Career Day with the Next Generation of Software Engineers

By Joseph Kwong, Software Engineer II

Breakthrough Twin Cities (BTC) is an organization committed to preparing under-resourced students for college success and cultivating the next generation of educators. On March 7th, BTC was part of Mounds Park Academy’s annual career day. They invited me to participate in a panel discussion on careers in engineering. BTC is an amazing program with a strong record of accomplishment. I was excited to volunteer my time for this event.

BTC students typically meet one or more of these criteria:

1. First in their families to attend a four-year college or university
2. Come from low-income backgrounds
3. Speak a language other than English at home
4. Live in single-parent family
5. Are part of a racial or ethnic minority group that is underrepresented in college

Reaching future engineers

During the career panel, students who were curious or interested in a career in software engineering had the opportunity to learn more about working in the industry as well as ask questions. There were three 30-minute sessions in total.

I spoke to them about important software engineering principles, including Agile/Scrum development, project architecture, collaboration, and breaking problems down. I also shared things I love about software engineering and why I love to be frustrated (which prompted some laughter and questions from the students). I gave suggestions on things they could do to prepare for a career in software engineering, such as the importance of always learning and trying things out while working on side projects.

I look forward to working with BTC and other future engineers again soon.

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