Essential Skills Immersion Series: Demystifying Tech
What are the most in-demand skills for today’s job market and the future of work? Each semester, this event series offers a week of sessions built around a specific skill to help students consider this question as they prepare for the careers of today and tomorrow. These sessions are designed to provide you with the knowledge of in-demand skills and opportunities to develop them, connect you with employers who seek these skills and help you articulate your career readiness to employers.
Technology Skills
Tech industry employment is expected to increase by 70% over the next four years, and the Austin area plays a large part in that growth trend. For the third consecutive year, Austin has landed in the #1 spot for best places for tech jobs based on job posting data.
With that in mind, the fall 2022 series is focused on demystifying the vastness of the technology sector by introducing students to the operations of and skills relevant to three fast-growing industries – FinTech, EdTech and Creative Tech. By participating in these sessions, you will learn about technology in the context of skill use and acquisition and how to promote your background and experiences to employers seeking candidates with technology or technology-relevant skills.
Programs
EdTech
Tuesday, November 8, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Central
Texas Career Engagement, FAC 2.236 (classroom)
Facilitator: Dr. Art Markman, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, UT Austin
Technology is a crucial part of education in both K-12 and higher education. This has opened up significant careers in a variety of areas for people to create, sell, and deploy technologies in education institutions. The panelists bring extensive experience in this sector to talk about the current state and future opportunities for graduates.
In this session, participants will gain
- An overview of the different types of technologies that play a role in modern education
- An overview of careers in educational technology
- Knowledge of the skills needed to enter this field
- An understanding of the trends that will characterize this sector over the next decade
Panelists
- Alicia Jahant, Vice President University Partnerships, Everspring
- Aram Kaplan, Senior Strategic Account Executive, Zoom
- Mario Guerra, Education Technologies Sr. Project Manager, Instructional Technology Services, UT Austin
Food will be served
Creative Tech
Wednesday, November 9, 5-6 p.m. Central
Texas Career Engagement, FAC 2.236 (classroom)
Facilitator: Jamil Hooper, Industry Relations Manager, School of Design and Creative Technologies, College of Fine Arts, UT Austin
What is the Metaverse, and what does it mean for the storytellers of tomorrow? This panel aims to demystify creative technology by bringing together two powerhouse representatives from Austin-based immersive media companies: Immersed and Double A Labs. Get the inside scoop on the Metaverse, its potential, and how it could affect your future career.
Participants will gain:
- An overview of the skills needed for a career in creative technology
- An understanding of how machine-human interaction is changing the creative tech landscape
- Knowledge of industry buzzwords like “Metaverse,” “blockchain,” and “experience economy”
- Panelists’ insight on the future of creative technologies
Panelists
- Vik Parth, Research Affiliate & Augmented Reality expert, Immersed.
- Ahna Boley, Chief Experience Officer, Double A Labs
Food will be served
FinTech
Thursday, November 10, 5-6:30 p.m. Central
Texas Career Engagement, FAC 2.236 (classroom)
Facilitator: Summer Salazar, Director – Employer Engagement, Texas Career Engagement, UT Austin
Join our panelists of FinTech professionals to learn about organizations that use technology for financial and business services and the relevant skills that can help you prepare for and join this growing industry. Our panelists will help demystify FinTech by introducing their work in such areas as financial product design, cloud strategy, cyber security and software development, as well as the areas relevant to FinTech, such as content writing, education, project management, sales and research.
Participating students will network with professional panelists and will learn:
- about the FinTech career journeys of our panelists;
- the primary specialty areas that make up the FinTech industry;
- the skills that can most prepare you for jobs in FinTech; and
- how you can gain skills and experience as a student interested in a FinTech career.
Panelists
- Kal Mavuleti, Director of Engineering, Self Financial, Inc.
- Josh Wardlow, Content Writer, Zogo
Food will be served
Resources
Technology Career Community
UT Austin students are invited to join the campus Technology Career Community, a Canvas-hosted resource to explore job and internship resources, programs and services related to technology fields, including automotive, computer networking, E-Sports, electronic & computer hardware, information technology, and other fields related to the internet and software.
Career Counseling and Coaching for All Majors
Would you like to learn more about tech and non-tech careers within the tech industry? Schedule a meeting for one-on-one support with your college or school career center or Texas Career Engagement.