BinaryGirl Spotlight: Tamara

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What is your background? What types of degrees, skills, experiences are necessary for this field?

BA, Business Administration

Patience, flexibilty, drive, determination, willing to play in the "Good 'Ol Boy" arena, have incredibly thick skin, guerilla tactics, open to be taught, ability to bridge the gap between the 2 sides of the house, technical mind, ability to articulate the mind of an engineer through the mouth of a salesman.

How did you get started in this field?

Internet baby, started my career in a clec start up just out of school at the ground level.

What college (if any) courses have been most helpful for your career?

None, nothing I learned in school do I apply today, all I learned was through blood, sweat and tears - pure experience.

What are your specific responsibilities?

What don't I do. Company branding, messaging, run the channel, technical writing, strategic product/marketing directives, manage staff, direct mail campaigns, budgets, research, bus dev opportunities, pr - pretty much everything everything a normal Director of Marketing does except I have the addition of having to know/research/teach/sell the technology associated with our products, the industry and applications.

Are you in a team oriented position?

Definitely, you or your team can't survive without one another. Everyone's contribution is the key to success.

Do you have flextime?

No.

Vacation time?

Some but not much and rarely ever taken.

Work at home?

Nope, in a start up enviorment you don't have that privledge. There is so much to be done and once you gain more and more responsibility you need to be available to your staff and others in the organization.

Telecommute?

I did it for 2 months from NoCal to SoCal and vice versa and it almost killed me.

How many hours per week are expected or warranted for peak performance?

Expected 80, warranted 65. After that I am just there in body.

Are many evenings or weekends required for your job?

Most evenings and 1 weekend day.

How much travel is involved with a job in your field?

It depends on your company, my last job I travelled 2-3 weeks straight a month and now I really don't have to travel - does commuting from 1 end of San Jose to the other count?

Could you give me examples of projects that you are working on?

Our company Re-branding, new product development, bus dev relationships, trade shows, sales training tools, customer requests, etc.

Could you describe your work settings?

Just the basics, no fluff - we are a startup, I don't need a $1,000 desk Offices, machinery, resources etc. Functional, minimum resources.

What personal qualities do you think are necessary for someone to be successful in this occupation?

See above and wanting to win and get your hands dirty and work/acheive something.

What is the major challenge you face at work?

Men, who think all women, especially Marketers, are dumb and non-technical.

What aspects of your job do you find most rewarding (pros)?

Educating people, the industry, and taking something and building it into something great.

Least rewarding? (cons)

The constant struggle between dedication to home or office and ever changing industry trends.

Are you confronted with difficult decisions or situations in your position?

Yes, every day.

Do you have a lot of interaction with a certain occupation? I.E. media, engineers, etc.

Yes, I interact with engineers, factory workers, management, customers, and the media.

What is the Female to Male Ratio in your position/field?

Well it depends on which side of the job - mostly 5 to 1 on the Marketing end being heavily swayed female but the opposite on the technical side.

Has the field changed since you first started your career?

Dramatically.

Describe the changes taking place in your field.

Yes, with the dotcom boom and all of the cash that use to be thrown around has driven indusrty costs up. However since that is not the case any more it is difficult to do your typical marketing activities as the costs are still high.

Project future trends?

More of quality, directed efforts on Marketing, staff, employees and all general efforts. The old addage - Less is more will be it. Seperation of the boys and the men or rather the girls and the women.

Turnover rate?

I believe we are in the midst of a shake out. Only the great will survive.

Do you think women avoid technical careers?

Absolutely.

What do you think can be done to encourage girls to get more involved in the technology field?

The money and the belief of being part of something that truly affects the whole world.

Do you believe that women will be in more technical jobs in the future?

I hope so.

Do you have any advice for women and girls that are interested in going into the field?

Just do it and no matter how tuff it gets or what menial tasks you have to start with, just do it knowing you will get there. Do what no one else wants to do, become the expert on the toughest thing aroound you, and they will come. I suppose I have lots of these ideas but we can chat more when you'd like.