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There's no doubt that the technology industry is thriving, but there's still a lack of women taking up careers in tech. Why? Well, according to a study by PWC, 'females aren’t considering technology careers as they aren’t given enough information on what working in the sector involves, and also because no one is putting it forward as an option to them.'
*The Debrief *wanted to see if the same mindset applied to teenage girls who were starting to think about their future and career options. So, we interviewed a handful of teens on their thoughts, and this is what they had to say:
Nikki Demetriou, 16
'I'm not exactly sure what kind of technology careers are out there. When I think of tech careers I imagine an office job in IT, and that doesn't really appeal to me - I want a job where I get to meet lots of people and not sit behind a desk. If I knew what other kind of jobs were out there I might think about considering a tech career.'
Chloe Sansen, 17
'My older sister is a coder and she loves her job, which I guess is why I'm interested in creative tech careers. I don't know how I would go about getting a tech job though, or what subject I would need to study at university to give me the skills I need to get into the industry. If I was more informed I'd probably be more likely to consider a tech career, but because I don't know that much about the industry, a tech job wouldn't be my first choice.'
Lara Norris, 14
'I love watching vloggers and makeup tutorials on YouTube, and you could say that these girls have careers in tech because they're working solely on the internet. I think it's the same for people who work in social media, because you're using the internet and different tech platforms to do your job. I could definitely see myself having this kind of career as I love to be creative - I just need to invest in some filming equipment for YouTube and get the ball rolling!'
Georgia Irina, 19
'I don't know any women who work in tech, and I'm not too well-informed about what careers in tech actually exist, but if I was to guess, I'd say they'd be quite dull ones like analysing data and IT consultancy. I want to have a fun, exciting job where I can work with people my age and I'm not sure I'd have that if I worked in technology.'
So, we've established that yes, some teenage girls would consider a career in tech, but there's still vagueness around whether or not tech careers are fun, creative and entertaining. Recently, we've spoken to many successful women who work in tech (like Sharmadean Reid from Beautystack, Sophie Abrahamovitch from Drinki and Louise Doherty from PlanSnap), who champion the tech industry for it's versatility. And here at *The Debrief, *we're avid believers that young women should definitely consider technology careers - the industry is well paid, up-and-coming and in need of more trailblazing females. So, ladies, you know what to do.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.