It May Be Cold Outside, But It’s Only Getting Hotter Here At CUNY TechWorks QCC!
CUNY TechWorks is a new kind of workforce initiative amongst the sea of coding programs out there in NYC. So, how are we different you ask? Well we’re a free tech education initiative that provides career-focused training in software development and web development that not only provides students with college credit, but also provides students with paid internships after completing their program.
Say whaaat?
Yes, you heard me…we place students in actual tech related paid internships…in roles they love!
The tech industry has definitely suffered from a lack of diversity, and being a female developer coming from an immigrant family myself, I’ve seen how there’s always only a few scattered “diverse” students in tech jobs. Last year, only 20% of women were in tech roles, and the amount of minority women in tech roles were even less.
One of CUNY TechWorks at QCC’s biggest goal is to give opportunities to those that come from those under-represented backgrounds, the opportunity to work in tech. We’re changing up the NYC tech hiring scene to show students that if you have the passion, put in the hard work, and want to build something awesome…then you can be in tech!
Being a new kind of workforce initiative requires a new kind of team — one that has direct experience working in the tech industry and knows that real education goes beyond what can be taught in the classroom.
“This girl is on fire…”
Yes, I’m thinking of the infamous Alicia Keys song…but I’m really thinking of what this all-women team has accomplished in just a few short months here at QCC TechWorks.
Since 2019 has begun, we have been hitting several big milestones that some of you may have already heard about from our newsletter and website:
- Student Internships & Placements
- New Curriculum with College Credits
- Free Coding Programs with Filled-Up Cohorts
- New Partnerships in the NYC Tech Scene
- Hackathons, Tech Pop-Up Shops, & Tech Talks
- And So Much More…
In 2018, I joined CUNY TechWorks as an Instructor and Tech Success Manager for their Queensborough Community College campus. I was able to design the full curriculum for the first installment of the TechWorks workshops. I was teaching three different cohorts simultaneously, while passing the torch on to my students.
Being a full stack developer myself, I was able to empathize with my students to understand where their strengths lied, and where they needed more improvement. All developers have been in their shoes, so we know what it’s like…the excitement, the anxiety, the stress, and that feeling of euphoria when you find that one darn semicolon that was missing in your Javascript!
This year we are working to make things even bigger and better at TechWorks! I’ve already placed students in 8 paid internships since the new year, with 4 new partners…and I’ve just got this fire started!
We have an even better curriculum, a dedicated team to personally work with the students, more resources for students to access, one-on-one tutoring options, a great staff of industry-focused instructors and professors, fun hackathons….and so much more…I can’t give you all the secrets just yet!
But check out our Facebook page because we’ll be posting lots of updates soon and also be sure to check out our main website as well to get more info about our awesome program to see if it would be a great fit for you!
If you want to connect with me about hosting our interns and bring diversity to your company, or just want to talk about tech, or maybe that sad lost semicolon…then I’d be happy to connect on LinkedIn or shoot me an email at ssamuel@qcc.cuny.edu and let’s start coding…I mean talking…well I really mean both! ;)
Remember, your path in tech isn’t a destination but it’s a journey…happy coding everyone…now go get your stack on!
