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Chloe Condon
Developer Evangelist, soon-to-be Microsoft
And - Former actress; Hackbright alumni; speaker
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My imposter syndrome made me feel like I'd never be employed. A theatre major? Who can code? And is getting paid for it?!
WHAT DO YOU DO?
I like to describe my role as a Developer Advocate/Evangelist as an "extroverted engineer"/spokesperson/liaison. A lot of my job requires community building, educating, creating content, and public speaking (all things that I love to do!). It's a fun hybrid of technical work as well as marketing. At the end of the day, it's my job to make sure engineers use products and features successfully, and evangelize those tools as well.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS FIELD?
I have a background in theatre (I performed in musicals for 20+ years, and I have a BA in Drama). When I decided to attend Hackbright (an all-female software engineering bootcamp in San Fransisco), I had originally intended on becoming a junior engineer and work my way up the ranks. Once I realized that my theatre skills were as valuable as they were in a developer advocacy role - going straight into a Developer Evangelist role seemed like the perfect fit! I not only get to build cool things, but I get to write/speak/educate folks. It's the perfect blend of my interests and skills!
WHAT DO YOU LOOK AT & THINK, "I WISH YOUNGER ME WOULD HAVE KNOWN THIS WAS POSSIBLE?"
When I was attending Hackbright/job hunting for my 1st role, my imposter syndrome made me feel like I'd never be employed! A theatre major? Who can code?? And is getting paid for it?! It's possible, young me.
WHY DO YOU LOVE WORKING IN STEM?
I love that I'm always learning. STEM is definitely not a field where you can get "comfortable", and I love that. Technologies change, and it's exciting to catch up, learn, and keep learning. With theatre- there was a lot of memorization of facts/lines/etc. In STEM, I get to learn something new everyday and apply it.
BEST ADVICE FOR NEXT GENERATION?
I wear bows in my hair, always have a glittery manicure, and I wear dresses and rompers when I give talks and keynotes. You don't have to look or act a certain way to be a successful woman in STEM. Don't feel like you need to change who you are to fit in or be successful!
INSPO / FUN FACT
My role model is - fictional, but Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. I try to channel my inner-Elle every day!