Hi, I'm Marie Watkins, a new JobsBlogger, and I'm so excited to be part of this! 

Ever heard of DigiGirlz?

DigiGirlz offers technology programs to get high school girls hands-on with technology, to connect them with Microsoft employees and to help dispel stereotypes about working in the high-tech industry. I recently worked with the DigiGirlz team in Southern California when they held events in San Diego and in Orange County.   

At DigiGirlz, I had the opportunity to talk 1-on-1 with many of the teens and I found that there was a common tension permeating the conversations. One girl expressed this eloquently when she told me about the balance she is trying to find between her mom (the artist) and her dad (the computer scientist). Both parents are trying to get her to go into their disciplines. The teen is artsy, but loves technology, and is trying to live up to both of her parents' expectations. She also called it an "anxiety" and, after hearing from her and the others I spoke with, it seemed like many of the girls were struggling with the same art vs. science conflict when considering what they want to do for a career. Their anxiety was rooted in the fear they wouldn't have a "good job" (high pay, high prestige) if they follow their passion.

The girls all thought Microsoft has really cool products and all like using our technology, but none saw themselves working as programmers.Therefore, none of them could visualize themselves working at Microsoft. The main reason why they didn't see themselves working for us is because they were artsy/creative/humanities-focused and our jobs are perceived to be hardcore science and technology. 

As I work in staffing, I went into "objection handling" mode. I talked to them about the non-technical jobs we have. I shared my own story about how I found myself in technology despite having a non-technical degree.  We discussed how being successful at Microsoft requires strong creative and lateral thinking skills despite the fact that we're a technology company. But, most importantly, we talked about the relationship between having passion for something and being able to turn that into a career. 

As a continuation of my conversations with the DigiGirlz, I'm going to keep blogging about these topics.  I will be profiling people at Microsoft who have unexpected backgrounds for the jobs they are doing. I'm going to take a look at all the non-technical career paths that we offer (and I know a few of them will surprise you!).  I'm going to keep spreading the message that if you do what you love, there will be a career available to you. But, most importantly, I am going to show that if you have passion for what you do – no matter what that passion is – you have the potential for a career in technology.