In a world basically run by the internet it’s clearly no surprise that literally everyone and their cat is using our online universe to aid in career advancement. Searching for resources is fairly is but finding ones that are suited to each individual can be particularly taxing.

As a young girl or young lady in today’s society, there are so many opportunities readily available to those of us who are aspiring coders or just want to add code to our list of skills (you go girl) and in this little article I’ll show you just that. These are just a few of the billions of online coding opportunities available to us. As a 17 year old myself, all of these are perfectly kid and teen friendly, most even apply to undergraduate girlies.

 

Now without further ado and to end my rambling, here are some virtual opportunities specifically for my aspiring tech girls and programmers:

 

1.  Virtual Hackathons

Oh hackathons, the best opportunity for every aspiring coder. Of course the internet is riddled by thousands of in person hackathons, there are still a bunch that are strictly virtual and convenient for those of us who can’t just travel to go to one whenever we please.

My favorite platform to find hackathons is definitely the official Devpost website which has curates hackathons for you based on your interests, skills and all other kinds of specific criteria. This is where I found my first ever hackathon. Though I must say it was a pretty fun experience, it was filled with some many learning curves and I made so many connections after. I didn’t win but participating does come with a lot of opportunities so I definitely recommend participating.

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Finding a team is also fairly simple as most hackathons have forums or use discord to help you find a team. However, warning it’s fairly common to end up becoming the only girl in a team of all boys, which is what happened to me but don’t let that intimidate you. All the other girls in the hackathon are probably facing the same thing which really makes me wish there was a way for all of us to just find each other and form the ultimate steminist team.

In the end I definitely recommend hackathons, especially in teams but if you aren’t all that fond of working with strangers or just other people in general you should try entering on your own which can still be fun but can be daunting to a beginner. Now come on, go sign up for your first hackathon.

 

2.  Kode With Klossy

 

The ‘Koding’ foundation created by Karlie Kloss herself to inspire young girls in STEM is by far one of the best opportunities on this list or anywhere in the world.

I may be a little biased with this one seeing as I did become a Kode With Klossy alumna just this summer, but KWK literally rocks. This is by far one of the most inclusive and fun coding opportunities for young women, girls and non binary scholars. Of course, Kode With Klossy has many in person camps, it also has several virtual camps as well for courses such as Data Science to App development to Web development and the best part of it all is that it’s completely free.

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This opportunity applies to girls of the ages of 13-18 and can be absolute blast if you just take the chance to apply. From fun lessons to the community that is KWK and all the scholars, you not only gain new skills but you make lifelong friendships or at least you make lifelong connections, or both. I love how the curriculum is formed and you will too.

Why not apply now? Meet amazing girls just like you of all ages, interact with the best instructors and assistant instructors (IAs) in the whole entire universe and take your coding to the next level. Give Kode With Klossy a chance.  It’s definitely good thing that it runs in the summer so it won’t interfere with your academic pursuits though I do wish it was all year round cause once you become a scholar you won’t want to stop. I know I didn’t want to. Give it a go young coder, join me and thousands of other amazing girls as alumni and reap the benefits that come with it!

3.  Girls Who Code

I personally have never participated in a Girls Who Code Cohort but via hearsay from my friends who have they say it is absolutely amazing. GWC offers two kinds of programs, a 2 week immersion program and a 6 week self paced program for students who want to learn the skills in their own styles.

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Both opportunities give you a chance to interact with the fantastic GWC community whilst allowing you to gain meaningful skills. Though, GWC is mainly in person, they do offer online camps and programs to their scholars which means you get a chance to participate from anywhere in the world whilst still getting to mix with so many different personalities all moving towards to the same goal.

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I would love to give it a go and you should too. That should be our collective goal this summer, joining the amazing GWC universe. See you there!

 

4.  Cisco

Fun fact, Cisco despite mainly being a software engineering company does in fact offer some internships to high school students though it does mainly have offers for undergraduate students, but for this reason I have included it on this list.

It does have a select number of remote internships as most of them are held in particular locations across the US and some territories in the EU. I still don’t think that is enough reason not to include it as it still is an amazing virtual opportunity for one to take advantage.  Just visit the official jobs site, look up the keyword ‘internship’ and see if you happen to match their criteria for each internship. You never know this could be what jumpstarts your career in coding so don’t let it slip through your fingers.

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You should always be open to trying something new especially when it comes to opportunities like this so apply for a Cisco internship today. You never know whenever another opportunity like this will just land in your hands. Give Cisco a chance.

 

5.  CypHERz

You didn’t think I would forget about CypHERz right? You are literally reading this off of the official website so of course I had to include this shameless plug.

Though this organisation is fairly new, I can definitely say that it’s an amazing organisation for all young girls who are aspiring to work in tech, especially coders. New courses are currently being curated to help you either learn a new programming language or polish up on the skills you already have under your belt. We are here just for you and ready to guide and inspire girls all over the world to give them a fair chance in tech. As a member of the team I think even just being given the opportunity to join is truly an amazing opportunity and privilege and who knows? This might be you someday, getting to be part of a this amazing community of amazing young women and fantastic scholars. CypHERz might just be the place for you.

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Take the chance to apply to one of the programs and get ready to be led by girls just like you from every country you could possibly imagine. We may be young but we certainly open so many doors to girls from all over the world to chance their coding dreams.

 

6. LinkedIn

It might be weird seeing LinkedIn on this list but I think that this is by far one of the most underrated resources for aspiring programmers or coders. What makes it even better is that it’s completely virtual unless you do want some in person opportunities instead. Not only does it give you the opportunity to reach out to professionals in the field but you also get to reach out to students either studying something to do with coding or interning at places you find cool. You never know, you literally might just get a chance to talk to a google intern or Computer Science PhD candidate.

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Now that that’s out of the way, let me explain how you can use LinkedIn to your advantage. Start by creating an account which is really simple then connect with people who might have programming or coding listed under their skills. Ask if you can interview them whenever they are free, ask them a bunch of questions concerning the field or wherever they might be interning. If they are a PhD candidate, ask them if they need any assistance or would like an intern or apprentice, if they reject your offer ask them if they have any colleagues who may need your services.

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I know this all sounds super tedious but it’s incredibly helpful in reaping hidden opportunities. Plus, networking is absolutely amazing for anyone wanting to kickstart any kind of career and programmers are no exception.

 

Yayyyyyyyy!!! You made it to the end! Here’s a cookie for sticking with me all the way: 🍪

Now all jokes aside, thank you for reading. I know this list seems fairly short but trust me when I say this list alone opens doors to a billion more opportunities in the future. You just have to take the leap of faith and trust me. You’ve got this! Goodluck!

 

If you have any questions please be sure to contact the CypHERz team and let us know what’s up. We’re rooting for you all the way.

By Tadisa Mellisa Chiwira