Inspiring Success

Samantha Sianez, a junior at El Dorado High School in El Paso, is not the type of person who likes to just flip through books. She enjoys hands-on work and found that she wanted to be involved in tech. Passing the CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Security+ exams back to back this month, she has set her dreams on working in cyber security.

Tech education at the secondary school level should be drawing in new participants not weeding out potential technologists. A greater variety of tech class offerings is one step, but we also need to dispel the myths that continue to float around tech careers.

Research commissioned by the Creating IT Futures Foundation provides insight into what motivates minority youths in their career choices

On average, teen boys point to earning money and having authority; teen girls seek careers that offer independence, ability to help parents.

How do parents feel about their children’s potential for IT education and employment? This was just one of the questions Creating IT Futures was seeking to answer as the organization undertook a substantial research project earlier this year looking into youth and IT careers.

The Creating IT Futures Foundation recently commissioned research to better understand how urban youths think about and plan for their futures, along with what are the drivers and barriers of interest in IT.