Demonstrating an early aptitude for mathematics, she began her higher education at City College of New York (CCNY) in 1941.

In 1942, Estrin took a three-month engineering assistant course at Stevens Institute of Technology in 1942, when Gerald entered the Army during World War II.

[4] Soon after she worked for two years at Radio Receptor Company building electronic devices where she developed an interest in engineering.

[5] In 1946, Estrin and her husband moved to Madison, Wisconsin, to pursue undergraduate degrees in electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW).

From 1982 to 1984 she held a rotating position at the National Science Foundation as director of the Electrical, Computer, and Systems Research Division.

"[12] In this paper, Estrin connects feminist epistemology and its pedagogical values to ways computer science could become "more relevant for minority and low-income students.

[12] "Women's studies," Estrin writes, "implies that we expand the world of science and technology from its patriarchal history, which consider these disciplines as inherently masculine.