Is the tech industry ANTI-BLACK by nature?

[Rick Fox at UNC]

These companies usually have low numbers of blacks in them. And usually the number of black employees at tech companies is the LOWEST compared to everyone else.

I think honestly the reason is so low is because most of them are working on stuff that we're not supposed to know and that we're not going to be able to participate in.

This might be the most ridiculous statement. Actually, I don't even know what it means. If you have the internet, you have access to the information.

I work in tech and Indians and Filipinos are getting it.

Bruhs are not out here on top of their shyt like that that and we don't have the leg room to be do half ass work.

Exactly. Asians (to include Indians and Filipinos) seem to be making it happen. Jews seem to be making it happen (lets not even talk about Unit 8200: Unit 8200 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Talpiot: Talpiot program - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

Neither one of those groups were invited or made to feel a part of any community.

I'm just saying.

have to get more black kids interested in learning first

I know of plenty of middle-class black kids who are much more interested in identifying with pop culture and hip-hop culture than with computers and math.

Again, I'm just saying.

 

[Rick Fox at UNC]

This thread makes me sad....

I just got a promotion to Sr. Systems Engineer (formerly network engineer) a couple of weeks ago and was forced to move (part of the requirement) to Tulsa, OK.
In my company, the break down is like this...

7 people in Help desk - 4 black, 3 hispanic (1 woman), 0 white people
4 people in Information security - 2 persians, 2 white
2 Network engineers (1 is an arch) - 2 white
2 System engineers - 1 white, 1 black (me).

Management
1 Service Desk manager - white
1 InfoSec manager - white
1 Infrastructure manager - white
1 Director - white
1 CIO - white


You see a trend?

The lowest level of IT (helpdesk/service desk) has 0 white people. the higher you go up, the more all white it becomes.
And also, the people who have been in the company the longest are the servicedesk/help desk. So its clear they aren't moving up.

I agree fully with what @bdizzle is saying. I'm 28 now and I have quite a bit of money stored away. I think by the time i'm 30 i want to quit working for other people entirely and go into consulting for black owned businesses. I already do it on the side (i consulted for 3 all black american/nigerian companies last in 2015, not much but its a start). But i'm hoping to make a business out of this.


Now I'm not going to shyt on any of my brehs for working for a white boss while acquiring and honing their skillset. But there has to be an exit plan. Once you have that disposable income, years of experience wearing several different IT hats, you need to think about what you want to be doing for the next 40 years.

Sadly i know brehs who have been working service desk for 9 years +
They have technical engineering skillset to offer

I'll provide an anecdote of my own.

- I started building computers (piecing them together, not using kits) in middle school and I don't remember a single black kid being into any of what I was doing back then. No joke, not a single one. Matter fact, what I was doing was considered mad corny and lame.
- Used to watch Triumph of the Nerds (three hour doc about Silicon Valley) and Trillion Dollar Bet (hour long doc about Wall Street) religiously.
- Used to thumb through Fortune magazine every month. Again, corny and more corny.
- Used to order CDs with hacking tools so I could learn the tools and the code. Lame.
- Used to spend hours and hours, days and nights working with and on this stuff.
- Used to spend hours reading about Carmack and Gates, how they code, adopting their work ethic, etc.
- When I got my first job, I went to a Borders and special ordered The Art of Electronics (The Art of Electronics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) for fun. Corny.
- Junior College (during high-school): Only black male in Calculus.
- State School (one of the largest in the country): The only black person in advanced math classes, the only black male in engineering classes (this includes even the intro classes).
- Anytime I met other black males who were about that engineering/computer science, they were from out the country (African or British by way of Africa).
- I go to Blackhat/Defcon events, there are more black males than before but still very few. I'm pretty sure I run across more black woman than men.



Cats working in Silicon Valley or Silicon Alley (New York) or in big tech markets like Austin tend to have a background similar to mine. They were interest in tech before it became a thing to be interested in and they developed their skills by putting in hours and hours of effort. They didn't do it for money or to feel wanted (probably the exact fukking opposite), they did it because they were drawn to it and became good at it.

So now that the money is flowing toward tech all these folks want in and have the nerve to feel entitled. Women with business and liberal arts degrees feel like they deserve a position in tech without realizing who they're competing against. shyt is disgusting.

I'm sick of hearing about women and black folks not feeling "accepted" or "wanted" or whatever, as if the folks who work in tech grew up feeling wanted by their peers.

Do you guys actually believe that all these folks who are damn near at the end of some fukked up mental spectrum are the ideal candidates for employment at all of these companies?

There are so many weird fukks in Tech and Finance man and none of them felt "wanted" or "included" growing up; that's why they're so good at what they do.

We got nikkas in here talking about dudes can't be masculine? Tell that to cats like Stephen Watt (seven foot bodybuilding hacker).

Man, y'all are ridiculous.

Triumph of the Nerds:


Trillion Dollar Bet:


Carmack:

Stephen Watt (but wai wait, he's too masculine):

 

[Mowgli]

This might be the most ridiculous statement. Actually, I don't even know what it means. If you have the internet, you have access to the information.



Exactly. Asians (to include Indians and Filipinos) seem to be making it happen. Jews seem to be making it happen (lets not even talk about Unit 8200: Unit 8200 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Talpiot: Talpiot program - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

Neither one of those groups were invited or made to feel a part of any community.

I'm just saying.



I know of plenty of middle-class black kids who are much more interested in identifying with pop culture and hip-hop culture than with computers and math.

Again, I'm just saying.

Some bruhs get sensitive about this topic and act like there is just a crazy amount of tech bruhs out there who just aren't getting a chance. Theyre arent. Don't see bruhs at any tech conventions, it conventions etc and it's really ours for the taking since these dudes are getting over overcharging people foR everything.

I think every other branch has someone who's passionate about tech and it should be more. Definitely alot of family members who have half asked passion. They on some I'm gonna do this I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna go to school for this and that, to like put family members at ease but next year when you see them they saying the same thing.

Kickstarting bruhs to be passionate about a trade can be difficult

 

[3rdWorld]

Tech industry is obviously racist because it is an industry that survives off of intelligence capacity..and since cacs and asians believe they have a monopoly on intelligence, Blacks no matter how talented will be treated like dog shyt..
Black people need more STEM degrees, and you couple that with our creativity we can own it.

 

[Rick Fox at UNC]

Some bruhs get sensitive about this topic and act like there is just a crazy amount of tech bruhs out there who just aren't getting a chance. Theyre arent. Don't see bruhs at any tech conventions, it conventions etc and it's really ours for the taking since these dudes are getting over overcharging people foR everything.

I think every other branch has someone who's passionate about tech and it should be more. Definitely alot of family members who have half asked passion. They on some I'm gonna do this I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna go to school for this and that, to like put family members at ease but next year when you see them they saying the same thing.

Kickstarting bruhs to be passionate about a trade can be difficult

Exactly.

Tech industry is obviously racist because it is an industry that survives off of intelligence capacity..and since cacs and asians believe they have a monopoly on intelligence, Blacks no matter how talented will be treated like dog shyt..
Black people need more STEM degrees, and you couple that with our creativity we can own it.

You have to be careful how you throw around "Asians" because you're including Middle Easterners, Southeast Asians, and Indians in there. These are folks with completely different cultures and belief systems, yet they've all somehow managed to find a place in the STEM world.

I don't disagree about there being issues, I just don't think you guys are making compelling arguments. If you want to argue about how blacks don't receive the same level of education, especially early childhood education, as others and discuss certain outcomes you may have a point. But just saying "the industry is racist because I don't see blacks in it" isn't really telling the whole story.

 

[root_eruditorium_org]

Let me tell you guys something - it might not be what you want to hear but its the truth. Tech is close to the most meritocratic industry in 2016. If you are GOOD you will get noticed, it is as simple as that. Industries that require a lot of soft skills that are hard to quantify or add metrics too are the ones where racism can easily prevent you from climbing the ladder but if you have the skills you will eat, simple as that. & when i say this i'm primarily thinking about the big "superstar" tech companies (Google, Facebook, Amazon). So if you want to land a gig at one of those places you can either whine about racism or bust your ass - I'd recommend doing the latter.

But keep in mind that I'm talking about hard programming skills. Once you move into management (which you might have to anyways if you want more money), then the bullshyt that y'all talk about will apply. To even get on that track though you need to get on the ladder first, you need to have the skills.

I'm speaking as a black person who has worked in tech for a while and hasn't encountered any overt racism (some covert). Regardless of what my past and present employers (& colleagues) may think of me what they do know is i get things down and I'm serious about my work.

So take all that for whatever it is worth

 

[Apollo Creed]

Exactly.



You have to be careful how you throw around "Asians" because you're including Middle Easterners, Southeast Asians, and Indians in there. These are folks with completely different cultures and belief systems, yet they've somehow managed to find a place in the STEM world.

I don't disagree about there being issues, I just don't think you guys are making compelling arguments. If you want to argue about how blacks don't receive the same level of education, especially early childhood education, as others and discuss certain outcomes you may have a point. But just saying "the industry is racist because I don't see blacks in it" isn't really telling the whole story.

Asians were flooding the IT market during a time where there were still Blue Collar Jobs for the avg American to work, thus when it came to Americans only "nerds" were getting into IT. The people who got into tech in the 80s and 90s pretty much created their own lanes and then put their people on. The Indian cat who was one of the first people at a US tech company was able to say "hey Im one of the few people who know what they want when it comes to skill set" and then pass that knowledge off there and thus India is able to create tons of "Consulting Companies" which is just a fancy word for outsourcing companies.

Now the industry is to the point where damn near everything is being outsourced to contractors, and I hear from a skill standpoint many foreign contractors are incompetent but companies can get them so cheap they dont even care. The main reason I never wanted to be a programmer is because thats the easiest job to outsource.

 

[Apollo Creed]

Let me tell you guys something - it might not be what you want to hear but its the truth. Tech is close to the most meritocratic industry in 2016. If you are GOOD you will get noticed, it is as simple as that. Industries that require a lot of soft skills that are hard to quantify or add metrics too are the ones where racism can easily prevent you from climbing the ladder but if you have the skills you will eat, simple as that. & when i say this i'm primarily thinking about the big "superstar" tech companies (Google, Facebook, Amazon). So if you want to land a gig at one of those places you can either whine about racism or bust your ass - I'd recommend doing the latter.

But keep in mind that I'm talking about hard programming skills. Once you move into management (which you might have to anyways if you want more money), then the bullshyt that y'all talk about will apply. To even get on that track though you need to get on the ladder first, you need to have the skills.

I'm speaking as a black person who has worked in tech for a while and hasn't encountered any overt racism (some covert). Regardless of what my past and present employers (& colleagues) may think of me what they do know is i get things down and I'm serious about my work.

So take all that for whatever it is worth

The issue with the Tech industry is getting your first 1 or 2 jobs which would net you the experience to build your resume and finally eat. Many companies instead of having entry level roles which would typically just be easier projects so people can learn the company culture and processes, now just outsource those jobs as they can get 3-4 contractors for the price of one entry level American AND not have to pay them benefits. With the Tech world once you get 5+ yrs experience you are good money, but the issue is getting that first 4 yrs of experience.

 

[3rdWorld]

Exactly.



You have to be careful how you throw around "Asians" because you're including Middle Easterners, Southeast Asians, and Indians in there. These are folks with completely different cultures and belief systems, yet they've all somehow managed to find a place in the STEM world.

I don't disagree about there being issues, I just don't think you guys are making compelling arguments. If you want to argue about how blacks don't receive the same level of education, especially early childhood education, as others and discuss certain outcomes you may have a point. But just saying "the industry is racist because I don't see blacks in it" isn't really telling the whole story.

South Asians like Indians bombarded the tech industry with sheer numbers alone. when i was in college, 90% of the IT students were from India etc.
The difference between us and them is merely that they take their tech studies seriously. They have programming sweat shops where young boys are taught programming from an early age to give them an edge. Indian high schools are also notoriously competitive, and you dont just get into a chinese university. They only accept straight A students etc..they arent here to fukk around, whilst we all run off to study Sports science and Anthropology etc.
Asians are all racist towards Blacks from my experience. Where that comes from I dont know.

 

[root_eruditorium_org]

Asians were flooding the IT market during a time where there were still Blue Collar Jobs for the avg American to work, thus when it came to Americans only "nerds" were getting into IT. The people who got into tech in the 80s and 90s pretty much created their own lanes and then put their people on. The Indian cat who was one of the first people at a US tech company was able to say "hey Im one of the few people who know what they want when it comes to skill set" and then pass that knowledge off there and thus India is able to create tons of "Consulting Companies" which is just a fancy word for outsourcing companies.

Now the industry is to the point where damn near everything is being outsourced to contractors, and I hear from a skill standpoint many foreign contractors are incompetent but companies can get them so cheap they dont even care. The main reason I never wanted to be a programmer is because thats the easiest job to outsource.

Not all programmers are created equal. Shytty programmers or ones who do not provide adequate value get outsourced. You think Google is going to outsource their shyt? & even small mom and pop tech companies whose main bread and butter is their software ... are they really going to risk outsourcing development to bangalore or wherever?

if you are a programmer and you are worried about outsourcing, make sure you are working in a place where coders aren't considered an unnecessary cost but at a place where they are treated like sports players. also make sure you are providing value ... but that should be obvious.

i used to think same as you ... no point in becoming a programmer because they are all paid shyt and treated like shyt .... my nikka, that ain't true at all. you could eat big time in tech. i'm talking 200K salaries if you are reallty bout your shyt. wait until some of the tech dudes come into this thread and tell you how it is.

 

[Apollo Creed]

Not all programmers are created equal. Shytty programmers or ones who do not provide adequate value get outsourced. You think Google is going to outsource their shyt? & even small mom and pop tech companies whose main bread and butter is their software ... are they really going to risk outsourcing development to bangalore or wherever?

if you are a programmer and you are worried about outsourcing, make sure you are working in a place where coders aren't considered an unnecessary cost but at a place where they are treated like sports players. also make sure you are providing value ... but that should be obvious.

I`m a BA and I have seen for the most parts most companies outsource for "maintenance" type projects, I mainly worked for strategic development so you cant really outsource that stuff, but hell even when it came to QA testing that was outsourced since I pretty much created the test cases they would have the other cats actually go test.

Google isn't your avg tech company, and Google and Apple are like sweat shops, yea you might make 120k but you are working insane hours, so when you divide your salary by actual work hours you aren't really coming off as good as you thought. And I would think most of the best people at Google,Apple,Facebook, etc end up bouncing after 3-5 yrs to head to a start up company anyways.

 

[root_eruditorium_org]

The issue with the Tech industry is getting your first 1 or 2 jobs which would net you the experience to build your resume and finally eat. Many companies instead of having entry level roles which would typically just be easier projects so people can learn the company culture and processes, now just outsource those jobs as they can get 3-4 contractors for the price of one entry level American AND not have to pay them benefits. With the Tech world once you get 5+ yrs experience you are good money, but the issue is getting that first 4 yrs of experience.

I agree with you on this. It is difficult getting that foot in the door. & even while you are in, you have to work hard to learn new stacks or stay up to date. if you languish at one place for too long, not only will your paycheque be less, it will be harder to transition to the existing industry because your skills will most likely be out of date. finally, in a lot of places there is age-ism. im a natural problem solver and i find coding fun but im going to try going the project management route once an opportunity presents itself because i want to refine my leadership skills and i've discovered that in a lot of places you are rewarded with high pay not for doing the actual hard work but for managing and leading projects.

 

[root_eruditorium_org]

IGoogle isn't your avg tech company, and Google and Apple are like sweat shops, yea you might make 120k but you are working insane hours, so when you divide your salary by actual work hours you aren't really coming off as good as you thought..

No way, you are bugging dude. Lots of Googlers work 9 to 5s. Nothing stopping you from overdoing it but there is absolutely no emphasis on overwork.

If there's any large tech company that's akin to a sweatshop it is probably amazon. a new york times article came out last year that blew their spot up and really damaged their rep. you should search it up.

 

[Apollo Creed]

I agree with you on this. It is difficult getting that foot in the door. & even while you are in, you have to work hard to learn new stacks or stay up to date. if you languish at one place for too long, not only will your paycheque be less, it will be harder to transition to the existing industry because your skills will most likely be out of date. finally, in a lot of places there is age-ism. im a natural problem solver and i find coding fun but im going to try going the project management route once an opportunity presents itself because i want to refine my leadership skills and i've discovered that in a lot of places you are rewarded with high pay not for doing the actual hard work but for managing and leading projects.

Crazy thing I noticed I have been the youngest person at all of the jobs I have worked with everyone being 15-20+ yrs older than me. And its true you dont want to be at a job more than 3 yrs unless you get promoted, because being somewhere too long you are molded into only being useful to that company. One thing that discourages people is jobs asking for totally different tech stacks where its almost feels impossible to build a skill set when so many jobs ask for different things, only to find out the people in the actual jobs dont know any of the stuff and pretty much learn on the fly when ever something comes up that requires it. So much vain stuff goes on with being grilled in interviews for stuff that isn't even used on the job. Thats why I stuck the BA/PM route because those skills are universal and at most you will just need to learn a tool or two that the company may use, but even then I`m seeing BA/PM roles that ask people to know huge tech stacks and I`m like

 

[Apollo Creed]

No way, you are bugging dude. Lots of Googlers work 9 to 5s. Nothing stopping you from overdoing it but there is absolutely no emphasis on overwork.

If there's any large tech company that's akin to a sweatshop it is probably amazon. a new york times article came out last year that blew their spot up and really damaged their rep. you should search it up.

Amazon def. Every article I have read about Google and Apple employees say its insane work which is why they target a specific type of person ie. kids who have been programming since age 11 or something like that.