Kimber Lockhart, Director of Engineering, Box Box There's an awful lot of hand wringing in the Valley over how few women are becoming engineers, particularly software engineers.

Less than 12 percent of computer science degrees earned in 2010-11 were awarded to women.

But here's the crazy thing. For those who do enter the field, the sky's the limit. There's ample opportunity to become a big power player, at big companies and at hot startups.