Everything sunny and bright
Oh hi again, glad you’re here! You make our days better and brighter!
Thanks for coming along as we build on the largest community for technology makers in Indiana - and likely the Midwest.
We are delighted to bring you another Hacks && Happenings, live from a very sunny corner of Tinker Coffee in downtown Indianapolis - the type of sunny that highlights all the dust on your laptop screen.
Anyway …
Celebrating Indiana Women in Tech Week: Empowering Through Mentorship
Indiana Women in Tech Week, celebrated from September 15-22, 2024, is a statewide initiative dedicated to uplifting and encouraging women in the technology sector. One of the standout events was this week’s mentorship-focused “Ctrl+Alt+Empower” hosted by Transcend Consulting LLC with Eight Eleven Group and Pass the Torch for Women. This event fostered connections between experienced professionals and those new to the tech industry, providing invaluable guidance and support.
Representation of women in tech is crucial - diverse teams are known to perform better and drive innovation, something we care a lot about here in Indiana and at Indy Hackers. However, the tech industry faces a significant challenge: more than 50% of women leave their tech jobs by the age of 35. Girls Who Code did a study with Accenture and found that 50% of women end up leaving because they found their workplace to be inhospitable or that it lacked female role models. This underscores the importance of creating supportive environments and opportunities to retain talented women in the field.
On Tuesday evening, Linda Calvin, the Chief Impact Officer for Reboot Representation, hosted two powerhouse panels focused on sharing insights and practical tips for both mentors and mentees. A few key takeaways from our Indy Hackers Board member in attendance:
Seek out advisors who aren’t just “yes” people – you want constructive feedback that enables growth.
Show up, on time, with an agenda and a specific ask or topic, every time.
Ask questions, be curious and engaged, and be an active listener.
When you have a relationship with your mentor or mentee, they trust in you. But you are representing them now – be aware of that social capital and how other people are investing their time in you. Ask how you can help them too.
Have a growth mindset for continuous learning.
Mentorship as a right of passage - once you get further in your career, it’s an opportunity and a dual responsibility to give back.
Your mentor wants to see you win and develop. Build that credibility and show them how you are putting their guidance to work by gaining and applying new skills.
Be intentional with your time, and respectful of others’ time.
Have diversity of voices and opinions - this helps you grow!
If you’ve got some extra time and are seeking mentorship, check out resources and opportunities through groups like Women & Hi Tech and Pass the Torch for Women. Here at Indy Hackers, we are always looking for ways to foster more connections, so feel free to reach out with ideas or suggestions that we can explore from here. And take some time this week to celebrate and support the incredible women in tech, so our community continues to thrive. Cheers!
- Katie Hughes, Board Member
Things the community is reading
Oracle, it’s time to free JavaScript. (ht, Dan O'Dea): A community plea to Oracle to give up their trademark on the term “Javascript”, which was always just a marketing gimmick to tie it to Java back in its origins, anyway. As it continues to eat the world of software (a discussion for another day), being able to use its familiar name without worry about trademark infringement seems a lot better than trying to get the community to adopt something like, I don’t know, ECMAScript instead.
How to succeed in MrBeast production (leaked PDF). (ht, John Williford): If you (or, in my case, your kids) is deep into Mr. Beast land, the leak this week of an internal document outlining how he manages his team and his YouTube channel is a fascinating peek into a world of click bait and hustle and highly tuned algorithm manipulation. Now, excuse me while I fill this baby pool with mustard and don this corn dog costume …
Paul Graham and the Cult of the Founder (ht, Joel Meador): Paul Graham, the founder of Y Combinator - one of Silicon Valley’s first startup accelerators - wrote a piece recently about what he called “Founder Mode”. When Graham writes, it’s usually written to cause a stir of some sort, and this piece generated many follow up pieces like this, which criticize the venture-backed startup culture that Graham helped usher in. The reality is that it’s a miracle that any startup survives, and each is a unique and special snowflake. Not one way works, not one path is right, no one’s advice or experience is universal. For all the “founder mode” companies which succeed, there are thousands that failed. And the same is true for the opposite approach. Nobody knows what they’re doing … go do you.
Get to Know a Slack Channel
#coworking is a recent addition to the Indy Hackers Slack organization. Remote workers have started posting their daily working locations at nearby coffee shops to facilitate impromptu casual meetups. The channel has been live for less than 2 weeks and already has promoted 3 successful meetups. Check it out if you work from home and want to occasionally get out and see some fellow hackers.
Also, a coworking #protip! Launch Fishers, a host of past Holiday Socials, has a “Free Cowork Friday” on the last Friday of each month. The next one is coming up on September 27 - check in with Carolyn at the front desk when you arrive to get checked in and set up. Also, many a great work session has been had at any of Indianapolis’ fantastic public libraries.
If you’re not already chatting with us on Slack you can sign up for free at https://slack.indyhackers.org.
Is there an Indy Hackers Slack channel you’re fond of? Hit reply and let us know what we should feature next. Honestly we’re still finding channels that the community has created that we didn’t know existed and that is amazing.
Meetup. Of. The. Fortnight!
Indy .NET Consortium: The Role of Data Governance in Modern Software Development
Explore why data governance is a fundamental aspect of software development. Discuss how proper data governance ensures data quality, security, and compliance, which are critical for building reliable and trustworthy applications.
Presenter: Dr. Todd Wolfe
Time: Pizza at 6:00, Presentation Starts at 6:30pm Eastern
Location: Theoris, 9000 Keystone Crossing, Downstairs Conf Room, Indianapolis (and online)
Other Upcoming Events
AI Engineering Katas - Sept 21st
Free Code Camp Indy - Sept 25th 6pm
Downtown Code and Coffee - Sept 26th 7-9am
Broad Ripple Code and Coffee [Online] - Oct 2 7:30 am
Is there an event you would like to announce here? Let us know at newsletter@indyhackers.org and we’ll get it added to the calendar.
New on the Job Board
Data Product Owner at Knowledge Services (110-135K)
Senior Developer at E-gineering, Inc.
Senior Software Engineer / Lead Software Engineer / Staff Software Engineer at SEP
The IndyHackers job board is free to companies and the community. Our goal is to help as many community members as possible land jobs they love at companies based here in Indiana, growing the community of hackers throughout the state.
If your company is hiring, post your job here.
If you’re hunting for a job, the full job board is here or you can follow along in #jobs in our Slack. Or: Just reply to this email with what you’re looking for.
One last thing
Hi. It’s Chris again, and today I want to open up a bit. It’s all the way down here at the bottom, so you can bail if you want to. Warning: This gets kinda deep.
I was at Tinker this morning to catch up with someone new, and we started talking about software engineering cultures. I mentioned that, in my experience, if you present engineers with a decision or an outcome, and don’t give them all the context behind it, they will invent their own context - and it will often be the worst-possible context.
And, really, I think that’s true of many people. Our brains are filled with worst-case scenarios, and anxieties, and what ifs, and extrapolations.
I shouldn’t reach out to that person because I’d be bothering them.
They haven’t responded to my email because they don’t want to work with me.
I shouldn’t apply for that job because I’m not good enough.
I should skip that event because everybody will wonder what I’m doing there and judge me for not being there for so long; they’ll think I’m a poser.
And so on.
The thing is, and the thing I’ve realized through therapy and just growing old, is that we’re all walking around with these inner voices telling us all this stuff.
Everyone you meet, everyone you talk to or email or work with, is walking around with their own narrator, their own story, and their own self-talk.
I’ve settled on mine being there to protect me from pain - pain from rejection, or ridicule, or shame.
And as I’ve grown older, I’m starting to realize there are things in life that are worth that small risk of rejection or ridicule - and shame is something I do to myself.
One of those things worth doing is connecting to other human beings and helping them in any way I can. It’s one reason I’m on the board here at IndyHackers - to help as many people in our industry as I possibly can.
So, hey. Here I am, blabbing about all this stuff to you. So you know you’re not alone out there.
And if this resonated with even one reader, it was well worth the effort.
Take care of each other, and most importantly, take care of yourself.
We like you, and we can’t wait to talk to you again in two weeks.
See ya then.
Thanks to Our Sponsors
