Code.org is a non-profit foundation dedicated to growing computer programming education. They believe computer science and computer programming are liberal arts that are important for everyone to know and that should be part of the core curriculum in education, alongside other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses, such as biology, physics, chemistry and algebra. Their goal is that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn how to code.

They have released a video that features celebrities from the worlds of technology and entertainment to encourage students to learn computing skills. An article on Mashable describes the video’s content.

Entrepreneurs like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Square founder Jack Dorsey and Microsoft founder Bill Gates open up about how they got started coding. Zuckerberg says he started coding when he was in sixth grade because he wanted to make “something that was fun for myself and my sisters.” Bill Gates started coding in his teens and wrote a program to play tic-tac-toe.

As the video shows, it’s not just techies who code. Chris Bosh from the Miami Heat says he took programming classes in college and singer Will.I.Am says he’s taking coding classes right now.

“When I was in school, I was in this after school group called the Whiz Kids,” Bosh says in the video. “When people found out, they laughed at me, you know all these things. I’m like, ‘I don’t care, I think it’s cool, I’m learning a lot and some of my friends have jobs.’”

Will.I.Am adds: “Here we are, 2013. We all depend on technology to communicate, to bank, information, and none of us know how to read and write code.”

Reps from Facebook, Dropbox, Valve and other companies tout the perks of working in their offices and what they look for when hiring. “Our policy is literally to hire as many talented engineers as we can find,” Zuckerberg says. “The whole limit in the system is there just aren’t enough people who are trained in these skills today.”

The code.org site links to many resources, including short videos in different lengths (1, and 9 minutes) that can be shown in classes to encourage children to learn how to program.

Each semester UMBC sets aside several days for partnering organizations to be showcased on campus. Through our Corporate Visibility Days program, organizations are given the opportunity to highlight themselves to the UMBC student body.  Traditional schedules include information sessions, career-related workshops,networking opportunities and lunch.

Held from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm, you do not need to attend the entire event, please stop by when you are able and stay for as long as you can!

** Exelon/Constellation Energy Group
March 6 ~ 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
University Center 312

** National Security Agency (NSA)
March 13 ~ 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
University Center 312

** Next Century Corporation
March 27 ~ 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
University Center 312

** Kennedy Krieger Institute
April 4 ~ 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Commons 331

** Mitre Corporation
April 10 ~ 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
University Center 312

On-Campus Interviews offer students a chance to conveniently interview for professional positions on campus.  Employers travel to our campus for the specific purpose of interviewing preselected students for currently open positions.  This is a great opportunity to interview with employers specifically interested in UMBC students and offers the advantage of a smaller applicant pool.  Interviews take place during the fall and spring. The logistics (viewing positions, applying, signing up for interview time slots, etc.) are all handled via UMBCworks.

Don't miss out on employers coming to UMBC to recruit YOU this fall! The following is a list of employers coming to conduct on-campus interviews with application deadlines in the next month.

** Stanley Black & Decker
Position:  SLP Operations Associate (9256265)
Resume Submission End:  March 13

** CGI Federal Consultant
Position:  Entry Level IT Consultant (9255641)
Resume Submission End:  April 7

** Enterprise Holdings
Position:  Management Trainee (9255896)
Resume Submission End:  April 5

** Target
Position:  Executive Team Leader (9255878)
Resume Submission End:  April 4

A full list of On-Campus Interviews scheduled is available on our website calendar and on UMBCworks, please check regularly for any updates or changes that may occur.

The following full-time positions have been posted within the past week to UMBCworks. Login to your account (via the link in the Jobs & Internships topic in myUMBC) and find details and application instructions as well as hundreds of other job postings! 

9256696 - Statistical Analyst - Baltimore County Police Department
9256666 - Technical Consultant - BoxTone
9256685 - Veteran & Family Peer Navigator - Mental Health Association of Montgomery County
9256610 - Administrative Assistant II - CareFirst Blue Cross BlueShield
9253625 - Internal Technology Residency Program, New Graduates - GOOGLE
9256604 - Software Engineer, New Graduates - GOOGLE