What are Technology & Entrepreneurship Careers?
Technology and entrepreneurship are closely interconnected. Technology has advanced our ability to be entrepreneurs and innovators due to the mobility that it allows. Cloud services have made it possible for a small startup to use the same technology as a technological giant or Fortune 500 company. Technology and entrepreneurship allow us to be innovators in a world that is more connected than ever before. There are many career paths available:
- Entrepreneurship/startup - development, design and launch of a new business/product
- Hardware and infrastructure - computers; servers; storage; tablets; mobile phones; printers; network equipment; cloud data centers
- Software - productivity and business applications; network and security applications; mobile apps; video games; cloud computing; virtual reality; artificial intelligence; machine learning; cyber security
- Business roles - including product and project management; finance; marketing, human resources, corporate communications, legal
Recent CMC graduates have started in software, hardware, and start-up roles as an associate program manager, data analyst, data scientist, product manager, product reliability engineer, project manager, software engineer, support advisor, technical program manager, or technology analyst. Many others have started in business roles, such as an account manager, associate account strategist, business development associate, copyrighting consultant, financial analyst, finance associate, legal assistant, office manager & people operations associate, operations specialist, sales development representative, solutions analyst, and technical recruiter.
Would you Thrive in Technology & Entrepreneurship?
- Do you enjoy a face-paced, quickly-changing work environment?
- Do you thrive under the pressure of constant deadlines?
- Are you comfortable with irregular schedules?
- Are you drawn to solving problems with data and an analytical skill set?
- Are you a systems-builder?
- Do you like to study engineering design concepts?
- Are you excited by new online technical applications?
How can you Learn More about Technology & Entrepreneurship?
- Check the Technology & Entrepreneurship Interest Cluster Box (located within Career Interests on the drop-down menu under your name) in Handshake to receive info about upcoming events, internships and jobs
- Search out job shadow opportunities on Handshake that will provide you with a "day in the life" experience of different careers
- Read the online Vault Career Guides such as the Vault Career Guide to Information Technology and the Vault Career Guide to Social Media
- Attend alumni, parent and employer-led panels and workshops throughout the year - check Handshake events for more details
- Participate in the annual Information Technology Advisory Board (ITAB) networking trek
- Participate in the semester-long Silicon Valley program
- Set up a Github account where you can do projects and collaborate with other coders and gain skills
- Attend events and/or become a fellow of the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
- Attend events and/or become a research fellow at the Kravis Leadership Institute
- Join the CMC Kravis Lab for Social Impact
- Take workshops/use tutoring services or become a workshop lead/tutor at the Marty Sunak CMC Quantitative Computing Lab
- Gain technical skills through lynda.com
- Participate in the Hult Prize Social Entrepreneurship Competition
- Volunteer to build websites for student clubs
What should you know about Recruitment in Technology & Entrepreneurship?
Recruitment for these sectors generally occur off-campus. Software engineering roles are typically recruited from September - December while business roles are recruited from February - April. Interviews focus heavily on technical skills and often include puzzle-style or logic questions as a way of assessing mental flexibility and ability to deal with new ideas.
Who's your Technology & Entrepreneurship Career Coach?
Grace Park - grace.park@cmc.edu
Grace meets with students and alumni in the Creative & Entertainment and Technology & Entrepreneurship clusters and also supports the Silicon Valley Program. She has worked in higher education in career services since 2007. She has worked at UCLA, USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, Mount Saint Mary’s University and taught a freshmen summer career development course at UCSB. She has worked with students ranging from freshmen to doctoral students in all majors from arts to science. Her work history spans a wide spectrum of experiences including television post-production, radio and college/campus recruitment at Disney and Shire (biotech). She received her BA in Film Studies from UCSB and her MSW from UC Berkeley and is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach.