Next Steps Discussions

Jack Jobes
Student
University of Southern California

Gabriel Saruhashi
Co-founder
Ameelio

Zené Sekou
Software Engineer
Amazon

Before you watch:

• Give students time in class to explore career pathways and encourage them to write down questions they have.


• Encourage students to upvote questions they like on CareerVillage.org, and post their own questions using the hashtag #CSJourneys

After you watch:

• Have students work in pairs or groups to generate follow up questions. Encourage them to post questions on CareerVillage.org


• Point students to code.org/beyond, where they can explore opportunities to take the next step on their own CS Journeys.

Erin Howard
Student
Western Washington University

Nhat Nguyen
Recent Grad
San Jose State University

Nicholas Papano
Recent Grad
San Jose State University

Brianna Wimer
PhD Student
University of Notre Dame

Before you watch:

• Have students think of which careers/majors they are interested in and write them down. If there’s time, encourage them to do a little research into that major or career.


• Give students time in class to brainstorm projects or research they would like to do. What do they want to create? What problem(s) do they want to solve?

After you watch:

• Give students time to reflect and discuss: what surprised them? Excited them? What did they find interesting?


• Encourage students to post any unanswered questions they have on CareerVillage.org

Robert G. Campbell
Data Scientist
IBM

Vikram Sreedhar
Co-Founder/Chief Technology Officer
shimmer

Johnny Tyson III
Thrive Apprentice
Verizon

Before you watch:

• Give students time in class to generate a list of goals for their future. These could be career goals (become an engineer, start a company), and/or personal goals (start a family, buy a house). The more specific their goals, the better.


• Have students create a to-do list of steps they need to take in order to achieve their goals. Again, the more specific they are, the better.


• Encourage students to explore CareerVillage.org with their goals in mind. They can upvote questions they like and post their own questions using the hashtag #CSJourneys

After you watch:

• Give students time in class to revisit both their list of goals and their to-do list of steps they need to take to achieve their goals. Does anything change?


• Have students research community colleges in your area (city/region/state). What programs are available. How much does it cost? Are there bridge programs between the community college(s) and state universities? What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of going this route?


• Give students time to explore other alternative pathways, like Google Career Certificates and apprenticeship programs. Again, encourage them to think about benefits and drawbacks.

Kyle Ali
Head of Pre-College Programs
Google

Andrea Delgado-Olson
Executive Director
Natives in Tech

Elisabeth Holm
Founder
Sisterhood of Native American Coders

Kianjai Huggan
Curriculum Coordinator
Black Girls CODE

Before you watch:

• Have students read through the responses to the question posed by another student on CareerVillage.org, “Is it possible to get a good job in Computer Science without a strong network?” Have them write down some of the key answers that strike them, and then discuss as a class. If there’s time, give students an opportunity to explore more questions about networking on CareerVillage.org.


• Give students time in class to map out their web of support. This includes strong ties (family members, friends, and any other relationships defined by high levels of time investment, emotional intimacy, trust, and reciprocity, and weak ties (acquaintances, friends of friends, extended family, coworkers, or any relationship defined by lower levels of time investment and trust).


• Spend some time exploring the professional networking site Linkedin with your students. Ask them: what do they notice about it? How do people seem to engage on the site? How is it different from other social networking platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, or Instagram?

After you watch:

• Have students return to their web of support. After hearing from the panelists, would they change anything? Can they think of anyone else who might be part of their support network?


• Point students to mentorship and professional networking opportunities. Extracurricular activities like coding clubs are another great way to start building connections; point students to these opportunities, too.


• Helping students build strong support networks often requires more than pointing them in the right direction. Use this report from the Christensen Institute to guide your efforts.