The Gender Gap in Technology

The journey begins with acknowledging the gender gap in the technology industry worldwide, and Bulgaria is no exception. Although it boasts one of the highest percentages of women in technology in Europe, the disparity in representation, especially in programming and technical roles, remains an issue. Women programmers often find themselves in the minority in their work environments, which can lead to feelings of isolation and a lack of representation.

Stereotypes and Cultural Norms

Stereotypes and cultural norms present significant obstacles for women in the technology industry. From an early age, societal expectations and stereotypes can deter girls from showing interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These circumstances contribute to a self-perpetuating cycle of underrepresentation, where the lack of visible female role models in technology further diverts girls from envisioning a career in such professions.

Workplace Challenges

For those who dare to engage in programming, the workplace presents its own set of challenges. Women programmers in Bulgaria, like their colleagues around the world, report experiences of prejudice, where their technical skills are often underestimated. The well-known “bro culture” in the technology industry can create an unwelcoming environment for women, hindering their professional growth and development opportunities.

Balancing Act

The challenge of balancing professional and personal life is particularly pronounced for women in the technology industry. The demanding nature of programming work, combined with traditional expectations regarding family responsibilities, places additional strain on women. This act of balancing can be daunting for women considering a career in programming or those looking to advance in their career.

Overcoming Barriers

Despite these obstacles, women programmers in Bulgaria are forging paths to success and creating supportive communities. Initiatives aimed at encouraging women to pursue education in STEM fields, such as coding workshops and mentoring programs, are gradually changing perceptions and inspiring a new generation of women in technology.

Professional networks and organizations for women in technology offer platforms for sharing experiences, encouraging mentorship, and increasing the visibility of women in the industry. These communities not only provide support but also work towards breaking stereotypes and challenging the status quo in the technology sector.

The Path Forward

The path to gender equality in the technology industry continues, and while challenges remain, the resilience and achievements of women programmers in Bulgaria pave the way for future generations. By continuing to address barriers and promote diversity, the technology industry can unlock its full potential, benefiting from the wide range of perspectives and talents that women bring to the field.

Code Academy wishes a happy International Women’s Day to all the brave and inspiring Bulgarian ladies who represent our country so well in the IT sphere worldwide!

Everyone who decides to become a part of the IT industry asks themselves: how long do I need to study to practice the programming profession and what do I need?

Our experience so far shows that motivated people with basic coding skills and a developed mindset in this direction can start writing software after just a few months of accelerated coding training. For those wishing to learn coding who do not have any prior training, it will be very difficult to keep up with this high rate of learning. They should consider a longer program (at least 1.5 years) to gradually develop their algorithmic thinking and code writing skills.

Whether you are starting from 0 or already have experience with coding, get ready to learn/write code (5-8 hours each day). We also advise you to choose a programming course for a profession, not just for a programming language.

A course for the programming profession

Keep in mind that learning just one programming language will not be enough to get a job as a programmer. Here’s what Valentin Valchev, a CODE ACADEMY speaker with more than 20 years of experience as a Java programmer, says:

“Programming is not just writing code. It is a teamwork. It involves a lot of research and constant learning, because new technologies come out all the time that we don’t know about but have to use. But that shouldn’t stop us.”

To get started in the profession, you need a combination of theoretical knowledge of three or more technologies (programming languages, libraries, development environments). You also need a lot of practice (writing code) in a real working environment (projects). CODE ACADEMY courses are designed to cover these requirements and provide you with a profession. Their goal is for you to become junior back-end programmers.

Our two courses include:

A module in one general-purpose programming language (C or JAVA);

a module on databases and their languages;

as well as embedding databases in the main programming code.

We stimulate our students to constantly practice what they have learned with practical assignments. We are proud that they are getting better at the challenges we set them.

Upon successful completion, our trainees will have the opportunity to start working in an it company developing complex financial software.  There they will continue to gain knowledge and become better at software development. CODE ACADEMY courses provide a solid foundation for career advancement. But as already mentioned, the programming profession requires constant self-improvement to stay up to date with new technologies. There is no upper limit. Only your motivation determines how much you can learn and what heights you can reach.

Take a closer look at the curricula of our two courses!

Briefly about specialized languages

There are probably thousands of them, each created for some specific purpose. But there are also specialized programming languages that are more widely used and better known. These are, for example, the languages in which databases are written. 75% of the database management system (DBMS) market is held by Oracle DBMS, Microsoft SQL Server and MySQL, but there are others. SQL is a specialized language for DBMS connection. PL/SQL (introduced by Oracle in the late 1980s) is a procedural extension of the declarative language SQL.

The programming languages in which databases are written work only in the database environment and are used for procedures that run in the database itself. It represents records located in files on disk arrays. In addition, there is a server that runs a database management system (DBMS) – one or many processes running on the servers that write to and read from these records on the disk arrays. The server part of the database is a group of processes that write to and read from the disk arrays. In these processes, you can program the procedure that runs on the database server with the PL SQL database language. Database programming takes place in the database environment. The program runs there.

Another interesting example of a general purpose programming language is JavaScript. It was originally created as a language to automate web pages, but it gradually evolved from a specialized language to a general-purpose language. We’ll talk more about it and its transformation in the following lines.

General purpose programming languages

They are also called general-purpose languages, general-purpose languages or interactive languages. These programming languages are used to describe a particular algorithm that starts from one state of the data and after a certain number of steps takes the data to another state, namely the final result.

90% of the programmers in the world work in them. Commercial software is written in these languages.

Java

This language is similar to C++. When it was created, it was advertised as a language that would be Internet-based and modern. Programs written in it are updated (upgraded) when they are run. For example, as happens when Android apps are launched. Java is a multi-purpose language, except that web-based applications are written in it, not operating systems. In a three-layer architecture, Java runs at the business level – the second level.

There is Garbage Collection. This makes the programmer’s job easier because he doesn’t have to think about what to do with the memory he has allocated but no longer needs. This ease, however, comes at the price of lower performance – the language is large and doesn’t always run fast enough. The program runs a few tens of percent slower than if it were written in C. It has been owned by Oracle since 2009.

Software written in Java: Android, embedded Android apps, games and web-based content.

Python

Very simple and tidy language, easy to write, easy to remember the syntax. It is a very expressive language and also has a Garbage Collection. On par with Java, it has one of the largest library arrays. But some of its libraries are at the student project level – they are not maintained, bugs are not cleaned up and programmers are unhappy. Python is now at the level of Java before Oracle bought it. However, we can say that there is a bright future for this language and there is more to see from it. It is facing great competition in the form of Java Script

Software written in Python: software related to the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence. Giants Google and Facebook use it extensively in their developments.

JavaScript

This is the language that most programmers in the world are currently writing in. A huge amount of software is written in it. At the beginning, it was a specialized language created to automate web pages. It has evolved over the years and is now a separate language with a general purpose. A large number of libraries have been created for JavaScript. Every Internet Explorer or Google Chrome implementation has some extensions to JavaScript, and one JavaScript may not work equally well on different browsers. Right now, this language is something huge.

In recent years JavaScript has been standardized, here is a link to the standard https://www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-262.htm

Software written in JavaScript: this is a scripting language, you don’t write separate software in it, but rather parts of it – for example user interfaces of web-based applications.

C++

It builds on the C language. Over the years it has become an overly large programming language. But it can be used to program literally anything. A lot of software has been written and continues to be written in it.

C++ has all the disadvantages of C and all the extras of other languages. For example, you can run the Garbage Collection on it. C++ has several standards named after the years they came out – 1998, 2003, 2011 is a huge step forward as if it were another C++, 2014 and 2017 with more new stuff. Next year the 2020 standard comes out – another very big step forward. It’s like the first language has multiplied by 3 and there are now three C++ languages.

C++ is getting very big as the years go by. It gets that way because the language is constantly incorporating techniques and programming features from other languages – support for traces and new ways to communicate. Some companies have given up on using it as a complete concept, and only use parts and standards of it. C++ violates the axiom of keeping software simple.

Software written in C++: can be used to write ANYTHING you can think of.

C

The language was invented in labs and in production (in programming). C is the simplest language but the hardest to write in, with the least things to use to help the programmer. C is the oldest of the general-purpose, object-oriented languages. It is a language for system programming – programs that make peripherals (drivers), operating systems work.

Programs written in C work very close to the processor and to memory, very fast systems, use everything to the maximum extent. The language is EASY to learn, but it is hard and slow to write in, hard to find errors, and the inexperienced programmer can make big mistakes with it. It contains only 32 keywords. The problem is that the language itself gives you many degrees of freedom, but unfortunately with this much freedom most of the things you do are against you.

C e a sharp knife with which you can “hurt” yourself if you don’t know how to use it. C is faster than C#, however C# is faster and easier to write in. Those who master it will eventually have a foundation for most general-purpose programming languages that descend from C.

Software written in C: operating systems, drivers.

C#

One of a family of #(sharp)-languages: C#, F#, M#, Q#, etc. It is Microsoft’s answer to Java. And it has the Garbage Collection. The huge advantage, maybe they’ll pass Java with this, is that they offer a huge framework with everything you can think of for this language. Ready-made components for everything, well-downloaded, and easy to link together. Medium sized programs are quickly made in this language. The language has well developed parsing systems that help you clean up your mistakes quickly.

It offers more features than Java. Many people write in this language. A lot of people switched from Java to this language because it’s easier, faster, and has a lot of ready-made stuff. They get everything right when they start. They have one of the best development environments – Visual Studio for C, C++ and C#.

Software written in C#: programs for and parts of Windows itself, PlayStation Suite, Xbox, Windows Phone, Kaspersky Internet Security

Want to learn more about programming and its expressive tools? Sign up for our training courses and we’ll teach you everything you need to practice the profession.