In the previous chapter, I discussed potential career paths. In this chapter, I'll talk about assessing your current skill set, the different methods and means you can take to get the skills you need, and the different ways you can subsidize your educational and professional pursuits.

Skills Gap Analysis: Where Do You Need to Be?

Now that you have a better understanding of the types of skills needed for each field, it would be a good idea to do a thorough skills gap analysis so that you can create a plan.

Just as it sounds, a skills gap exists when there is a difference between what skills a company or organization advertises as needed for a position and your skill level. For example, if your knowledge of the programming language Python is basic or limited and the job requires a proficiency in Python, then a skills gap exists.

You can do your own skills gap analysis by comparing your skills to the current job market. Look for two or three descriptions for jobs that you are considering. As you're reviewing, make note of the soft and hard skill examples.

Soft skills are the skills that are tied to the communication, interpersonal, and professional skills you possess. Soft skills aren't quantifiable, meaning they can't be measured in numbers, and someone's proficiency in a soft skill is subjective, meaning it's influenced by someone's feelings, opinions, and biases. Because of this, they are not easy to prove. Examples of soft skills include the following:

• Time management
• Problem solving/creativity
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Ability to adapt to any situation presented
• Ability to lead others

Hard skills can be acquired through formal and informal education and can be measured in some way. Examples of hard skills include the following:

• Programming ability
• Mathematical skill
• Data analysis
• Foreign language skills (knowing multiple languages)

Using the job description of a technical support specialist as an example, these are their soft skill requirements:

• Customer service
• Oral and written communication
• Time management

These are the hard skill requirements for the job:

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, etc.)
• Experience writing and updating SQL scripts
• Experience with issue-tracking software

After identifying these skills, you'll next want to look at your past and current experience. A resume is helpful for this, and we'll take about resume creation in the next chapter, but it is not a requirement. You'll want to think about all your experiences—whether paid, academic, or volunteer—and think about the work you've performed. If you can connect your work to the skill, then you have met that skill requirement. If you've been using Word and Excel consistently throughout your academic and work projects, then you are likely very proficient.

If you haven't demonstrated a skill through current or past experiences, then this an area you may want to spend time developing. For example, if you are unfamiliar with SQL, then you may want to take a course to learn the basics.

There are, however, exceptions to keep in mind.

Formal Education (Is It Worth It?)

Formal education is defined as structured instruction you receive in a classroom and from a professionally trained educator (like at a high school or college). Though not always, students receive a certificate or degree at the successful completion of a program of study.

Many companies, both in and out of tech, realize that having a college or university degree is not an indicator that a person will be successful in the role. Many employers complain that college graduates do not have the practical skills needed for the roles they are hiring for—since new hires need more training upon hire, employers may be reluctant to spend the time and money on them. Some employers place more value on any hands-on, professional experience over classroom learning.

However, you'll find that many of the professions I discussed in Chapter 2, “The Different Flavors of Tech Careers,” require, at a minimum, a four-year undergraduate degree. For those that don't, the positions typically have limited earning potential and advancement opportunities.

So, why the disconnect? If we say that we value actual experience over classroom learning, why is the degree still a requirement? I can't speak for employers, but it was something that I remember hearing in a lecture at Northwestern University that still resonated with me, and perhaps may resonate with employers as well: trade schools teach you a specific skill, whereas college teaches you how to critically think. By this, the lecturer didn't mean that trade schools are not challenging—they are. But trade schools tend to challenge you in one subject area or domain, while college is challenging due to the variety and types of courses you would be taking. Because of the nature of most American undergraduate programs, you may be expected to take several courses in writing, communications, history, mathematics, and sciences in addition to coursework for your major.

I can see both sides of this argument. At Northwestern, I took just as many courses in business and communications as I did in Java programming, computer networking, and systems design. Those courses were just as challenging—sometimes more so—than my technology-oriented classes. Writing and giving my final graded “crisis speech” (a speech where you are asked to respond to a fictional yet catastrophic event) for my public-speaking course was just as nerve-wracking as writing and compiling my Java-based budget calculator app.

At the same time, while I did have foundational knowledge of how computer hardware and software work and how they communicate with one another, and many of my instructors had worked previously in the tech industry, my knowledge was mostly limited to the classroom and my textbooks. I had no working experience of what occurs at an enterprise level.

I knew that I preferred the formal education route. Although there are many self-paced, online learning resources, having a knowledgeable, experienced, and live instructor was helpful when I had questions. I also enjoyed the opportunity to network with students from all over the school. The biggest factor for me was career advancement opportunities. The career services office was a great resource for me to attend networking events, practice my interviewing skills, and have access to unique career opportunities that I may not have found in my own job-searching efforts.

Ultimately, whether formal education is worth it is up to you. When considering this route, here are some things you'll want to think about:

• Would you be able to take a few courses to fill in the skills gaps, or is it necessary to commit to a full program?
• Would you be able to commit to a program that is two to four years or potentially longer?
• Would you be willing to take challenging courses that may not have a direct connection with your primary course of study?
• Would you prefer to take courses that have more emphasis on technical skill?
• Costs—while colleges and universities provide the most financial aid opportunities, including federal and state grants that don't need to be repaid, you may still need to take on (significant) debt to afford the cost. Would this debt responsibility be something that you are willing to take on?

Trade Schools

Trade, or vocational, schools teach students skills that they will need to enter specific career fields. The key differences between trade school and other formal education institutions are that the length of time to complete study is shorter (usually two years or less), and you take fewer classes in other subjects.

There's a negative perception surrounding certain nationally accredited, for-profit vocational schools. Credits earned usually can't be transferred to other institutions. If you decided that you wanted to get an undergraduate degree from a traditional four-year college, the credits earned would not transfer over, meaning you'd have to complete the program from the beginning. The quality of curriculum of these schools, as well as the costs (sometimes higher than traditional college), have also come under fire.

Take the ITT Technical Institutes, which went completely out of operation in late 2016. ITT Technical Institutes were for-profit educational institutions across the United States that offered students technology-based undergraduate and graduate degrees. They charged high tuition rates to their students (most of whom were lower income and nontraditional college age), who in turn incurred a massive amount of student loan debt.

ITT's programs of study, as well as their recruiting and administrative practices, did not undergo as much review or scrutiny as other, traditional colleges and universities. The lack of oversight gave many employers and others pause, making it difficult for ITT graduates to secure employment after graduation. In written, collected testimony from 700,000 New York area ITT graduates and former students from 2003 to 2017, many stated that their education was deemed “worthless” by employers. Many reported not being able to find entry-level employment and that just the mention of ITT on their resume meant automatic rejection.

Because of ITT's lack of regional accreditation, credits earned at ITT schools would not be accepted at other colleges. This meant that even if ITT students wanted to transfer to a new school, they would have to start their degree studies from the beginning, and with all of the debt they accumulated from their previous school.

There are excellent trade schools out there that offer quality curriculums, are cost conscious, and assist with placement with jobs after graduation. If you’re considering one, here are some things to look out for:

• Accreditation—In the accreditation process, a school or institution voluntarily demonstrates to a neutral third-party organization that their academic programs meet certain standards. An institution can be regionally or nationally accredited, and more weight is given to regionally accredited institutions, as they tend to have more stringent standards. Whether regional or national, you'll want to make sure that the school has gone through some impartial review process.
• Job placement—Exercise caution with any institution that guarantees a job for you upon completion of a program. No institution, no matter how prestigious, should promise you that you will have a job once you're finished. Whether you're able to secure a job afterward is dependent on several factors, many of which are beyond your (and the school's) control.
• Costs and financial aid—Give close attention to the tuition and fees that a school charges. If they seem higher than what an equivalent program at a community college charges, you may want to investigate why. Also, if the admissions department heavily pressures you to take out federal, state, or private loans to attend classes, run away. This indicates that there's no regard for your overall financial situation and that they are not concerned about you acquiring massive amounts of debt.
• Student complaints—I'm a firm believer of “where there's smoke, there's fire.” If many former students complain that a program was too expensive or they're unable to secure well-paying work in their field after a reasonable amount of time and effort, then something is off. You can check with your local attorney general's office to see if there are any complaints against the institution.

Massive Online Open Courses

Massive online open courses (MOOCs) have made it easier for anyone to pursue an education, any time, anywhere, and (sometimes) at a fraction of the cost of going to a brick and mortar school. Two of the most popular MOOC platforms, Coursera and edX, boast more than 50 million registered users and may have a course that has more than five hundred thousand registered users alone.

MOOCs allow learners to pursue a course of program of study mostly at their own pace. Students can view lectures and submit assignments when their schedules permit. If you have access to a computer and a good Internet connection, you can access a MOOC course at any time. While most MOOCs are delivered through individual, private contributors, some courses or programs of study on the platforms may be sponsored or developed by colleges, universities, and employers. Some courses can be used for college credit or toward a professional certification.

While MOOCs offer many benefits (increased accessibility to higher learning, flexibility, and affordability to name a few), there are some drawbacks. The primary one is that anyone who participates in a MOOC must be disciplined in completing their work. It can be argued that this is an issue with traditional degree programs, but MOOCs specifically have a low completion rate. Per a 2015 study done by University of Cambridge researcher Dr. Katy Jordan, the average completion for a MOOC is somewhere between 5 percent to 15 percent. There is still a reluctance on the part of some academic institutions, employers, and other organizations to accept MOOCs as a viable learning option, although this is gradually changing.

MOOCs can be a great alternative to costly classes and when your schedule just doesn't permit you to travel to and from a physical location. You'll want to consider MOOC platforms that have established track records, have made partnerships with academic institutions and employer organizations, and offer refund options should your schedule change and attending class won't fit into your schedule. You can sign-up for classes now at Coursera and edX at the links below.

www.coursera.org

www.edX.org

Boot Camps

Boot camps are training programs that focus on teaching important skills in a short duration of time. They focus on technical skills that the boot camp organizers believe are relevant and will allow students to make an immediate impact with employers upon hire. These boot camps can last anywhere from three to 15 months and can be completed full- or part-time, in person or online.

While the majority of boot camps available focus on learning one or several programming languages, there are boot camps devoted to learning data science, user experience design, and artificial intelligence, for example.

Boot camps are typically run by private organizations, although some colleges and universities are creating boot camps as well. Instructors are typically professionals who are currently working in the industry. Many boot camps offer job placement services; some even have deferred tuition where you don't have to make payments until you've secured a job.

When evaluating potential boot camps, pay attention to the following:

• Your overall career goals— If you are not intending to become, say, a full-fledged professional software developer, you may want to skip boot camps altogether. You may be able to gain programming knowledge and experience through free online courses, self-study, and practice.
• Admissions—Some boot camps require testing and an admissions interview before they accept you. While this can be time-consuming, this will help both you and the school determine whether this will be a mutually beneficial fit. Are the classes geared toward your goals? If you’re attending in person, are the classes offered at convenient times and locations for you? Do the teaching methods work for your learning style? These (and more) are important questions to ask.
• Time—For full-time boot camp programs, it is important for you to attend all or most of your sessions. Missing one can be detrimental, as boot camps cover a lot of material in a short period of time.
• Program of study—Be sure that the curriculum is teaching you the latest technologies and languages for enterprise software, not the ones that are falling out of favor or obsolete. For a coding boot camp, learning Java, JavaScript, and Python may serve you better than learning COBOL. TIOBE, an organization that rates software code quality, maintains a Programming Community Index, which measures monthly the popularity of programming languages in the world. You can check it out at https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index.
• Costs—Like the other forms of education mentioned, boot camps also cost money. Because these are privately run, they are usually not eligible for federal or state aid. While some boot camps do offer scholarships or reduced or free tuition to groups that are underrepresented in tech, this is not true for all.

Hackathons

Hackathons are an excellent way to build your skills and your network. Hackathons are short, competitive events (anywhere from a few hours to two or three days) where individuals and teams collaborate to develop a solution to a problem presented by the organizers. Hackathon organizers can be a mix of tech companies, schools, and other organizations.

As hackathons tend to focus on coding challenges, like creating an application to benefit a local community, software developers and designers tend to participate in these events. However, there are many noncoding hackathons as well, where the focus is on solving a specific business challenge.

There are prizes associated with winning a hackathon, anywhere from cash to receiving a full-time job offer at the organizer's company. There may be a small fee to participate, and that is usually to cover event space, marketing, and food fees.

Unless stipulated by the organizers directly, registration is open to anyone who is interested, and you don't need to be a professional developer to participate. In fact, if you are new to programming, you will probably learn more at a hackathon because you'll be working with and learning from others with more experience.

You can find upcoming hackathon events at the following sites:

• Hackalist (hackalist.org)
• Hackevents (hackevents.co)
• DevPost (devpost.com)

Conferences and Seminars

There is no shortage of conferences and seminars that you can attend. There are literally hundreds held in the United States every year, and that number will continue to grow.

Conferences and seminars are not meant to turn you into technical subject-matter experts by the time they end. Rather, they're designed to introduce you to new subjects, entice your interests to do further research and investigation when they're over, and help you connect with professionals within the field. Some conferences also allow for opportunities to interview with potential employers.

Conferences and seminars cost money to attend. Although many events give discounts or scholarships to students and other audiences, the cost alone can be a major barrier in attending. This is especially true if the event is being held in a different city or state than the one you live in; travel, hotel, and meal costs must also be considered. If you are working or have caretaking responsibilities, taking any time off can be difficult.

A few years ago, I was invited to attend a multiday conference for young leaders in engineering and technology for IEEE USA. The conference was held in New Orleans, Louisiana (in the middle of summer, no less!). The organization agreed to reimburse me for some of the costs, like registration and meals, but other costs, like transportation and hotel, were out-of-pocket costs. I ended up paying somewhere between $600 and $700. Although I found the conference worth my time and part of my costs were reimbursed, it still required an initial outlay of money at a time when I was also juggling tuition payments and other financial obligations.

Given the time and money commitment, consider the following first:

• Attend free or low-cost local events—Sometimes the best events are in your own backyard. You can do a general search on Eventbrite to find local tech events or subscribe to city-specific tech event newsletters like Gary's Guide for New York events (garysguide.com) or Chicago Tech Events (chicagotechevents.com).
• Utilize student, professional organization, and other discounts available to you—The discount offered may or may not be significant, but you will still spend less money in the end. Event organizers may have certain requirements, like being enrolled in school full-time versus part-time, and may ask for proof. But be sure to use applicable discounts whenever possible.
• Review the events agenda—An event agenda can give you a better understanding of the topics that will be discussed and what type of audiences the topic is geared toward (e.g., introductory, intermediate, expert). You can assess if you're interested in the topic.
• Have your attendance sponsored—Your school, work, or other organizations may be willing to pay for event registration, travel, and meal expenses. You may need to provide documentation, essays, and other materials to justify the expense, but it would be worth the effort if it's a conference you really want to attend. Also, be on the lookout for any event-specific scholarship opportunities that the organizers may be offering.

Internships, Externships, and Co-ops

Internships, externships, and co-ops are great ways to get professional experience. These terms are often used interchangeably, but let's examine the key differences:

• Internships—An internship is a professional learning experience within a fixed time frame, usually four to 12 weeks and coinciding with a school's academic period (e.g., fall, spring, or summer). They may be full- or part-time, and being enrolled in a degree-granting, academic program isn't a hard requirement (although this varies by employer). Interns engage in practical, low-level work in exchange for either pay or academic credit, and based on good performance, an intern could be considered for a full-time position at the organization.
• Externships—An externship is a learning experience that occurs in a short time frame, usually a day to 12 weeks. Externships can be full- or part-time. Externs observe and shadow people in positions that they are interested in versus performing professional, low-level work. Externships are typically unpaid, do not receive academic credit, and usually do not lead to full-time employment at the host organization in the end.
• Cooperative education (co-op)—Co-ops are learning experiences that tend to occur over more than one academic period and place an emphasis on full-time working experience. Depending on how they are structured, students will alternate between working full-time and attending classes. Being enrolled in an academic program is typically a hard requirement, as the work being performed is closely tied to what a student is studying. Co-ops usually grant academic credit and are paid.

These opportunities are great ways to get experience, but not all opportunities are created equal. When determining which ones to pursue, think about the following:

• Type of work—Because internship, externship, and co-op opportunities run for a limited length of time and students may not have years of experience in certain skills, host organizations are not likely to give you mission-critical tasks to perform. That said, you don't want to be completely relegated to clerical tasks (e.g., answering telephones and/or opening mail) or doing someone's personal errands. While this helps the host organization and helps you get certain types of skills, these tasks don't help in acquiring technical or complex analysis skills. When you read the opportunity's job description or speak with the hiring manager, try to get as much information as possible on the work you'll be doing.
• Pay—For opportunities where you'll be performing many duties on behalf of the host organization (particularly if the duties generate money for them), you should be compensated fully for your efforts. Getting academic credit is one thing, but students and other audiences have living expenses just like everyone else.
• Potential exploitation—States like New York have passed stringent laws recently making most unpaid internships illegal, and other states will be following suit. It's because, sadly, some employers have taken advantage of unpaid interns in the past.
• Expectations based on gender—Women may be expected to perform certain types of work for free and/or without expectation of being promoted. If you are performing solid work, you should be paid for it.
• Advancement—If possible, the host organization should provide advancement or full-time hire opportunities for top performers. During the interview process, ask the host organization what career paths or opportunities are available to people who do a great job.
• Value—For opportunities that are unpaid and have no predefined pathway to advancement, like externships, assess how the experience will add value to you. Understanding a day in the life of someone in your desired career can prove to be an invaluable experience. Additionally, exposure to certain tech companies can give you an understanding of whether this is an organization you would want to spend part of your career with.

In addition to a school's career services department and general job search sites like Indeed and LinkedIn, you can find internship, externship, and co-op opportunities on WayUp (wayup.com) and Internships.com (internships.com).

A note of caution—beware of any job listings or organizations that require a fee to “access” opportunities. These are signs of a scam and should be avoided altogether. You should never have to pay a fee to get a job.

Volunteering

Volunteering is a wonderful way not only to get hands-on experience, but also to provide critical services to organizations that don't have the resources to hire professionals outright.

To improve my web design, WordPress, and conference organization skills, I volunteered my services for a leadership conference being held by IEEE Women in Engineering for four months in 2016. I helped to build and maintain the event website using WordPress, as well as helped people with registration and refunds. This experience greatly improved my understanding of web design, search engine optimization (SEO), event promotion, and collaborating with remote teams (I was based in Chicago, while much of the event team and registrants were based in and around Detroit, Michigan). In the process, I learned more about the different fields of engineering and broadened my network with incredible engineering students and professionals.

Through volunteer work with Black Girls Code, I was able to help facilitate technical workshops for young girls in a variety of topics, like artificial intelligence and robotics. These workshops not only increased my understanding of the technical topics and allowed me to meet industry professionals, but it helped to improve my communication skills, as you have to communicate with different audiences.

For volunteer opportunities, you will want to think about the following:

• Type of work—Again, you will want to make sure that the opportunity is closely aligned to the skills you are looking to acquire or improve. Opportunities where you can improve your technical skills may be better suited than those where you are performing administrative or clerical work. You can look for skills-based volunteer opportunities through organizations like VolunteerMatch, the Taproot Foundation, or Catchafire.org.
• Type of organization—You'll want to check if the organization is an actual charity. You can verify if a charity is real through sites like Give.org, Guide Star, or Charity Navigator. You'll also want to make sure that the organization's mission closely aligns to your personal values or is something you are passionate in.
• Level of responsibility—Much like making sure that you are not being exploited by a private employer, you will want to make sure that a volunteer organization doesn't take complete advantage of you and your time. Certain volunteer positions require more time and commitment than others—examples would be serving on an organization's board of directors or serving in an elected position like a president or treasurer. But general volunteer opportunities should not require a significant amount of time or resources on your part.
• Length of commitment—If you have many work, school, or family obligations, you may want to seek volunteer opportunities that don't have ongoing time commitments. Rather than serve on a committee, you can volunteer for a few hours or a day of service. Organizations are thrilled to have the help, no matter the length of time.

Certifications

Professional certifications can be an important part of advancing your career. Technical professional certifications are given to an individual when they have demonstrated a minimum level of knowledge and experience of a product, technology, or specific set of skills. To verify this knowledge, an individual may need to demonstrate a certain level of academic and professional experience, as well as pass a proctored, third-party exam.

Some technical professional certifications last forever, while others require continuing education or additional exams to keep the certification from expiring. Certification exams cost money, ranging anywhere from $50 to as much as $1,000. These fees are nonrefundable, so if you miss your scheduled exam or do not pass, you will have to pay the exam fee again. This is not including any test preparation costs, which include assessment exams, study guides, and required courses to sit for the certification exam.

How to Pay for Skills Training

While there are free courses, events, training programs, and certifications available, you will likely need to pay for many of these opportunities on your own. Let's review a few ways you can go about this.

Summary

• Do a skills gaps analysis. Assess where your skills are already strong and transferrable and where you can seek to build your skill.
• Soft skills revolve around communication and interpersonal skills. They are hard to teach or measure. Hard skills can be acquired through formal and informal training and can be measured.
• The decision to pursue formal education is an entirely personal choice. There are many informal and experiential learning options available to gain the skills you need and should be considered in relation to your goals, budget, and other factors.
• Certifications, like formal degrees, are an indication that you possess fundamental technical skill. They can be an integral part of your development, but obtaining the certification itself shouldn't be your end goal. Even after obtaining certification, you must continue to deepen your skill with work experience and additional training.
• Although there are many ways you can pay or finance your education, be sure that you are making financial decisions that you are comfortable with. Seek scholarships, grants, and other “free” forms of money first before using loans, credit cards, and other forms of financing.