sources and the rest of the ecosystem : this balance is important to gain perspective, as governments sometimes have a different viewpoint to those in the trenches of industry. To truly understand the state of tech in each country, it’s important to know what the official version is and to listen to voices from companies and associations. The truth is usually in the middle. Balancing qualitative and quantitative data : we wouldn’t be good Data Analytics instructors if we didn’t! We looked at the cold hard ‘facts’ of qualitative data, but also listened to the voices of over a hundred people as they told us about their day-to-day experiences.

  • 5 minutes

    ChatGPT for Web Developers

    Juliette Erath - 2023-02-21

    Web Development

    We’re sure you’ve heard of ChatGPT by now and there’s a reason why: this artificial intelligence powered chatbot was created by OpenAI and based on the Generative Pretrained Transformer language model, using deep learning techniques to provide users with human-like answers to the text they enter. Launched in late November 2022, ChatGPT has taken the internet by storm, prompting lots of conversations about the future of similar AI-powered tools. ChatGPT is posed to revolutionize the world in various ways: Customer service: ChatGPT could provide customers with personalized and accurate information regarding their order, request, and more. Research : ChatGPT could give users the exact information they need incredibly quickly. Idea creation : ChatGPT could give creators ideas for pieces of artwork, recipes, birthday presents, and more. Parents : ChatGPT could write a chore schedule, plan vacations, and give parenting tips. Coding : ChatGPT could help developers with its knowledge of languages such as Python, JavaScript, Ruby, and others. Just like with any new tool and especially one that’s so revolutionary, there are some drawbacks and it’s important to recognize them; ChatGPT’s factual accuracy isn’t 100% and the tool sometimes can’t handle all potential users at the same time. But we’re intrigued by its uses and how it can benefit us and more specifically, web developers . Here’s some aspects that set ChatGPT apart from similar tools: It remembers previous inputs from the same session, allowing it to become increasingly personalized as the session progresses. It can try to remove harmful or deceitful answers, adding in modern perceptions of historical events. Its answers are detailed and human-like. Let’s dive into some of its uses in web development. ChatGPT for Web Development One of the most known uses of ChatGPT is writing code and its expertise in programming languages . In addition to its knowledge of programming languages, it can help with debugging, summarizing information, and problem solving. Ths radical tool can write code and build a website with just one request, especially skilled from the backend. Of course, there are some functionalities that still require human knowledge, but this is just the beginning. Different from other versions of GPT previously released, ChatGPT can admit mistakes, answer conversationally, answer follow-up questions using information previously entered during the session, challenge inaccuracies, and control the answers it gives. You’ve probably seen some doomsday comments on the internet, predicting the erasure of web developers, but the truth is there’s nothing to be concerned about. In fact, the development of highly-skilled AI tools will actually benefit web developers. Here’s why: At least for now, ChatGPT’s coding abilities are limited to basic code and can’t handle the complex coding that, for example, bank applications or websites require. This means that ChatGPT will be able to take care of the basic coding that software developers could do in their sleep and instead focus their time and energy on more complicated tasks. Due to the fact that ChatGPT’s code is based on code that it’s previously seen, it can’t promise code that’s bug-free, safe, easy to maintain, and well-documented. Web developers don’t just code; they have to build the structure of a program, apply changes, take requests into consideration, and generate exactly what is needed. A future where ChatGPT can do all of this is quite far off. ChatGPT may lead to the creation of new roles , such as AI experts. Even as it expands and improves, ChatGPT will become a skill and tool for web developers to master, allowing them to focus more on more complex tasks. ChatGPT Prompts for Web Development If you’re looking to harness ChatGPT’s power and use it to your advantage, you’re in the right place. Let’s sort our prompts into a few categories: requests, advice, and questions. Requests for ChatGPT Create a website for a local festival using JavaScript. Continue writing this code (enter code). Search this code for bugs (enter code). Find mistakes in this code (enter code). Give me 5 reasons to use JavaScript. Advice for ChatGPT Tell me the most important part of web development. What’s the best code for this kind of website? Give me ideas about website design. Questions for ChatGPT What are the best practices for web design? How do I (insert design aspect here)? How can I correct this code’s bugs? What factors should I consider when writing code with Python? The future of web development with ChatGPT ChatGPT’s groundbreaking technology has led to quite the reaction from the world. While it can seem powerful and able to take on practically anything, we have to keep in mind the following: ChatGPT outputs should be limited to guidance and advice and not be taken as fact. If you ask ChatGPT to write code for you, use it as a reference, not something to copy and paste into your work. Even if you see practically anyone enjoying ChatGPT on the internet, the tool’s incredibly powerful range means that in professional settings, it should be used strictly by experts who know what they are doing. ChatGPT is capable of handling the basics, but that doesn’t mean that knowledge is beneath you or not important; new programmers might be tempted to use ChatGPT for the basics, but web development builds on previous knowledge and abusing this could create a serious knowledge gap. Remember that even as the technology expands and develops, it will never be able to think for itself, understand complex human emotions, comprehend your personal experiences and situations, or understand your business context. ChatGPT is an incredible tool for web developers that will allow for more advancement and time spent on complex issues, but just like any new technology, should be used within reason and cautiously until it is fully understood. So if you’re interested in diving into web development, don’t be scared! Your job is here to stay.

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