[dzink]

I have presented in front of teen girls at events and mentored girls individually. The tech bug catches on best anywhere between age 8 and 14 when you see a role model for something fun you can enjoy doing that is an "gateway drug to CS". At that age parents don't matter but peers do.

When I was that age, just one of my classmates mocked me for trying, but a few other fellow tinkerers and I started competing in high-school tech competitions and that brought us together. Having other doers around made it even more fun and addictive. As a teen girl I was a minority in local hacker clubs/cafes at the time, but that actually meant I was getting hit on by the boys (mildly and jokingly, and I always brushed it off to keep tinkering), not really hindered.

[rjzzleep]

there is no tech bug. there is a thing that you enjoy what you get good at(the dilbert author wrote about it too), no matter what it is.

also, as a person who caught on very early, i wouldn't advise people to study cs. for people that are really good at the stuff we're talking about here. cs without the right peers is one of the most disappointing experiences there is. imagine a professional heart surgeon having to go through basic medical exams for 4 years, that's why comparably few doctors are interested in migrating to the us.

but on a sidenote i don't really get the latter tbh. to me it seems like it would be great to share common interests as is the case for most other professions. yet, when it comes to hackers, being sexually interested in one another seems to be put down as douchebaggery. no wonder most of us stay alone, while douchebags like lawyers flourish.

[muglug]

I think you're entirely wrong. First off, lots of people don't enjoy things they're good at, and enjoy things they're not good at. Having sung in choirs, I've seen ample examples of both.

And "catching the tech bug" just relates (IMO) to the moment where you see computers as a source of almost limitless inquisition. And I agree with OP that that most often happens between the ages of 8 and 14.

Also, having studied CS in university and really enjoyed it, I don't share your pessimism about the degree.

Finally, lawyers date each other, as do other sorts of geeks (included CS geeks), but there isn't the extreme gender disparity in college that one sees in CS courses, so one woman is unlikely to be the target of so much unwarranted male attention. And also, lots of lawyers are nice people, just as lots of CS people (men and women) are douchebags.