Women in Technology: Blair Page

Liquid Web’s L3 MA Support Tech on resources for girls interested by tech and her unlikely entry into the tech world.

Originally from Michigan, Blair Page began her entry into tech work because of her father’s dirtbike business. “I specifically chosen computer-focused classes in middle and highschool, learning alongside the family business as my mother got a business degree. My dad focused on the dirtbike shop, and my mom was learning the business facets,” she says. “I conceptualized the parts catalogs and the way that may potentially go into a web site before I left highschool. I’d fiddle on hackthissite.com, read many CTRL+ALT+DEL comics, and do small projects and run private Ragnarok Online servers.”

Tech stays a part of her home life. She enjoys games, technology, and music — in almost any format. “I like cards, board games, video games, and console and desktop games — old and recent,” she says. Now, Page works as an L3 MA Support Tech, working specifically with Nexcess products. “We have now a spread of shoppers from WordPress to Magento, and most of our customers are eCommerce specific,” she says. Page says that she loves knowing her knowledge is each useful and growing. “I expect to be surprised,” she says. “To beat a hacker, you could have to think like one.”

Amongst her proudest accomplishments, Page lists her certifications: RHCSA6, RHCE6, AWS Cloud Practitioner, and AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate. Some life lessons she lives by are these words from Frank Herbert: “In case you consider certain words, you suspect their hidden arguments. While you consider something is true or flawed, true or false, you suspect the assumptions within the words which express the arguments.”

Page points to the various web sites women interested by tech might look to for guidance. “Linuxacademy.com, Pluralsight, and plenty of others are great places to learn,” she says. “I consider the opportunities for girls in tech have gotten more attainable, yet we still have work ahead of us,” she says. “The excellent news is, we’re seeing schools similar to the University of the Individuals with cheaper alternative tuition options pop up.”

Currently pregnant with a woman, Page would encourage young women to enter the tech field by encouraging them to explore their current interests because there are lots of roads into the tech world. “Everyone’s journey is slightly different.”