Technology, Data & Analytics

• Programming Languages, Tools, Software and Concepts
  • NOTE: basic/fundamental proficiency is often all that is required for internships or entry-level jobs. Don’t underestimate your own ability to learn quickly! 
  • Core programming languages, frameworks, technologies, softwares, and/or tools (e.g. Python, R, Java, SQL, C, C++, C#, Ruby, Javascript, HTML, CSS, Git, Jira, AWS, GCS, Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib, PyTorch, MongoDB, Docker, React, Swift, Flutter, Visual Studio, Visual Box, Adobe PS, etc.)
  • Advanced concepts (e.g. Object Oriented Programming, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Applied Regression Analysis, Mathematical Models, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Algorithms, Data Structures, Database Management Systems, Scrum methodology, Ideation, etc.)
  • Design and development experience – well-rounded developers and engineers are familiar with what it takes to plan and deliver a finished result. 
    • Build this skill through volunteering code, hackathons, personal projects, research and internships. 
  • Teamwork and Collaboration – rarely do developers work alone in their professional career. Just like in college, you’ll work in large and small teams. Demonstrate those abilities on your resume with any org, volunteer or group experience.
  • Communication – as with any role, this skill is particularly important since you will inevitably need to communicate your research, design, process, and results to stakeholders that sometimes don’t even possess a technical background; therefore, demonstrating that you possess strong verbal and written skills is key! 

No, not necessarily! You can major in anything and still work in the technology or data field as long as you have the experience to meet the employer’s qualifications for the job/internship!

If you are a student on a F-1 visa, let’s chat more about this situation though because the response to this myth is a little bit more complex.

It depends on the job you want! Whether you must go to graduate school would depend on the situation such as whether the position you want to be in will require a graduate degree. For example, if you want to be a Data Analyst, in general, you will not have to go to graduate school. However, if you want to be a Data Scientist, you may find grad school will help you achieve your goals, since many employers require a master’s degree or even a PhD.

We recommend networking with alumni to learn more about their experiences and decisions about grad school, and a great place to start would be our Career Conversations module!

• If you’re interested in pursuing a graduate degree in a TDA Career, 

• • If you know what you want to study, going right after undergrad aids you with fresh knowledge and lifestyle that lets you be a good student. This includes associated factors like needing to study and complete a graduate level standardized test (e.g. GRE or GMAT). 
  • If you aren’t quite decided, it can be a great idea to work a professional job for a few years to learn more about your professional interests and goals. Some employers may even support tuition coverage for grad school, or may provide research opportunities on-the-job (Google, for example, supports employee research publications) 

You are not behind! Ideally, securing an internship should happen during your junior year. However, securing an internship could happen anytime during your college experience as well. And yes, it could even happen during your senior year when you are about to graduate. Even if you are not able to secure an internship as a first year or sophomore, you can always build your experiences (i.e. working a part time job, volunteering, creating projects) to be more marketable the next time you apply!

There are opportunities out there for you. Employers tend to recruit juniors for their internships. However, that doesn’t mean that first year students won’t be able to secure an internship. There are employers, such as Microsoft, who offer internship programs specifically for first years and sophomores. In addition, networking could also support first year students (and really any year) with their internship search!

You’re right, it’s pretty much impossible to meet every qualification for a job description. The good news is that employers don’t expect candidates to be 100% perfect matches. If you meet ~40% of the job description requirements, and you’re excited about the job, apply!

Do your best to communicate the key skills/software/tools that match the required job qualifications within your application materials. If you can, incorporate your experiences which may align with any desired/preferred qualifications. If you can demonstrate that you have some transferable skills and are excited to do the job well, you will be qualified to apply.

No, not necessarily. According to the UW-Madison Employer Recruitment Policies, students within L&S could potentially have up to 4 weeks to make a decision on whether they will accept or decline an offer. Please note, this policy is a recommendation for employers who recruit at UW-Madison.

You probably shouldn’t. Once you accept an internship/job offer, our recommendation is to avoid interviewing for a new position. It’s usually not a good idea to go back to an employer, who you’ve accepted their offer, and say you can’t do their internship anymore because you have a new offer.

• When you have a first draft of a resume or cover letter, and you want feedback (general or job-specific)
  • Don’t know where to start or want to know what best practices are? Click here!
• When you know you’ll be interviewing soon, and you want to practice (general or job-specific mock interview)
  • Want to practice a bit or get a sense of what kind of questions are typically asked? Click here!
• When you have big decisions to make about your career, and you want to talk to someone about your options. This includes but is not limited to: selecting majors, grad school, job offers,
  • Interested about information related to considerations and general timelines? Click here!
• When you know you need to find experience, but aren’t sure how to start searching. Experience includes but is not limited to internships, jobs, research, volunteer, job shadow.

Want to get started now? Click here!

Visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Library Job Site: I need a Library Job: http://inalj.com/

Higher Ed Jobs: higheredjobs.com

Library Careers: http://www.ala.org/educationcareers/

Library Science List: http://librarysciencelist.com/

Edu Cause Career Center: http://jobs.educause.edu/jobs

Coursera

edX

Egghead.io

Learn Python

The Python Tutorial

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Python

Mode

Codeacademy

Codesignal

Lynda

Capital One’s CODA (non-CS major seniors who want to do software development/engineering)

Capital One’s Analytics Program (new grads for data analytics)

Google’s Internship Programs

Google Summer Code (students get to spend their summer break writing code and learning about open source development while earning a stipend; accepted students work with a mentor).

Facebook University for Engineering (first and second-year students)

Explore Microsoft (first and second-year students)

RISE-Capgemini Leadership Program (seniors interested in tech consulting)

Code2040 Fellows Program (for Black and LatinX students; 9-week program during the summer in Silicon Valley where students get to work with top tech companies where they will also be focusing on racial equity advocacy work)

Career Forum (CFN)-organizer of the largest career fair for Japanese-English bilingual students and professionals in Boston

(tech startups) https://www.builtinchicago.org/ 

Government related tech opportunities: FBI, CIA, Contractors, Think Tanks

IIP

Starting Block’s SNAP Program

Rewriting the Code (fellowship program for women in tech)

YWeb (employment service program that trains women and people of color to become web developers/designers! The program includes 400 hours of intensive technical training and students who complete this program will enter a paid internship.)

Lime Scholarships (scholarships for students with disabilities)

Google Lime Scholarship (CS, full-time students)

PwC Lime Scholarship (students interested in tech and business)

Disney Data Analytics Scholarship Program: ( Disney Data & Analytics Women offers 4 scholarships to attend a 2-day Disney Data & Analytics Conference in Orlando during August 20-21, 2019)

King Women in Games Scholarship https://king.com/pl/jobs/students?locations=all&opportunities=all

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) UW Madison Student Chapter:

https://win.wisc.edu/organization/ieee

Association for Computing Machinery: https://www.acm.org/

Geospatial Information and Technology Association: https://www.gita.org/

The American Geographical Society: http://americangeo.org/

URISA – Fostering Excellence in GIS: http://www.urisa.org/index.php

Meetups

Women In Tech

Tech-related meetups

 https://www.wired.com/

 https://www.dataquest.io/blog/

Medium (technology)

Madhacks (coding competitions)

Hackathons nationally and internationally (coding competitions)

Kaggle (data competitions)

Machinehack (data competitions)

UX design challenges

Product design challenges

Cracking the Coding Interview book

Leetcode and Hackerrank website

Connect with alumni

UW-Madison Employer Recruiting Guidelines

State Cartographer’s Office: https://www.sco.wisc.edu/jobs/

American Association of Geographers: https://jobs.aag.org/

Federal Government Agency GIS jobs: https://www.usajobs.gov/

GIS Careers: http://giscareers.com/

GIS Jobs:  https://www.gisjobs.com/

ESRI: https://www.esri.com/en-us/about/careers/main

Google Earth: https://careers.google.com/#_ga=2.235464644.452480644.1517599446-1903018612.1517599446

GIS Volunteer Opportunities: https://www.giscorps.org/

DICE: https://www.dice.com/

Jobs in Social Media: https://www.jobsinsocialmedia.com/

Just Tech Jobs: http://www.justtechjobs.com/

IEEE Computer Society Job board: https://jobs.computer.org/

Start-up Job Board- Angel List: https://angel.co/

Y-Combinator: https://news.ycombinator.com/jobs

Career Builder: https://www.careerbuilder.com/