Something we all have to admit: The music industry has done a very good job communicating what lies at the end of the rainbow for those who are successful in their business.
Of course, the number of people who actually receive big money and fame from their music is rather limited. That doesn't stop millions of young people thinking they will be the next Eminem, Beyoncé, or Katy Perry. In the process, many of them undervalue their studies, figuring it won't help them get where they're going anyway.
The thing is, if material success is important to a person, then a kid could do a lot worse than to follow a career in information technology (IT).
For example, it was recently reported that mobile app developers are pulling in six figures — whether they had a college degree or not.
Six figures for someone in their 20s! Hey, that seems like rap star status to me.
Julius Clark thinks so, too. Clark is the president of the Charlotte (N.C.) Chapter of the Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA), a professional technology organization formed in 1975. I was introduced to Julius over the summer when Creating IT Futures Foundationpartnered with BDPA's own foundation to award $10,000 in scholarships.
Clark's considerable work with BDPA is done as a volunteer. His day job is as an IT security professional for Wells Fargo. One day after work recently, the two of us met at Amelie's Bakery in Charlotte so I could learn more about his particular chapter's progress.
The program works this way: Each Fall, Julius and other volunteers at their BDPA chapter advertise in Charlotte's schools about their Saturday group, the BDPA Charlotte High School Computer Academy, which begins meeting the Saturday after the Super Bowl.
For the next several months the students meet to learn to program a database-driven website in the Microsoft.net language. (One year they learned Java instead, adds Clark.)
Meanwhile, over 40 other BDPA chapters around the country lead student groups of their own. The groups' hard work leads them to the Annual High School Computing Competition (HSCC), held each summer at the Annual BDPA Conference. (This summer's conference happened in Chicago. The 2012 conference will be held in Baltimore Aug. 1-4.)
Many of the students go on to college and careers in technology. Even as someone who has been in IT most of his working career, Clark never fails to be impressed by his students.
"It's amazing what they manage to accomplish, even before they finish college," Clark notes. Students such as David Gottlieb Jr., Khalia Braswell, Dennis Rankin, and Reginald Jamerson are clearly going to be tomorrow's technology leaders. Recently I had the opportunity to interview one other BDPA alum, Stephanie Brown, who is headed to graduate studies at MIT after several years with Microsoft. Of course, while she was still living in Charlotte, Julius made sure to recruit her as a volunteer instructor.
One of the first meetings with the students involves the instructor sharing the earning potential of a person in IT. It's one way to get past the misconception that only athletes and rap stars can earn a lot of money.
Still, many of the students drop out of the program before the competition. Why? Sometimes the volunteer instructors are very good technically but have trouble connecting with the young people.
"When I was instructing, I always had good success, because I can talk to them about the music they listen to and the movies they watch," says Clark. "Not every instructor can connect that way."
Furthermore, students that make it through the program one year might not return the next year. "An internship during the summers they are in high school would definitely bring them back year after year," Clark maintains.
Clark says any BDPA chapter could use the following:
- Volunteer instructors who are good with teens.
- Hands-on summer internships, so students can experience IT first-hand.
It sounds simple enough. Why can't every IT professional reading this blog post share it with their peers and come to the rescue? You can make a difference. Find your closest BDPA chapter here.
FOOTNOTE: Julius and I talked for quite a long time at Amelie's. When we finally walked to the parking lot, I showed off the black Buick Enclave SUV that Avis had miraculously upgraded me from an economy size thanks to a rental car shortage that day.
"Aren't you jealous?" I kidded.
He smiled. "Actually, that's mine over there." He pointed to an equally sweet SUV. "Terrible on gas, but a smooth ride indeed."
Students, take note.
