Technologist Talk

Per CompTIA’s Cyberstates research, the IT industry continues to hire despite pandemic conditions, with one of every 10 positions posted online being a tech job. But why even consider launching a technology career during this time of crisis? Listen as graduates of a recent IT-Ready Technical Support class from CompTIA Tech Career Academy and their instructor offer five reasons.   Original Technologist Tales theme music by C. Ezra Lange

To celebrate the formal launch of the CompTIA Tech Career Academy, we offer a podcast flashback, with an episode from our award-winning “In the Field with Technologists” series. A happy group of IT-Ready Technical Support graduates share their dreams and express the passion they have for pursuing them.   Original Technologist Tales theme music by C. Ezra Lange

Is a national pandemic a bad time for changing careers? The answer depends on the individual considering a change, the reasons motivating a change and the industry on the other side of that change. Listen as Val Haskell, chair of CompTIA’s Advancing Tech Talent and Diversity Community explains why she believes now is a good time to consider launching a career working with technology – especially with the support of the new CompTIA Tech Career Academy.

As economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country in March, the U.S. information technology sector still added thousands of jobs. Why? Because technology is playing a vital role now – and will continue to be crucial – as our nation copes with the current economic crisis. Listen as Charles Eaton, CEO of Creating IT Futures and CompTIA Tech Career Academy, interprets these hopeful signs during these trying times.

Congress is considering putting more than $15 billion in the next COVID-19 stimulus package for our nation’s workforce development system. CompTIA’s Public Advocacy group applauds the effort as an investment in getting “Americans working again” by sharpening their tech skills. How? Listen as Mark Plunkett and Jason Mangold of CompTIA Custom Training elaborate.  

The National Science Foundation predicts that, in just two years, there will be more than three million unfilled skilled technical jobs. How do we start shrinking this looming shortage of technical talent? Listen as award-winning author and social innovator Charles Eaton explains how the new CompTIA Tech Career Academy is one of the industry’s ventures designed to  grow tomorrow’s tech workforce by helping more adults land IT jobs today.

In today’s trying times, many people for varied reasons are considering their career options more closely than ever. Just as many organizations spread across diverse industries are weighing best ways to spend talent development dollars more heavily than ever. Listen as Mark Plunkett and Jason Mangold of CompTIA Custom Training explain why individuals and organizations should consider investing in IT training despite difficult times.  

What are “employability skills?” How are they related to what often are called business “soft skills?” And what’s “situational awareness?” Great technologists have all three. But how – and where -- do they learn them? Listen as CompTIA’s Amy Kardel, VP of strategic workforce relationships, and Angel Pineiro, VP of strategic academic relationships, explain how the tech industry should be talking to the industry teaching tech.

Ever hear the ancient African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child?” Well, this principle applies to filling our nation’s tech skills gap, too. Listen as CompTIA’s Amy Kardel, VP of strategic workforce relationships, and Angel Pineiro, VP of strategic academic relationships, explain why it takes a village to raise a technologist.

Are you – or another aspiring technologist in your life – the next incarnation of Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs? Probably not, says CEO, award-winning author and social innovator Charles Eaton. And that’s just the way it should be. In this episode, Charles explains why everyday technologists are more important to business and society than tech “rock stars.”

The best fit for a tech position is a candidate who’s done the same job before, right? Maybe not, says CEO, award-winning author and social innovator Charles Eaton. In this episode, Charles explains how employers seeking to fill jobs working with technology must learn to trust qualifications beyond specific experience.

TechGirlz founder Tracey Welson-Rossman sits in for Charles Eaton to recount the organization’s successes since being acquired by Creating IT Futures earlier this year. She also previews the new trails TechShopz will blaze in 2020. 

Which is at greater risk from our nation’s cybersecurity talent gap? Government or private technology infrastructure? Before answering, maybe we should consider whether, today, the distinction between public and private tech even matters. And in this episode, we did just that, with Randi Parker, senior director at Creating IT Futures, an attorney and long-time advocate for cybersecurity workforce development on Capitol Hill.

The tech skills gap in the U.S. Economy is about numbers, right? Employers have more jobs working with technology available than qualified candidates to fill them. Simple, yes? No, says CEO, social innovator and award-winning author Charles Eaton. The tech skills gap is a challenge with a complex mix of perceptions, biases and misconceptions confronting aspiring technologists and employers alike.

Clever ducks fly in formation, working together to go farther, faster. How can this principle from nature be applied to narrowing the IT Skills Gap? Amy Kardel, CompTIA’s new Vice President of Strategic Workforce Relationships, has some answers in this guest interview from the recent ChannelCon conference.

What cybersecurity skills are most in-demand in today’s IT job market? Building firewalls? Spotting malware? Penetration testing? None of above, says our guest expert CompTIA CEO Todd Thibodeaux, who believes soft business skills – such as researching, writing, teaching, learning and collaborating – are what set candidates apart from the cybersecurity crowd in the eyes of employers.

Great technologists hold themselves to standards that don’t tolerate racism, sexism, ageism or any approach that demeans others inside or outside their organizations. How? Award-winning author, social innovator and CEO Charles Eaton says technologists foster and support business cultures of diversity and inclusion by planning for them, talking about them and working at them.

Ever heard the expression “Love what you do, and you’ll never work a day in your life?” Nonsense, says CEO, author and social innovator, Charles Eaton, who explains the real secrets to a successful career working with technology. Hint: It’s not about having a passion for gadgets.

The measure of success is avoiding failure, right? Wrong, says CEO, author and social innovator, Charles Eaton, especially when working with technology. True technologists, Eaton explains, not only admit failure, they embrace it.

Research shows that girls can lose interest in pursuing tech careers sometime between age 9 and the 9th grade. How can U.S. businesses prevent this potential loss of tech talent before these young women reach high school? Tracey Welson-Rossman, CMO of IT consulting firm Chariot Solutions, shares the mission of TechGirlz (www.techgirlz.org) the non-profit organization she founded and Creating IT Futures recently acquired.