Choosing a career path can be overwhelming when you are a high school student. However, it is important for students to begin thinking about and taking action toward their desired careers during this time. Our talk at SxSWedu shared some tips for all of us to prepare students for careers.

1. SETTING OUT TO SEA
Getting Students On Course For Their Careers
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2. WHO WE ARE
Stephanie Grimes
@createdbysteph
Educator turned
Designer
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3. WHO WE ARE
Shawn Grimes
@shawng
15 years in IT:
Web Dev, Cyber Security,
Mobile App Dev
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4. PROBLEM
How do we help prepare
students for careers and
jobs?
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5. PROBLEM
Not This! This!
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6. SOLUTION
Instill in students a sense of
exploration and taking action
on one’s own behalf.
aka Make!
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7. ROLES
• Students
• Educator
• Mentor/Parent
• Community Members/Professionals
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8. WHAT STUDENTS SHOULD
BE DOING
1. Inquire
2. Do
3. Promote
4. Be Responsible
5. Plan
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9. 1. INQUIRE
• What jobs are in demand or will be
in demand in the near future?
• What sort of education/experience
is needed for those jobs?
• ROI - Return On Investment
• What other opportunities are
available if I go down that road?
• The Inverse: If I get X degree,
what jobs are available/in-
demand?
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If I spend $100,000 on education, and this career only pays $30k/year, how long will it take
me to pay back my student loans?
Do I need to pay more to go to a more impressive school? Or can I make the same amount of
pay with degree from a more affordable school?
What if I get bored and want to change paths? How easy does my education or field translate?

10. 2. DO
• Practicing Skills
• Meet and network with people in the
field / industry you are interested in
• Make peer to peer connections with
other students who have similar
interests to you
• Try new things, learn new things
• Don’t be afraid to fail, make
mistakes, or change your mind
about what you want to do
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Practicing skills
•Start now, don’t wait to finish school.
•Seek out or create projects that give you a chance to experience different career paths.
•Create a portfolio of related projects and keep track of activities you have participated in.
•There is so much information available on the Internet, I don’t want to hear, “Well I didn’t
have anyone to show me”
•Example: Shawn learns to French Braid
•Make peer to peer connections with other students who have similar interests to you
•Example: Elsie

11. 3. PROMOTE
• Establish yourself as an
expert.
• Website!
• Include resumé and
portfolio
• Social Media
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•Establish yourself as an expert.
•Pose a question, find the answer, share the answer with others.
•Website!
•There’s no excuse not to have one. Wordpress.org, Tumblr, etc.
•Should include your resumé and portfolio (but be safe, no address or phone numbers,
just email and state)
•Social Media
•Use Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in to network and share resources with professionals /
peers in your interested field
•Use these tools as professional tools, ways to explore your interests and promote
yourself
•Can be part of establishing yourself as an expert

12. 4. BE RESPONSIBLE
• Social Media
• Think about what “Future You” would say to “Present
You” if they saw you post that.
• Find a mentor you trust
• Introduce new mentors/professionals/community
members to your parents
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•(This pertains especially to social media and website use.)
•Think of yourself as the professional you want to be one day - ask yourself whether or not
that person would post what you are about to post on your website or social media network.
•Find a mentor you trust
•This can be a parent, teacher, or community member
•Use them to help you navigate through new opportunities and meeting new people
•Introduce new mentors / professionals / community members to your parents.

13. 5. PLAN
If you are not
planning for
success, you
are planning
for failure.
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14. EDUCATOR
• Find and Invite Guest
Speakers
• Offer extra help to
students who may need
help finding their path
• Introduce and use tools
that students are likely to
use in their future
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15. MENTOR/PARENT
• Find professionals to meet and talk
to your student about their careers.
• The more diverse the experiences,
the better.
• Knowing what you DON’T want
to do is almost as important as
knowing what you DO want to do
• You may have to drive to the
country, or the city, to find
something different than what is
local.
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16. COMMUNITY MEMBERS /
PROFESSIONALS
• Reach out to educators, ask
if you can visit and talk
about your job.
• Volunteer with
organizations who work
with young people, lend
yourself as a resource to
them.
• Be patient but be persistent.
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Don’t be intimidated if an educator can’t use you right now. Sometimes educators are just
trying to get things settled in their environment. Be persistent and be flexible. If one
educator doesn’t need your help, try another school in the area.

17. RESOURCES
• LinkedIn
• Meetup.com
• Google/YouTube
• Twitter
• BmorePipeline.org
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•Twitter
•Example: Matthew’s survey of Computer Science students.

18. BMOREPIPELINE.ORG
• Open to community contribution
• Focuses on: Web, Mobile, Cyber Security and Digital Fabrication
• Provides:
• a list of mentors
• possible paths to get into those fields
• internship opportunities
• a list of local employers and companies in those fields
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19. GET IN TOUCH
• Shawn Grimes
• @shawng - STEM Engine Technical Manager
• Stephanie Grimes
• @CreatedBySteph - STEM Engine Project Manager
• Digital Harbor Foundation
• @DHFBaltimore - www.DigitalHarborFoundation.org
• DHF STEM Engine
• www.STEMEngine.org
Wednesday, March 6, 13