QCon San Francisco 2021 November 1-5, 2021 | | Optimizing Yourself: Neurodiversity in Tech

This presentation is now available to view on InfoQ.com

Abstract

The difference between a programmer and a software engineer is their understanding of soft skills. The problem many of us face is that as members of neurodiverse communities, we must find different ways to build these skills. In this session, Elizabeth will talk about the issues she has faced as an autistic individual in the industry. She also talks about ways that you can help others in the industry.

Question:

What is the work you're doing today?

Answer:

I am working to make the jobs of other software engineers easier. This work includes open source in my free time to my day job as a consultant at Microsoft.

Question:

What are your goals for the talk?

Answer:

My goal is to make clear that soft skills mater for everyone. Then to share some tips and tricks to help grow your soft skills as an individual that may not see these skills as default.

Question:

What do you want people to leave the talk with?

Answer:

I want people to have a feeling of empathy for there colleges and them selfs. Then to have a plan to make their days better.

Question:

What do you think is the next big disruption in software?

Answer:

In an understanding that most of the problems can't be solved with tools, they must resolve them by allowing humans to communicate.

Speaker: Elizabeth Schneider

Consultant @Microsoft

Elizabeth is a self-taught software engineer with eight years of experience. She has worked with small local startups to large international corporations.

In her free time, she is an active member of the open-source community. From work as a contributor to many projects to her work with the .NET Foundation, she is always ready to dig in.