Tech and Career Trends for Women in Technology
By Debbie Christofferson, CISSP, CISM

Do you have a holiday or New Year wish for a career evolution? Are you a professional woman in technology or one who wants to be? Join us as we launch this new column that focuses on career trends and technology and the intersection of the two.

In this column, we will share with you the latest insights to help you manage and grow your own career or enterprise. We will identify hot sectors by region, field, job, skill and technology, and share stories about women's current challenges, to help you increase your own focus and success. These will be based on my own experience combined with the wisdom and knowledge of the many women I interact with on a daily basis.

My background includes twenty years of Fortune 500 experience as an IT and enterprise IT security manager with Intel Corporation, across the US, Europe, and Greater Asia. In 2001, I left Intel and started my own business, focused on security strategy and management.

Besides co-authoring two books, I hold the two leading security certifications, speak regularly at major conferences and industry events, and help build security and career strategies for organizations and their teams.

Contrary to popular opinion, the technology field is not dying, although the number of females has not changed much in the past decade. In any technology event I attend, there will typically be about 25% women, and sometimes less.

Opportunities abound however, and we may be missing the boat. For instance, security is one of the hottest career fields today, along with the health, financial, audit, and biotechnology fields.

For women, technology still offers some of the greatest careers, particularly in earning potential. This column will explore opportunities and trends in technology, and how we can position ourselves for the best advantage. Although written for women, these strategies will benefit anyone seeking to expand their career or life.

Getting where I am today has been a journey and continuing evolution, and not without challenges. There is so much more I could have achieved if I'd only known where to look.

In success or failure, all experiences help us grow. We have to try new ideas and new ways of thinking, to help us reach our own potential. And most of all, we have to see ourselves as the owners of our own destiny.

So, how does your career health measure up? Join me monthly as we explore opportunities and trends together, to advance women, careers and technology.

Tune in next month, for a lively discussion on a recent trend, with employers expecting us to fund our own training and development. Send me email and let me know what you think of this cost-cutting trend.

And watch for our upcoming teleconference series on building successful career strategies!