Want Career Stability? Look to Infrastructure, says Tameika Reed, founder of Women in Linux

In today’s episode of The New Stack Makers, TC Currie is joined by Tameika Reed, whose day gig is as a  Senior Infrastructure Engineer at EXPANSIA, a company providing full spectrum services for IT migration and integration.  After 16 years in infrastructure, she got tired of not seeing anyone like her. So three years ago she decided to be the change she wanted to see in the world, and founded Women In Linux. This group provides free on-line training in the wide variety of ways in which Linux is used, along with job boards and career advice. Within 30 minutes of the decision to found Women in Linux, Reed’s friend had her set up with an LLC, started paperwork to become a non-profit, and set up the Women in Linux Meetup page.  The goal of the group is to introduce infrastructure newbies to Linux and other tech useful for those looking at infrastructure careers.  Most of her talks are very technical. “We talk about getting women and under-represented minorities into tech,” Reed said, “but those conversations revolve around teaching women to code.  They’re missing out on a huge market with cloud, security in general, embedded Linux.”  Along the way she started dispensing career advice during her meetups and manages a job board.