Technology

Let’s begin with a few fun facts. The United States is the largest tech market in the world, representing one-third of the total global market. It represents an industry that accounts for the highest number of fastest-growing companies. The Internet of Things (IoT) now links millions of devices that were previously unconnected to the web. Technology sector reports indicate that the number of internet-connected devices will hit 50 billion by 2030. Organizations of all types (for-profit, non-profit, public sector) will need to deploy AI within their work activities over the next five years to continue to succeed in their respective areas of expertise.
The Big Picture
Top 10 Trending Technologies
We should all agree that the only constant is change. Check out these top trending technologies:
- 5G Technology
- Internet of Behaviors (IoB)
- DevSecOps
- Intelligent Process Automation (IPA)
- Tactile VR
- Big Data Analytics
- Human Augmentation
- Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS)
- Cybersecurity
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
What You Can Expect
Despite a robust job market for careers in the technology field, securing an internship or full-time position is a very competitive undertaking that will require a commitment on your part: commitment of time in your busy schedule, as well as quality of effort.
There are many paths to a rewarding career in technology. Some of you will pursue a career with a large enterprise or a start-up, while others may prefer small community-based employment. Still, others will elect to become educators.
A few careers in technology require post-graduate schooling, e.g., a PhD to become a Data Scientist. It’s not uncommon for recent grads to work in their prospective field for a couple of years before entering graduate school, testing their interests and learning valuable skills. Language skills can be immensely useful and represent a distinguishing characteristic in your candidacy for internships and first-destination career roles.
The best ways to affirm your career interests are to speak with others who have experience with the career roles you are exploring (family members, friends, alumni) and to do internships involving the knowledge and skill sets generally required in those career roles.
Areas of Focus
- Software Development/Engineering
- Data Science and Data Analytics
- AI and Machine learning
- Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
- Robotics
- All non-technical career roles within the tech industry, e.g., product management, program management, project management, digital marketing and advertising, finance
Top Resources
In addition to the resources accessible through Handshake, check out various events, programs, and resources to help you navigate your career exploration and development path on this CCI website.
Campus to Career Primer
Career pathways are an individually determined journey. This document is intended to delineate several of the traditional career pathways for students interested in technical roles within organizations across industries, e.g., software engineering and data analytics, as well as non-technical roles in the tech industry, e.g., product management, project management, etc., and can be a helpful tool for you to determine and design your first destination strategies and tactics. Contained in the Campus to Career Primer are:
- Typical Career Roles and Pathways that may be relevant to CSCI and Math majors/disciplines;
- Three Stages in the Campus to Career Pathway;
- Resources for students during their career exploration process; and
- CCI Career Exploration Modules.
-
Shelly Palmer
Explore insights on tech, media, marketing, and data science. Recommended by an alum.
-
TechGuide
Learn about tech roles, degrees, and certifications.
Technical Interview Prep Resources
Technical interviews are an important part of the interview and selection process for hiring software engineers and data scientists. You must be prepared for this aspect of the interview process. The good news is that several resources are available for you to practice technical interviews. A few follow:
-
Interview Cake
Self-paced interview prep with GitHub student discounts.
-
LeetCode
Practice coding with real-world technical interview problems.
-
LeetCode Solutions
Access coding solutions in multiple programming languages.
-
Pramp
Practice live coding interviews with real people.
Resources for Those Interested in Technical Roles
-
Best Job Boards for Software Engineers
Find job boards tailored to software engineers.
-
egghead.io
Learn front-end development with expert tutorials.
-
Data Analyst Roadmap: Your Ultimate 2023 Career Guide
Explore roles, videos, and articles on data analytics careers.
Resources for Those Interested in Non-Technical Roles
e.g., Product Manager, Program Manager, Technical Writer, Data Analyst…
The 10 Most Important Product Manager Interview Questions
The types of questions you can expect in a Product Management interview are vast and varied. In general, you’ll probably be asked some of the following:
- What do you see as a Product Manager’s main role within product development?
- How do you stay user-focused?
- What main changes would you make to [our product]?
- How do you see your career developing in the next five years?
- Tell us about a time you used data to influence an important stakeholder.
- Tell us about a time you faced failure and how you bounced back.
- How would you improve your favorite product?
- What’s your approach to prioritizing tasks?
- Why do you want to work at [our company]?
- Why do you want to be/what do you love about being a Product Manager?
Questions will vary depending on the role, the company, and the industry, and the types of questions you’ll be asked will change as you move through the interview process.
-
Non-Technical Career Roles in Tech
Discover non-tech roles in the tech industry.
-
Tech Jobs for Good
Discover tech roles in organizations focused on social impact.
Stories from the Field
Finding the right career path starts with hearing real-world stories and connecting with those who’ve been there. CCI offers a range of resources to help you explore careers, gain advice, and build meaningful connections.
MiddConnect
Need career advice? MiddConnect is your gateway to connecting with Middlebury’s global network of alumni and parent volunteers. Search an extensive database using filters like employer, job role, location, or major to find people who align with your career interests.
Use MiddConnect to:
- Set up 1:1 conversations with alumni and parents.
- Explore career paths and industries.
- Network for advice when applying for roles.
MiddConnect is part of the Midd2Midd platform, which fosters mentoring, networking, and engagement within the Middlebury community worldwide. Whether you’re seeking a mentor, exploring career options, or sharing your expertise with others, MiddConnect helps you build meaningful connections across the Middlebury community.
futureforward
Watch alumni and parent leaders discuss their industries, share current trends, and provide actionable steps to help you break into those fields.
Live from DC
Watch live webinars featuring experts in policy-driven career fields, discussing how current events shape opportunities and challenges.
MIDDVantage
Explore virtual career exploration episodes featuring Middlebury alumni and guests offering insights into various career paths and industries.
MIDDVantage: Inside the Industry
Exploring Careers in Technology’s New Frontiers
-
Developments and Directions for AI & Robotics
Guest: Bryan Rich ‘86, Partner AI & Robotics, Accenture Federal Services
-
Creating Therapies to Treat Diseases Using Predictive Artificial Intelligence a…
Guest: Robert Skiff ‘90, CEO and Founder, 3852.ai
-
Automated Vehicles
Guest: Alden Woodrow ‘02, CEO and Co-Founder, Ike
-
Tracking of Terrorism and Extremism Online
Guest: Alex Newhouse ‘17 MIIS ‘17, Research Lead, CTEC
-
Drone Technology as Advance Scout Protecting Soldiers
Guest: Adi Raval ‘98, Head of Communications, Shield AI
-
A Customer-First Approach to Product Management
Guest: Nicole Fazio ‘11, Senior Technical Product Manager, Alexa Shopping - Amazon
-
Leaders in Technology Discuss the Future
Guests: Jennifer Bailey ’84, Suzie Reider ’87, Lan Ye ’98
-
UpNext: Careers in Technology Panel Discussion
Recorded at the UpNext: Careers in Technology Event, Fall 2022
-
The Product Development Process and Functional Roles
Guest: David Mendelson ’00 (Computer Science), Vice President Product Development, Wheel
-
Cloud Solutions Engineer - Software Engineering and Liberal Arts
Guest: Leah Bracken ’18.5, Customer Engineer, Google Cloud
-
First Destination Software Engineering (SWE) Roles
Guest: John Sterling ’96, Software Engineer, Google Wallet
Exploring Careers in Innovation: Start-Ups to Larger Enterprises
-
The Technical Side: Building a Digital Product, Managing a Product/Engineering …
Guests: Brian Sirkia ’12.5, Co-Founder & CTO at Lately and Nima Alidoust ‘09, VP of Strategy and Head of Product at Rigetti Comp
-
Product Manager Role - Ideal for Liberal Arts Students
Guest: Caroline Goodwin ’14, Senior Product Manager, PlacePass
-
Quantum Computing and Innovation in Large Organizations
Guest: Nikitas Stamatopoulos ’07, Vice President Quantum Computing R&D at Goldman Sachs
-
Opportunities in Fintech: Crossroads of Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneur…
Guest: Andres Fontao ‘96, Partner at Rainmaking for Spain and Latin America and Co-founder of Finnovista
-
Google’s Culture of Innovation
Guest: Jamie Crepps ’10, Culture Transformation Leader at Google Video: 7 minutes
-
Google@Middlebury: Life of a Feature
Recorded at the Google@Middlebury Event, Fall 2023
-
Google@Middlebury: Roles in Product Commercialization
Recorded at the Google@Middlebury Event, Fall 2023
Exploring Careers in Data Analytics
-
Data Science in Politics
Guest: Alec MacMillen ‘14, Voter Protection & Insights Analyst, Democratic National Committee
-
Mapping Humanity
Guest: Carmen Tedesco ‘01.5, Director Data Analytics, Fraym
-
Decade of the Drone in Data Analytics
Guest: Kat James ‘14, Founder, Four Hundred Feet
-
Data Science at the Intersection of Strategy, Product, and Engineering
Guest: Jeb Burchenal ‘10, Director of Data Science, Meta
-
Data Visualization Mapping the Planet
Guest: Max Borrmann ‘20, Data Visualization Associate, Planet
-
History Major to a Machine Learning Engineer in Fin Tech
Guest: Winnie Yeung ‘15, Machine Learning Engineer, Block
-
Data Science Research Supporting Technical Infrastructure
Guest: Trisha Singh ‘18, Research Data Scientist, Meta
-
Operational Data Analytics in a Tech Company
Guest: Archer Newell ‘16, Senior Data Analyst, Fivetran
-
Data Analytics in a Non-Profit Environment
Guest: Michelle Roman ‘17, Senior Manager of Analytics, uAspire
-
The Personal Communications Side of Data Analytics
Guest: Raffie Parke ‘13, Account Executive Data & AI, IBM
-
Reducing Violence and Harms of the Criminal Justice System
Guest: Nathan Weil ‘15, Analytics Manager, University of Chicago Crime Lab
-
Data Analytics and the Justice System
Guest: Nick Delehanty ‘17, Data Director, Federal Public Defenders office in Brooklyn
Exploring Careers in the Green Economy
-
The Mathematics of Distributed Energy
Guest: Dylan Cutler ‘04, Senior Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
-
A Scientist’s View of Bioenergy Technologies
Guest: Jay Fitzgerald ‘06, Chief Scientist, Bioenergy Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy
-
Machine Learning x Climate at Myst AI
Guest: Ellery Berk ‘14, Business Operations Manager, Myst AI
-
Digitally Connected Energy Storage Network
Guest: Will Hanley ‘15, Manager, Project Finance, Stem
Exploring Careers in Creative Design
-
Creative Design Meets Data Visualization
Guest: Leah Welch ‘11, Data Visualization Designer, Bottomline Technologies
-
Human-Centered Product Design
Guest: James Schonzeit ‘10, Manager Design with Block
-
Conversational Design Enabling Chatbot Solutions
Guest: Yina Smith-Danenhower ‘09, Head of Product Design at XAPP AI