Tech Work Experience
Making the transition from student to a successful tech career requires skills not traditionally taught in high school, college and bootcamps. The Tech Work Experience project provides an opportunity for students to gain professional experience as interns in the fields of software, product development, project management, and UI/UX research and design at LA’s fastest growing Civic Tech non-profit organization.
The interns gain confidence, competence and shareable deliverables as they: |
- Take initiative, conduct research and ask for guidance
- Resolve team member availability blockers
- Collaborate with people of all ages and skills
| - Document their work
- Network outside their departments
- Find mentors
- Present education and work experience on their LinkedIn profile
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History
Designed and implemented two pilot internship programs (‘21 & ‘22) with 16 students that:
- Included Associate Project Managers, UI/UX designer, and software engineers
- Identified challenges and opportunities for scalability
- Researched and prototyped a system to target, track and develop intern growth in key work skills
| - Conducted UX research to support revision of future internship programs
- Trained interns to utilize professional tech work methodologies and systems
- Conducted workshops for interns to display experience to further education and career opportunities
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12 Month Roadmap
- Develop a design system
- Develop a dedicated page for the internship program on hackforla.org
- Develop research operations systems
- Organize and analyze prior cohort research
| - Update program, research and marketing roadmaps using research results
- Refine system for internship program: intern skill competencies list, program calendar, intern timecard, work issue skill labels
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Students’ Schools
