2020 Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology | SPRING - VOL. 35 NO. 1

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The top Hispanics who left their mark on the last decade

INSIDE • STEM-Mia (my STEM) Professor Makes A Difference • Master these 7 skills before grad school • Why you need to visit your career center TODAY www.hispanicengineer.com

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FEATURES

CONTENTS

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COVER STORY 16

Get to know the most influential Hispanics in STEM of the last decade.

Learn about these individuals and their achievements.

Nina Vaca

Chairman and CEO Pinnacle Group "Trailblazing, world-changing, and a dynamic global leader"

INSIDE

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ACADEMIC SUCCESS IS JUST THE FIRST STEP

Students say future success starts with working hard at school

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DR. ELODIE BILLIONNIERE AIMS TO BROADEN THE PARTICIPATION OF MINORITY GROUPS IN STEM

HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | SPRING 2020

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PUBLISHER'S PAGE VOLUME 35 | NUMBER 1

DEPARTMENTS News & Events ....................6

Get the latest news and critical academic dates.

Scholarships ....................... 7

Here are the scholarships you should know about, and how you can get them.

Financial Aid ...................... 8 3 simple ways to cut the high costs of college.

Blue-Collar STEM ............ 20 Redefining blue-collar science, technology, engineering, and math

Graduate Life ...................22 7 skills you should master before graduate school.

TOP HISPANICS OF THE DECADE (2010-2019)

In Hispanic Engineer and Information Technology (HE&IT) magazine’s first issue of 2020, you will read about influential trailblazers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). During the last decade, these highly respected leaders had a significant impact across the STEM enterprise. Throughout their own careers, they identified opportunities for organizations and led partnerships, paving the way for far-reaching results in professional development and workforce training for STEM employees. Some developed software or pioneered the use of applications that are now widely available in industry, resulting in improved processes and quality. Others served as liaisons between hundreds of universities and public and private policymakers, enabling Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) to compete. Under their tenure, services passed milestones for graduates of HSIs, students who are the first in their family to attend graduate school, and students for whom English is their second language.

No doubt about it, the achievements of our “Top Hispanics of the Decade” have positively impacted America. Many are still active in STEM, and they continue to lead by example. Although your career might just be starting, it's not too early to engage in efforts to increase the number of scientists, technicians, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians through education, research, and the advancement of standards for the future of STEM. On our student-focused pages, current scholars are already demonstrating great potential.

Junior College Life ..........24

10 reasons you should start your college career at a junior college.

Career Center ...................26

Tyrone D. Taborn Publisher and Chief Content Officer

JobMatch gives you a few tips to get you ready for your first day in the office.

Career Outlook ................29 We are decrypting everything that you need to know about careers in cybersecurity.

• Industry Overview • Job Horizon

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Visit Hispanic Engineer & IT magazine online www.hispanicengineer.com

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VOLUME 35 | NUMBER 1 EXECUTIVE OFFICE Tyrone D. Taborn, CEO and Chief Content Officer Jean Hamilton, President and CFO

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EDITORIAL AND CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Rayondon Kennedy, Managing Editor Lango Deen, Technology Editor Michael Fletcher, Contributing Editor Gale Horton Gay, Contributing Editor Garland L. Thompson, Contributing Editor Roger Witherspoon, Contributing Editor

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Beverly Wladkowski, Art Director Bryan Davis, Digital Director Rachael DeVore, Digital Channel Manager Joe Weaver, Global Design Interactive

CORPORATE AND Dr. Gwendolyn Boyd, CCG Alumni Committee Chair and ALUMNI RELATIONS President

Dr. Eugene DeLoatch, Chairman, BEYA Alumni Group

Vice Admiral Walter J. Davis, USN (Ret) National Chair,

BEYA Military Alumni

Oliver “Bo” Leslie, Retired Program Manager, Historically

Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions, Boeing

Monica E. Emerson, Women of Color STEM Conference

National Chair

Matt Bowman, CCG Military Program Manager Stars and

Stripes Committee Executive Director/Chief of Staff for

VADM Walt Davis, USN (Ret.)

Ty Taborn, Esq., Corporate Development SALES AND MARKETING Gwendolyn Bethea, Vice President, Corporate Development

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Jay Albritton, Social Media Specialist JOBMATCH AND STUDENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Ashley Turner, Recruitment Team Manager Courtney Taborn, Talent Management Specialist Rod Carter, Recruitment Specialist, College Relations Shelia Richburg, College Coordinator

CONFERENCE AND EVENTS

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Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology, (ISSN 10883452) is a publication devoted to science and technology, and to promoting opportunities in STEM fields for Hispanic Americans.

This publication is bulk mailed to universities and colleges nationwide and in Puerto Rico.

The editors invite editorial submissions directed toward the goals of Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology. In particular, HE&IT magazine wishes to present ideas, current events, and personality profiles of successful Hispanic Americans in science, technology, and related business pursuits. Fully developed articles may be sent, but queries are strongly encouraged.

Articles and letters should be sent to: Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology, Editorial Department, 729 E. Pratt Street, Suite 504, Baltimore, MD 21202. No manuscript will be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology cannot be responsible for unsolicited material. Copyright ©2019 by Career Communications Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

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HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | SPRING 2020

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NEWS &EVENTS

SAVE THE DATE GMiS - HENAAC Conference October 5-9 Virtual Event

by Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com

AISES National Conference October 15–17 Virtual Event SACNAS | Advancing Chicanos/ Hispanics & Native Americans in Science National Diversity in STEM Virtual Conference October 19–24 Virtual Event HACU 34th Annual Conference October 26–28 Virtual Event

Children taking part of the Texas A&M-Commerce SPS students' demo at the expo

A&M-Commerce Students Inspire Interest in Physics at STEM Expo

Students from Texas A&M UniversityCommerce earned kudos for their physics lessons at the Dallas Independent School District STEM Expo.

The science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fair encourages children to explore interactive exhibits.

According to the university, members of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) represented A&M-Commerce at the 2020 expo. The students featured physics demos that taught the principles of mechanics, waves and acoustics, electricity, and magnetism. It’s estimated the A&M-Commerce group hosted about 1,600 visitors at its booth.

Dr. Bahar Modir, faculty advisor for the SPS, said the group made quite an impression. “Students, parents, and teachers visited our booth and talked to the SPS students to discuss what it means to be a physics major, a STEM major, and, more broadly, an A&MCommerce student,” Modir said. “Our SPS students asked the kids a lot of

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questions about the physics behind the demos and rewarded them with little prizes,” Modir said.

SPS member and graduate student Shandi Groezinger added, “Everyone had fun while learning about the physics behind each demonstration. Even though we were told multiple times by kids that what we did was ‘magic,’ they left dazzled by the science from our SPS students!” A&M-Commerce participants included Cristo Sanchez, Allan Teer, Macon Magno, Ian Jimenez, and Flint Morgan.

2020 Hispanic Student Leadership Summit

COVID-19 update: In an abundance of caution, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and Google canceled the HACU/Google Hispanic Student Leadership Summit.

The event was scheduled for April 17-18 at the Google Office in Austin, Texas.

According to the initial statement, completed application forms had to be submitted no later than March 1 and Google was to confirm selections by March 9.

HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | SPRING 2020

Acceptance to the Hispanic Student Leadership summit included financial help with travel, credits for ground transportation to and from the airport and the hotel, hotel accommodation, and meals. Engineering and computer science students across America were encouraged to apply for the two-day Hispanic Student Leadership Summit sponsored by Google and the Computing Alliance for Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

Now in its fourth year, the Hispanic Student Leadership Summit was created to bring Hispanic leaders together to share best practices, as well as collaborate with Google’s Hispanic leadership to benefit their universities, student organizations, and communities.

500,000 apprentices for California by the end of 2020

In 2016, there were 62,000 available apprenticeships in California. Currently there are 94,000 registered apprentices.

Under the leadership of Governor Gavin Newsom, the Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) been directed to work with employers, colleges, and regional leadership to reach 500,000 registered apprentices by 2029 as a means to develop and increase equitable access to good quality jobs. HE

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SCHOLARSHIPS

by Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com

12 SCHOLARSHIPS YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO MISS

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ach semester, Hispanic Engineer magazine compiles information on available scholarships. In this issue, we bring you a wrap-up of major awards you should know about, their requirements and benefits, why you should apply, and the application deadlines.

1. High school juniors and seniors may be selected for the $5,000 Claes Nobel Academic Scholarship and the $1,000 National Scholar Awards. For more information, visit Claes Nobel Academic Scholarships at https://www.nshss.org/scholarships/s/ claes-nobel-academic-excellencescholarship-2020/ 2. Beginning this fall, Goya Foods, America’s largest Hispanic-owned food company, is offering $20,000 worth of scholarships. Scholarships are in the amount of $5,000 per year and are renewable for up to three years, totaling $20,000. The scholarships are intended to give four years of assistance to students entering a two-year or four-year institution for a degree in food science. For more information, visit https://learnmore. scholarsapply.org/goyaculinary/ 3. The McDonald’s HACER® National Scholarship The application period for the 2020-2021 program will open in the fall. https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/ en-us/community/hacer.html 4. The Edison Scholars program offers $40,000 worth of college scholarships to high school seniors. The application period opens this fall. Eligible majors include computer and information systems, engineering, engineering technology, management information

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systems, mathematics, and physical sciences. Visit Edison Scholars at https://www.edison.com/home/ community/edison-scholars.html 5. The Miami Dade American Dream Scholarship supports high school graduates who have earned a high school diploma, GED, or home school diploma in Miami-Dade County. The deadline to apply is August 20. For more information, visit https://www. mdc.edu/financialaid/scholarships/ american-dream.aspx 6. The Horatio Alger National Scholarship Program assists high school students who have faced and overcome great obstacles. The National Scholarship is awarded to eligible students in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

The application is open annually from August 1–October 25. https:// scholars.horatioalger.org/aboutour-scholarship-programs/nationalscholarships/ 7. The Arkansas Alumni Association awards over $1 million annually. Each scholarship has specific criteria, including academic achievement, service to the school and community, first-generation college-going, and specific major and career choices.

Visit the Latino Alumni Society for information: https://www. arkansasalumni.org/s/1429/index. aspx?sid=1429&gid=1&pgid=2535 8. To be considered for Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) scholarships, apply by October 15 to meet the winter/spring deadlines.

According to the CIEE, its scholarships and grants program through spring

2021 will feature the Open Campus Latin America Grants for up to $9,000.

Visit https://www.ciee.org/go-abroad/ college-study-abroad/scholarshipsgrants to submit an application for all awards.

9. Great Minds in STEM is offering scholarships to provide financial assistance for underrepresented students pursuing a medical profession in the state of California. The deadline to apply is November 15. Visit GMiS for more information: http://www. greatmindsinstem.org/scholarships/ 10. Every year, the Association of Raza Educators (A.R.E.) donates thousands of dollars in scholarships to ensure undocumented students can seek higher education. Visit http:// www.razaeducators.org/ for more information.

11. The application for the Hispanic Health Professional Student Scholarship is available at https:// nhmafoundation.org/programs/thenhhf-scholarship/ 12. The HACU Conference hosts a student track component known as the HACU ¡Adelante! Leadership Institute. The program is conducted over three days with workshops focused on leadership and professional development. Check conference dates in News & Events. HE

Need scholarships?

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FINANCIAL AID

By Bonnie Conrad editors@ccgmag.com

3 SIMPLE WAYS TO CUT THE HIGH COST OF COLLEGE It is no secret that college tuition costs have been rising sharply, and that college debt is on the rise. Recent statistics have shown that the average college student graduates with more than $30,000 in student loans, but that does not mean you have to follow their example.

H

ere are three simple steps you can take to trim the high cost of college and get the degree you need to advance your career and increase your earning power.

#1. Get on the Four-Year Plan One of the reasons college costs are out of control is that so many students take five, six, or even seven years to get their degrees. You can cut the cost of college significantly by getting on—and staying on—the four-year plan.

Spending just one extra year in college could mean tens of thousands of dollars in tuition costs—and years of college loan repayment. Finishing your degree in four years might be hard work, but the results

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will last the rest of your life.

Finishing your college degree in four years means you will be able to enter the workforce a year or two early, giving you a head start on your career and retirement savings. That alone is reason to work hard in school and finish as early as possible.

#2. Take Advantage of Student Discounts Whether you are picking up a pizza for dinner or booking a hotel room for spring break, you should never leave the dorm without your student ID in hand. Many major chains offer significant discounts for students, and the businesses in your college town probably do the same.

places to buy used college textbooks, from retail giants like Amazon and Half. com to smaller retailers located in college towns.

You can also check the bulletin boards at your school for some great deals on used textbooks. Simply avoiding the college bookstore and finding alternative sources of required texts could save you thousands of dollars a year.

Getting a college education has long been the ticket to a better lifestyle and greater earning power. If the high costs of college have been scaring you off, taking advantage of these money-saving tips could put your favorite school back in your reach. HE

It might not cut the cost of your tuition, but your student ID could save you hundreds of dollars a year. That could be enough to pay for plenty of pizzas and nights out with your friends.

#3. Skip the College Bookstore The cost of textbooks can really add up, but you do not have to spend a fortune to ace your classes. There are plenty of

HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | SPRING 2020

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BY LANGO DEEN editors@ccgmag.com

Dr. Elodie Billionniere

aims to broaden the participation of

minority groups in STEM-Mia ("MY STEM")

THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) SCHOLARSHIPS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (S-STEM) PROGRAM FUNDS LOW-INCOME,

by Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com

ACADEMICALLY TALENTED STUDENTS WITH UNMET

FINANCIAL NEED WHO ARE ENROLLED IN AN ASSOCIATE, BACCALAUREATE, OR GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAM, WITH A MAJOR IN AN S-STEM ELIGIBLE DISCIPLINE.

THE NSF

not only seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need obtaining degrees in S-STEM eligible disciplines; it also wants to improve the education of future scientists, engineers, and technicians, and generate knowledge to advance understanding of how interventions or evidence-based curricular and cocurricular activities affect the success, retention, transfer, academic/career pathways, and graduation of lowincome students in STEM.

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Over a five-year period, the NSF S-STEM funds will support 45 Miami Dade College students with scholarships and wraparound services toward preparing them for STEM careers, which are in high demand and critical to building a competitive workforce that will help grow America’s economy. Enrolled scholars will take classes full-time and are expected to complete the program in two years and participate in supports that research has proven effective in promoting achievement among STEM students.

As an associate professor in the School

HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | SPRING 2020

Dr. Elodie Billionniere Associate Professor, School of Engineering and Technology Miami Dade College

of Engineering and Technology, Dr. Elodie Billionniere aims to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM fields at the Eduardo J. Padrón Campus of Miami Dade College.

“I am serving as the program director, also known as principal investigator, for this NSF-funded program. I oversee the program design and implementation, and report to NSF. I also teach the two www.hispanicengineer.com

STEM interdisciplinary courses that each cohort must take during the fall term: Tools for Success (Year 1) and STEM Transfer Success (Year 2).”

“The global cloud services market is expected to reach $555 billion by 2020. The Dade Enterprise Cloud Computing Initiative (DECCI) at Miami Dade College is a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to raise cloud literacy for underrepresented minority groups in Miami-Dade County.

Through the program, we provide students with in-depth, project-based learning opportunities and access to leading AWS technology, giving them a competitive advantage by strengthening academic offerings that lead to not only an academic credential, but also an industry certification, and ultimately employment that leads to high-wage positions.

This initiative created a professional development program with AWS to train Miami Dade College (MDC) technology faculty members to teach cloud computing courses, utilizing project-based learning methodology. It also created new academic pathways— college credit certificate and an associate degree in enterprise cloud computing—to align with baccalaureate degrees in information systems technology and created a K-16 pipeline by offering a Cloud 101 summer boot camp for high school students from traditionally underrepresented populations.”

“In addition to the STEM-Mia (“my STEM”) scholarships, this interdisciplinary STEM program includes high-impact practices using social cognitive career theory (SCCT)-based interventions, such as undergraduate research experiences, advising and mentoring by STEM faculty, implementation of academic pathways and early alert systems, year-round STEM colloquia, and extensive assistance in transfer to four-year institutions. Employing SCCT as a framework, STEM-Mia seeks to advance the body of research on lowincome community college students in STEM education by focusing on math and science support activities and psychological interventions.”

“One of the critical needs of 21stcentury workforce development is the recruitment, retention, and graduation www.hispanicengineer.com

Research suggests that women drop out of academic programs and leave the workforce to care for their families, deal with financial setbacks, tend to personal obligations, and offer service in military programs. of women in STEM fields. Research suggests that women drop out of academic programs and leave the workforce to care for their families, deal with financial setbacks, tend to personal obligations, and offer service in military programs. It is important that women in these positions, i.e. returning women, have pathways for reentry to college and opportunities to advance their careers.”

Some areas within STEM fields, such as emerging technology (EmTech) in computer science (e.g., cybersecurity, data science, mobile development, and cloud computing) are expected to experience increases in job opportunities more quickly than traditional areas. The demands of these jobs can only be fulfilled by creating pathways for untapped STEM talent pools, including returning women.

Hence, the goal of the NSF INCLUDES DCL: RESET (Re-Enter Stem through Emerging Technology) Conference on Finding Re-Entry Pathways for Women in STEM, taking place in March 2021, is to discuss and share the current state of knowledge on what will support women looking to (re) enter the education and professional pipeline, especially after a career break, and to contribute to an improved understanding of the complex challenges that women encounter in EmTech disciplines. It is intended to provide a platform for experts from higher education institutions and STEM policy to discuss and make recommendations about the individual, programmatic, institutional, evaluationbased, and evidence-based strategies that can enable women to (re)enter the EmTech pipeline in greater numbers.

“Both STEM-Mia and DECCI–Cloud 101 bootcamp have been named recipients of INSIGHT into Diversity magazine's 2019 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award. In this program, we host free and open-to-the-public monthly

STEMinars across the STEM curriculum with a focus on emerging technologies, STEM research, and opportunities.

Some of the topics that we have covered by bringing in professionals and researchers to present are:

• Cybersecurity in International Tourism

• How Plants Grow and Respond to a Changing Environment: Insights from Cell Biology, Genomics and Physiology

• Insights on Station (Altaeros): Research and Development Internships

• Impetus and Innovation: Making Your Mark in the STEM World (panelists were all women STEM professionals)

• Seeking Sustainability in Everglades National Park

• “Facts” or Fictions: Debating the Science of Gender Identity and Climate Change

• Maximize Your Learning In addition, we have two STEM interdisciplinary elective one-credit courses that STEM students may take during the fall term: Tools for Success (Year 1) with a focus on self-efficacy in math and science, and STEM Transfer Success (Year 2) with a focus on requirements, capabilities, and resources. Technology, math, and science faculty members come together to design the instructions that can be used across the STEM curriculum based on the foundations that any STEM student should acquire, especially in mathematics and computational thinking.” HE

See Dr. Billionniere honored at the 2019 Women of Color Awards

HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | SPRING 2020

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HISPANIC

ENGINEER & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

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top student

success

BY GALE HORTON GAY | editors@ccgmag.com

AC A D E M I C S U CC E SS I S J U ST T H E F I R ST ST E P

Students say future success starts with working hard at school It’s a lesson that isn’t easy to learn for many people—that hard work pays off, both in and out of the classroom.

Some students, however, are using their academic success as a stepping stone to the corporate world where they have their sights set on achievements in the next phase of their lives.

Hispanic Engineer and Information Technology magazine contacted Johnny E. Lopez and Michael Lara and asked them about their path to academic success and beyond.

Johnny E. Lopez Success is something that Johnny E. Lopez takes seriously.

“Academic success is important to me because as a first-generation college student, I am a great believer in taking advantage of the opportunities that were not offered to the people before us, in this case, my parent,” said Lopez, a 20-year-old junior at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA. “Academic success will not only give me the opportunity to be the 14

first person in my family to pursue a career, but it will allow me to provide my future family with generational wealth.”

Lopez is pursuing a mechanical engineering bachelor degree and expects to graduate in fall 2021.

“I chose to pursue a STEM career path because ever since I was a young child, I enjoyed figuring out how things worked,” he said. “From disassembling a TV and putting it back together, to mechanically working on my first car, I have always had a thrill for engineering.”

Now Lopez is getting his thrills in more sophisticated and technically advanced ways and sharing his passion for STEM with the younger generation.

In 2019, he was a Thurgood Marshall scholar and was involved in Boeing’s HBCU Sophomore Immersion in Seattle, WA. He was one of 29 students chosen for the program. The experience, which involved being flown to Seattle and touring Boeing’s manufacturing sites in Everett and Renton, “developed my professional development skills through intense interpersonal sessions with Boeing executives, learned about Boeing’s culture and their 2025 vision for diversity and inclusion, and most importantly, established lifelong connections with the other HBCU students and Boeing employees that are valuable to me and my professional career.” He was also introduced to Boeing’s 737, 777, and 789 aircraft.

HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | SPRING 2020

“I have not had an internship experience within the engineering industry, but I have been part of the Heritage Stem Camps Foundation, in which I was a STEM counselor,” he said. “I mentored a group of young minorities interested in STEM with the development of a business pitch, coding robots, and flying agricultural drones. I look forward to obtaining my first office industry internship experience this upcoming summer.”

Lopez has a clear vision of his future and isn’t shy about sharing it.

“I am going be an engineer at a tech company or be in the aerospace industry since those two areas excite and intrigue me the most,” he said.

“I plan to acquire both technical and corporate experience and retire by my mid-30s after starting my own business.

My motto has always been ‘Millionaire by 25, billionaire by 30.’ I will accomplish that.”

Michael Lara It’s all about putting in the work. That’s what Michael Lara says about achieving success in school and the workplace.

“I believe academic success is important because it shows to many companies a level of commitment needed to achieve a strong GPA,” said Lara. “Companies see this academic success and can tell that the commitment you put into school will be the same or even more for what you put into work. This is what www.hispanicengineer.com

Lopez, who attended the BEYA conference in 2020 for the first time, offers the following advice to students interested in achieving academic success: • Prioritize. Remember why you came to college—for an education. He suggests working around that goal to establish a good student/life balance.

• Use a planner. Plan ahead of time in order to organize an effective daily schedule.

• Network. “It is not about who you know, but about who knows you.”

you want to present, as someone willing to commit and do a good job no matter the rigor.”

Lara, 20, a junior at Florida International University, is pursuing dual degrees in computer engineering and computer science. He anticipates graduating in spring 2022.

Lara, who had a 3.57 GPA in fall 2019, interned at The Boeing Company summer 2019. He secured the internship by attending the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers conference.

At Boeing he worked as an avionics www.hispanicengineer.com

Left: Johnny E. Lopez Southern University and A&M College Right: Michael Lara Florida International University

engineer focusing on black box systems on the Boeing 787 and 777X. In addition to giving him workplace and engineering experience, the internships also energized him upon his return to the classroom.

“I have interned before at Boeing as well as Northrop Grumman, and the experience from working with these companies really helped within the classroom setting,” said Lara. “Before my first internship with Northrop, I was slacking a little and really wondering if, in the end, it would be worth the degree, but it all changed as I realized it is worth it and amazing the work you get to do for these companies. The internships really gave me the push to do amazingly well in school so I can work and do revolutionary stuff for the world.”

Lara said he chose a STEM career path because ever since he was young, he had a passion for mathematics and technology.

“I would try and solve calculus questions in middle school, not always achieving the answer, but not giving

For students “distraught in the rigor of certain classes,” Lara offers the following tips: • Get used to coffee because you’re going to need it, don’t give up, and enjoy yourself.

There will be times when you’ll feel beaten down from classes, but don’t give up; study so the information rolls off your tongue. Take a shot of espresso and fight through it because I promise you it will pay off in the end.

• Most importantly, don’t burn yourself out. Take some time to enjoy life around you and relax. As Ferris Bueller said [in the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off], ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.’

up till I did,” he said. “With technology, I always loved how computers worked and wanted to understand what every component did, so I decided to double major in computer engineering and computer science.”

After he graduates, Lara plans to travel first, visiting Europe before beginning a career with a company such as Boeing in the space sector. HE

HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | SPRING 2020

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Hispanic Engineer magazine’s TOP HISPANICS OF THE JOSEPH M. ACABA

DECADE list features the most influential people in research and the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); national and commercial space

ANTONIO R. FLORES

programs, information technology (IT) and professional services, banking and investment,

GRACE LIEBLEIN

clean energy, and equal opportunity. Learn what these men and women achieved from 2010– 2019 and how their work and contributions that landed them on this list will impact lives beyond 2020.

DR. ELLEN OCHOA

MARCELO CLAURE

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HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | SPRING 2020

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TOP

S C I N A ISP E D A DEC

OF THE

BY LANGO DEEN ldeen@ccgmag.com

Joseph M. Acaba logged a total of 306 days in space on three missions during the last decade.

In 2012, he flew aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to the space station where he worked as flight engineer for the Expedition 31/32. During this mission, the first commercial resupply spacecraft, SpaceX Dragon, arrived at the station. Acaba also served as director of operations Russia in Star City supporting crew training in Soyuz and Russian segment systems. Most recently, he served as flight engineer on the International Space Station for Expedition 53/54. www.hispanicengineer.com

Dr. Dan Arvizu became chancellor and chief executive of the New Mexico State University System (NMSU) in 2018. NMSU is one of the foremost Hispanic-serving universities. Dr. Arvizu is the second alumnus and first Hispanic to be hired as the NMSU system chancellor and chief executive.

As a first-generation college graduate, Dr. Arvizu is championing efforts highlighted throughout the university’s strategic plan, NMSU LEADS 2025.

After a long tenure as director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), he retired in December of 2015. He is

presently director emeritus.

Marcelo Claure built one of the largest wireless distribution and services companies early in his career.

Today, he is executive chairman of WeWork, the coworking and space-asa-service platform with locations in 37 countries. Additionally, Claure is CEO of SoftBank Group International, where he oversees the group’s operating companies. He also oversees SoftBank Latin America, which is responsible for taking companies to Latin America.

Claure is also COO of SoftBank Group Corp. Alongside chairman and CEO

HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | SPRING 2020

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Masayoshi Son, he oversees the strategic direction of the Tokyo-based company. In addition, Claure serves as the executive chairman of Sprint, which serves 54.3 million customers.

Antonio R. Flores is a leading voice of Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs). His advocacy has garnered over $3 billion in federal funding for HSIs. Membership of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) represents more than 500 colleges and universities that serve two-thirds of the nearly 4 million Hispanic students in higher education across 38 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and include 35 leading universities in Latin America and Spain. Flores has served as president and CEO of HACU for over 20 years and received numerous recognitions and honors for his contributions to higher education.

Anthony “Tony” R. Jimenez

is the founder, chairman, and CEO of MicroTech, one of the largest Hispanicowned IT integrators in the nation.

He was the recipient of the 2016 Hispanic Heritage Foundation Award for Technology, one of the highest honors for Hispanics by Hispanics.

An important part of Jimenez’s commitment to this nation’s youth are his efforts to advance STEM initiatives.

In April 2016, Jimenez was named to the STEMconnector® List of 100 CEO Leaders in STEM. This list features some of the top CEOs in the nation who offer their unique perspective on the issues facing America’s STEM workforce.

Grace Lieblein retired as vice president of global quality for General Motors. She was the highest-ranking Latina in the auto industry. Among her career highlights, Lieblein was chief engineer for mid-size crossover vehicles including the award-winning Buick Enclave. She was the first woman to be named president and managing director of GM Mexico, and from there she became president and managing director of GM Brazil. Lieblein has been a director on the board of Honeywell since 2012 and joined the board of Southwest Airlines in 2016. She joined the American Tower Board in 2017 and has served on non-profit boards as well, including the Karmanos Cancer institute and the U.S. Chamber of 18

Commerce in Mexico.

Dr. Ellen Ochoa was the 11th director of the Johnson Space Center (2013-2018). She was JSC's first Hispanic director and its second female director. She became the first Hispanic woman to go to space when she served on the STS-56 mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1993. Ochoa has been recognized with NASA's highest award, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award for senior executives in the federal government. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), serves on several boards, and chairs the Nomination Evaluation Committee for the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

Hilda L. Solis was sworn in as Los Angeles County supervisor for the First District of Los Angeles County on Dec. 1, 2014. She was re-elected to a new four-year term in 2018. As county supervisor, Solis’ priorities include combating homelessness and building affordable housing, expanding county services, environmental justice, jobs, health care access, criminal justice reform, improving parks and open space, and ensuring arts equity. Prior, Solis served as secretary of labor under President Barack Obama. Solis was confirmed on Feb. 24, 2009, becoming the first Latina to serve in the United States Cabinet. A recognized leader on clean energy jobs, she authored the Green Jobs Act, which provided funding for “green” collar job training for veterans, displaced workers, at-risk youth, and individuals in families under 200 percent of the federal poverty line.

Richard Tapia is internationally

known for his research in the computational and mathematical sciences. His current positions at Rice University are university professor (only the sixth individual afforded this title in the 100-year history of Rice), Maxfield-Oshman professor in engineering, and director of the Center for Excellence and Equity in Education.

In 2011, President Barack Obama awarded Tapia with the National Medal of Science, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists

HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | SPRING 2020

and engineers. In 2014, Tapia was awarded the Vannevar Bush award.

While at Rice, Tapia has directed or co-directed more underrepresented minority and women doctoral recipients in science and engineering than anyone in the country.

Nina Vaca is chairman and CEO of

Pinnacle Group, named the fastestgrowing woman-owned company in the country in 2015 and 2018. Pinnacle has also been included on the Inc 500/5000 list of fastest-growing companies 13 times. In 2014, Vaca was appointed by the White House as a presidential ambassador for global entrepreneurship. Most recently, ALPFA and Fortune Magazine named Vaca in the top 5 of the 50 Most Powerful Latinas in America. Vaca is particularly focused on expanding opportunities for women and Hispanics in STEM fields.

Along with financial support, Pinnacle Group also provides extensive career preparation training and internship opportunities to high school and college students.

Dr. Lydia Villa-Komaroff is a molecular biologist. Before founding Intersections SBD in 2014, she was CEO of Cytonome, Inc. (2006–2009) and chief scientific officer of Cytonome/ ST, LLC (2009–2014). Prior to that, she was vice president for research at Northwestern University. Dr. VillaKomaroff is a member of the National Science Foundation Committee on Equal Opportunity in Science and Engineering, and the Advisory Council of the NSF Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences. She is a founding member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/ Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). Currently she is nominating committee chair and a senior advisor. She also sits on the Keck Graduate Institute board. HE

8 Tips for Success from MichroTech CEO, Anthony Jimenez l.ead.me/bbT63y

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Hispanics represent the largest minority group with measured interests

DR. LYDIA VILLA-KOMAROFF

in STEM fields, creating a significant opportunity.

(Source: Hispanics and STEM Education, U.S. Department of Education)

RICHARD TAPIA

DR. DAN ARVISU

HILDA SOLIS

NINA VACA

ANTHONY "TONY" R. JIMENEZ

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BLUE COLLAR STEM

By Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com

REDEFINING BLUE-COLLAR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATH Blue-collar jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are changing the way we think about STEM.

A

few weeks after Labor Day in 2017, Dr. Victor McCrary, a member of the National Science Board (NSB), gave a great definition of blue-collar jobs in STEM while speaking to a panel on blue-collar STEM. “The NSB, the governing board of the National Science Foundation, cares about the STEM workforce,” he said. “This includes ‘blue-collar STEM’ workers, or what the National Academies have termed the ‘skilled technical workforce.’”

There’s a national discussion on the need to replenish the pipeline of skilled workers by training future blue-collar STEM workers. This renewed focus is attempting to reverse the trend that David Stern of the University of California, Berkeley identifies as “the non-college track, which is gradually disappearing from American high schools.”

From national policies to National Science Foundation programs, there are high-level discussions on how to best fill these necessary jobs with high school graduates and those seeking training other than a traditional fouryear degree.

When it comes to seeking a bluecollar STEM job, there are two optimal

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to several industries, electricians and plumbers earn an average of around $57,000, while HVAC technicians earned an average of $50,000.

ways to prepare yourself to increase your appeal to potential employers— apprenticeships and internships.

Blue-collar STEM careers are those requiring technical skills, problemsolving, and specialized training that is more than a high school diploma, but less than a traditional four-year degree. These types of jobs cut across industries, such as IT, computer science, engineering, energy, and many more.

•

IT employees such as web developers and computer programmers earned far above the national average, which is $47,000. These higher-thanaverage salaries are even more appealing considering that obtaining a bachelor’s degree only raises the average U.S. salary to $70,000, but potentially carries the burden of student loans and fewer years of earnings while in school.

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Blue-collar STEM jobs are more widespread geographically than higher education STEM occupations, which tend to be focused more in metropolitan areas. This is good news for students spread out across the nation searching for a higherpaying job than average.

•

Blue-collar STEM careers will continue to grow and flourish as the overall trend of STEM career growth continues. However, it is unknown yet how national policies and programs will affect the general trend of shrinking apprenticeship programs and a greater focus on preparing students for college rather than a career and technical education.

These jobs range from staff who install, maintain, and service systems in homes and businesses to programmers who develop and maintain landing pages, login portals, servers, and databases.

While some careers in STEM command a four-year or graduate degree, over half are available to applicants without a traditional four-year college degree.

Blue-collar STEM jobs, like electrician, plumber, and HVAC technician, require apprenticeships and learned technical skills. These workers install, service, and maintain infrastructures from as large as state and citywide systems to individual businesses and homes.

According to The Hidden STEM Economy, “installation, maintenance, and repair occupations constitute 12 percent of all STEM jobs, one of the largest occupational categories.”

•

•

Education-adjusted wage premiums for blue-collar STEM jobs are on average 10 percent greater than their non-STEM counterparts for an average salary of $53,000. In some regions of the country, these average wages are 50 percent higher than non-STEM wages.

Graduates of apprenticeship programs (more common in STEM fields) earn an average of $250,000 more in lifetime earnings, according to Harvard Business Review. More specific

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Education Week compiled and analyzed salary data, demands for hiring, and training needs for STEM careers and determined that the following bluecollar STEM jobs are most in-demand: wind turbine service technician, industrial machinery mechanic, automotive service technician, health technologist, home healthcare aid, and computer user support specialist.

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According to The Hidden STEM Economy, “installation, maintenance, and repair occupations constitute 12 percent of all STEM jobs, one of the largest occupational categories.”

These careers are projected to increase demand by double digits—in some cases, 40 percent or higher.

Cybersecurity is one of the many areas that provides career pathways. HE

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Want more information on Blue-Collar STEM Careers? Check out our Career Outlook section here: l.ead.me/bbT66w

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GRADUATE LIFE

by Anne Halifax editors@ccgmag.com

7 SKILLS YOU NEED TO MASTER BEFORE GOING TO GRADUATE SCHOOL

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re you ready for graduate school? Though your past academic performance is what gets you into grad school, your personal habits and attitudes are what will get you through. Only half of doctoral students end up completing their degrees within 10 years, and whether you'll be one of them will be determined less by your academic talent and more by your ability to stay disciplined, healthy, and cool-headed in the stressful atmosphere of graduate school. To give yourself the best chance of getting through grad school, make it a priority to master these seven skills before you go.

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Time management

Your ability to manage your time is the single biggest factor in how well you will do in grad school and how stressful your experience will be. The workload in grad school is intense, and if you don't take care of your assignments promptly, you'll find yourself feeling constantly behind and miserable. To manage your time effectively, you'll need to organize both your short-term assignments and your long-term projects such as a thesis or dissertation. You may also have to account for the additional responsibility of teaching and grading papers on top of doing your own work.

Diligence and planning are essential to

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staying on top of your game.

Studying effectively

It might be hard to believe that you can make it all the way to graduate school without knowing how to study effectively, but it happens. In college, you may have been used to cramming for exams and then forgetting the information soon afterwards. Your grades reflected how well you absorbed the knowledge from your textbooks and lectures, but not how well you could put that information to use.

Learning in graduate school is completely different. To do well in graduate school, you need to be able

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to keep track of an enormous amount of reading and research, synthesize the knowledge you glean from numerous sources, and produce intelligent commentary on it, mostly on an independent basis. It's also important to be disciplined enough to study every day. Making regular progress will keep your knowledge fresh and your morale up, but if you let days or weeks slide by without doing much work, you'll lose your edge and possibly spend unnecessary extra years in school.

Stress management

Graduate school is a stressful place. It's no coincidence that grad students are frequently plagued with high levels of anxiety, depression, and other mental problems. The competitive atmosphere of graduate school, the deadlines, the burdens of teaching, and the frequent criticism—not always constructive— from your mentors and peers can strain you to your limits even if you're a calm, grounded person. Unless you know how to manage your stress and stay cool-headed in a high-pressure environment, you'll probably be unhappy in graduate school.

Good time management, as mentioned above, can help keep your stress levels to a minimum. It's also important to guard your time and turn off your work mind sometimes. Many grad students fall into the trap of making their work their sole priority all the time, and that's not healthy for anyone. Cultivate a side hobby that gives you a mental break from your work, stay in touch with your friends, and spend time with people outside academia. Working hard is important, but overburdening yourself is counterproductive.

Networking

Part of your future success—or lack thereof—in the world of academia is your ability to network. This holds true even if you're an introvert, have social anxiety, or just aren't a people person.

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Though your past academic performance is what gets you into grad school, your personal habits and attitudes are what will get you through.

Networking is a necessary part of the job, and successful academics learn to do it, even if they find it difficult or don't particularly like it. Get to know people outside your department and try to connect with people from different schools. Go to conferences and talk to scholars you find interesting. Keep in touch with past contacts from college. Unfortunately, the academic world is not entirely merit-based, and being a good scholar is not the only requirement for being successful. Sometimes it really is about who you know.

Coping with failure

You're going to fail at some point in graduate school. Maybe your paper gets rejected, your advisor tears your thesis-in-progress to shreds, or you realize you've wasted three months on a dissertation topic that's going nowhere. No one goes into graduate school expecting or wanting these things to happen, but they happen anyway. Whether you make it through grad school will be in large part determined by how well you bounce back from failure. Does it crush you and

send you into a funk for weeks, or do you pick yourself up and start over? To recover from inevitable failures in grad school, you'll need determination (also known as stubbornness) as well as a good support network. Don't discount the importance of having family and friends to fall back on when you're down.

Staying healthy

Your health makes a big difference in your overall well-being and productivity. Make it a priority to stay as healthy as you can in graduate school. Your time management skills will help you here. Eating whole, nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep will give you the energy you need to get through your days, keep your immune system strong, and lift your mood. Staying healthy takes extra effort as a busy grad student, but it will keep you functioning well in all areas of your life.

Budgeting

Most graduate stipends are modest at best. Become a pro at budgeting before you go to grad school, so you won't find yourself in an unexpected financial pinch. Learn to shop for healthy groceries on a shoestring, get used to making do with what you have, and make a habit of setting aside savings regularly. Reduce your living expenses wherever you can, too.

Having a modest standard of living will help you stretch your stipend as far as possible.

Getting through grad school requires more than intellectual ability—it also takes a great deal of tenacity, diligence, and other life skills. Many talented students drop out because they are overwhelmed by stress and pressure.

By mastering these seven skills before you send in your applications, you'll give yourself a good chance of finishing graduate school successfully. HE

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JUNIOR COLLEGE LIFE

by Bonnie Conrad editors@ccgmag.com

10 REASONS TO START YOUR HIGHER EDUCATION AT A COMMUNITY COLLEGE

I

f you are nearing the end of your high school career, you are probably researching colleges and trying to decide what is next for your life. If so, you are probably experiencing sticker shock, and possibly some panic.

With the average size of college loan debt well into the five figures, there are certainly plenty of reasons to be concerned. Graduating from college with tens of thousands in debt can put you behind the eight ball from the start, especially if your initial postcollege job search does not go as planned.

With that in mind, more and more young people are turning to community college to get a jump start on their higher education and make the most of their financial futures. Here are 10 great reasons to start your higher education experience at the local community college.

1. Costs are much lower.

Compared to the cost of a four-year school, the price of community college is a real bargain. Depending on the institution, you could save 60 percent, 70 percent, or more per semester by choosing a community college.

2. You can avoid crippling debt. Since the cost of

community college is so much lower, you can avoid high levels of debt while you get started with your chosen career. Even if you do decide to transfer to a four-year school, you can still lower your overall costs substantially.

3. Credits are usually transferable. You can transfer

the credits you get at the local community college to a fouryear school. That means you can start your higher education at

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community college, then move on at a later date.

4. You can work and go to school at the same time.

Working your way through college can lower your overall costs, and many community college students successfully combine their schooling and their careers.

With nighttime and weekend courses, community colleges often design their offerings for working students.

5. You can meet older students and benefit from their wisdom. Community

colleges attract students of all ages, and that is a good thing. You can pick the brains of the older students, learn about their careers, and absorb wisdom that will help you in the future.

6. You can try out several different tracks. New high

school graduates do not always know what they want to do with their lives, but the low cost of community college makes testing out various career and training options feasible. Whether you are thinking about a career in nursing and health care or technology and programming, you can get a feel for what is required at the local community college.

7. Community colleges are invested in career success.

Across the country, community colleges are partnering with local businesses to provide career training for their students. If you complete the coursework, you could well find a job waiting for you on the other end.

8. Your employer could pick up the tab. If you are

could pick up the tab for your community college education. The low tuition costs can help those dollars go further and give you a head start on your career.

9. Course offerings are diverse and extensive. Community colleges offer a wide variety of courses, from career-oriented programs to liberal arts offerings like philosophy and world literature. These courses can increase your knowledge and help you become a more well-rounded citizen.

10. Admission is open to all.

When you choose a community college, you do not have to worry about the admissions process.

Community colleges are open to high school graduates of all ages and backgrounds, so you can focus on your education and training for your future career.

Starting your educational career at the local community college can provide you with a host of benefits, from lower costs and greater flexibility to dedicated career training and tuition reimbursement. If you are getting ready to graduate from high school and looking at the next stage of your life, the solution to your educational dilemma could be as close as your nearest community college. HE

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already employed, the tuition reimbursement program they offer

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Community colleges attract students of all ages, and that is a good thing.

You can pick the brains of the older students, learn about their careers, and absorb wisdom that will help you in the future.

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CAREER CENTER

by Stephanie Nusbaum editors@ccgmag.com

5 BENEFITS OF VISITING THE CAMPUS CAREER CENTER With “career” right in the title, you might think a college’s career center would be focused on upperclassmen about to enter “the real world.”

But the average career center wants to see you start forming your career path and making connections much earlier—even as soon as your first days on campus.

H

ere are five benefits of visiting your campus career center—and the sooner, the better.

1. Help choosing your major If you haven’t even settled on a major, the career center is probably the last thing on your mind. But moving it to the forefront can have huge benefits for your collegiate outcome—after all, your major guides your collegiate trajectory.

“Professionalism and career development start right when you get to college,” said Raquel Aurora Toro, student career counselor at the University of Central Florida’s career services office. She seeks out

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undecided students during orientation for some initial career planning. In her toolkit is “a major in happiness, where we’re doing self-exploration, looking at the student’s values, interests, personality, and skills. What’s their lifestyle? What are their strengths?

What would be better suited for the student long-term?”

Toro said for Hispanic students in particular, family can play a substantial role in choosing a major and a career path.

“Sometimes students want to be teachers, for example, and mami and papi want them to be something else, and that can cause some internal conflicts. So we have those conversations about how to communicate. We want to honor our parents and the sacrifices they made for us to go to college, but we also want to find the best fit for students.”

2. Help gaining relevant experience After narrowing your focus, the next

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step toward your dream job is trying it out.

“You have to get into the field to see if you’re really going to like it,” Toro said.

Relevant experience can come from campus organizations, employer workshops, department research, volunteering, job shadowing, or even studying abroad.

And when you are ready to try the job on for size, the career center will be ready, with ample connections to internships, cooperative learning, and job partnerships.

Depending on the college, those connections can be far-reaching or close to home. UCF, based in Orlando, has a longstanding relationship with aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.

Through the Lockheed Martin College Work Experience Program, students in majors from engineering to marketing work for the company while remaining enrolled at UCF. The connection not only offers great experience and resume building but a pipeline to a job

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Not sure your resume is formatted properly? Bring it in. Not a good public speaker?

Take a mock interview. Blue shirt or black dress? Ask the expert. Toro recommends you start early and come back often to be as comfortable as possible when the big day comes, but help is still available even at the last minute.

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post-graduation. Of the company’s 8,000 Orlando employees, about 3,000 are graduates of UCF and nearby Valencia College.

3. Help forming connections Partnerships like UCF’s Lockheed Martin College Work Experience are abundant nationwide. From nearby research facilities to the country’s leading woodworking shops, colleges and universities forge relationships with companies that align with their specialties.

Now add in the students, professors, and employers you interact with every day on campus. Then add LinkedIn to reach the people you haven’t met face to face. Then attend a career fair or two. The network grows again when you factor in alumni, such as the roughly 200,000 at UCF. It all adds up to a vast network of opportunity before you’ve even perfected your resume.

“Do the work, while you’re getting your degree, to make the networks, to do the experiences, to meet with professionals in industries and companies and positions that you strive to be in,” Toro said. “Do the homework so that when graduation comes, you’re better prepared.”

4. Help with the details To land the dream job, of course, you’ll have to deal with logistics, the bread and butter of career services.

Not sure your resume is formatted properly? Bring it in. Not a good public speaker? Take a mock interview. Blue shirt or black dress? Ask the expert.

Toro recommends you start early and come back often to be as comfortable as possible when the big day comes, but help is still available even at the last minute.

“We have an event called OMGraduation about a month before graduation for graduating seniors and recent alumni,” she said. “It’s a oneevening event full of career services in a nutshell. You get workshops on resume building, interview skills, job search strategies, and salary negotiation all in one evening.”

5. Help finding the right job When you’re ready to start your job hunt, your college likely has one more ace up its sleeve: an internal job listing directory. At UCF and many other universities, that network is Handshake, an online database of employers vetted by the university.

“On Monster or Indeed, that’s the open market, the 20 percent,” Toro said. “But 80 percent of jobs are in the hidden market, where your networking strategies and skills are going to be of use. We also vet our employers who post on our Handshake account, making sure these postings are credible.”

And remember, the sooner you start, the better your chances of finding the job you really want.

“Finding a job is a job in itself, so you want start that job as soon as possible,” Toro said. “Networking and getting to know people is the way to go about it, and presenting yourself as your own brand. We recommend that if you put in the work, meet with career services, meet with a career counselor, get your resume critiqued by us, do a mock interview, put in the work while you’re getting your education, you are highly more likely to get the right fit job out of graduation.” HE

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CYBER SECURITY

CAREER OUTLOOK

CYBERSECURITY According to the he U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment of computer and information technology occupations will grow much faster than the average for all occupations over the next decade. More than 500,000 new jobs will be added in these fields, pushing growth to over 12 percent between 2020 and 2028. A greater emphasis on cloud computing, the collection and storage of big data, and information security means the median annual wage for computer and information technology occupations is higher than $86,320.

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INSIDE > Industry Overview

Working in Cybersecurity

> Job Horizon

Where to find the Highest-Paying jobs in Cybersecurity

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CAREER OUTLOOK

Cybersecurity careers may sound like futuristic jobs out of a television program, but these exciting occupations range from ethical hackers who work to exploit security vulnerabilities for the companies they serve to cryptographers who encrypt and decrypt hidden information from external and internal sources in order to ensure that valuable data stays out of the wrong hands and remains protected.

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Students and recent college grads can expect to obtain starting positions such as security analyst, security architect, security software developer, cryptanalyst, security engineer, security administrator, cryptographer, and security consultant if they are a contractor. In these roles, expect to complete network forensics, recover lost data, defend against common attacks, harden existing systems against evolving penetrations, encrypt data, defend a LAN from security attacks, and other essential tasks. Consider that with experience, success, and seniority come career paths that lead to more supervisory and leadership roles such as chief information security officer, senior forensic computer analyst, and senior analyst.

When it comes to compensation, cybersecurity professionals tend to make about 9 percent more than other

HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | SPRING 2020

IT workers, according to research by Burning Glass Technologies. While compensation varies by individual position and geographic location, in general, starting pay for cybersecurity analysts ranges from $62,000 to $70,000 per year. The average salary is just over $75,000 per year. According to data from LinkedIn, salaries for cybersecurity professionals can range from $65,000 to $130,000 per year.

If you are considering a career in the exciting world of cybersecurity, there are opportunities to achieve strong levels of compensation.

The most urgent major trend in cybersecurity is a perfect storm for job applicants—a significant lack of qualified jobseekers and an ongoing need for cybersecurity professionals to fight with the persistent expansion of cybercrimes, such as fraud, cyberattacks, and espionage. The United States public

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INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

by Alfred Lewis editors@ccgmag.com

sector, such as the Armed Forces and Homeland Security, and the private sector, such as companies wishing to protect valuable information, are all in need of qualified candidates to fill positions in the fight against cybercrimes. According to a 2018 report

by Burning Glass Technologies, “There were 301,873 cybersecurity job openings in the private and public sectors between April 2017 and March 2018.

The total employed U.S. cybersecurity workforce in the relevant 12 months was 768,096. That works out to 2.5 currently employed cybersecurity workers for every opening. By contrast, there are 6.5 current workers for every job opening overall, in what is already a tight labor market.”

What does the future hold for the cybersecurity industry? There is a confident assumption that cybersecurity careers will continue to grow as

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the interconnectedness of our lives increases. With more and more of our personal devices and systems connected to the Internet of Things, cybersecurity professionals will be needed to protect private data from hackers and to protect our vital systems from external infiltration. According to Forbes.com, “Cyber security defense systems will need to become more sophisticated in order to cope with huge amounts of data…New professions and domain expertise will be formed. Last but not least, we will need to shield all our systems. Countries and states will have a bigger role in protecting large scale environments like their own infrastructure (power grids, water supply, traffic control and frankly – everything around us), and maybe even to provide some of their intelligence to the public. Large corporations will need to guard their data on their own servers, on their cloud servers, on our personal

computers, and even on our mobile devices.”

Cybersecurity careers are an in-demand, essential part of the technology marketspace and will see large amounts of growth in the next decade. With strong compensation, a wide variety of careers and locations, and an ongoing threat of cyberattacks, a career in cybersecurity is a great choice for a college student or graduate. HE

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CAREER OUTLOOK

by Alfred Lewis editors@ccgmag.com

Where are the highestpaying jobs in cybersecurity?

As a current or recent college student, you may be wondering where to find jobs in the cybersecurity industry.

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HISPANIC ENGINEER & Information Technology | SPRING 2020

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JOB HORIZON

Geographically speaking, there

are a wide range of locations in which to find highpaying work in the cybersecurity field, which speaks to the importance of the career as much as the digital nature of the work.

How does this open field of jobs play out across economically diverse regions of the United States?

According to a report from TechRepublic, the highest salaries for cybersecurity professionals when adjusted for cost of living are in the following 15 U.S. cities: Minneapolis, MN............$127,757 Seattle, WA..................... $119,349 San Francisco, CA......... $119,346 Dallas, TX .........................$117,890 Denver, CO........................$117,308 Chicago, IL........................ $111,303 Austin, TX..........................$110,190 Salt Lake City, UT........ $106,207 New York, NY...................$102,271 San Jose, CA.................... $99,075 San Diego, CA................. $98,303 Washington, D.C.............. $92,191 Boston, MA....................... $88,453 Los Angeles, CA............. $86,072 Arlington, VA....................$74,254

When it comes to recruitment patterns from potential employers, Burning Glass Technologies (2018) identified the following insights: • Among major metropolitan areas, cybersecurity job openings are most heavily concentrated in Washington, D.C. (540 percent more openings per capita than national average), Baltimore, MD (190 percent), and San Jose, CA (180 percent).

• In raw numbers, however, the top three cities were Washington, D.C. (43,200 openings), New York, NY (19,993), and Chicago, IL (11,464).

• Of the “core” cybersecurity roles, the largest current demand is for cybersecurity engineers with 37,580 openings.

• Four of the 10 core cybersecurity roles have average advertised salaries over $100,000: cybersecurity architects, cybersecurity managers, cybersecurity engineers, and cybersecurity consultants.

• Demand for security skills isn’t restricted to only cybersecurity jobs.

Many IT roles include cybersecurity as part of the job.

• The largest number of job openings—194,224—includes work roles related to the support, administration, and maintenance of IT systems.

Drilling down even further, employers are looking for candidates who exhibit a range of critical skills relevant to the unique nature of cybersecurity roles.

Employers need candidates who can communicate clearly and concisely with clients and company stakeholders, work in a team environment, exercise integrity and discretion due to the sensitive nature of the tasks and data, possess savvy problem solving skills in order to stay persistent and thorough on complex tasks, have programming skills to design effective security programs and to analyze cyberattacks, demonstrate an understanding of basic security principles of computer science and network protocols, and know the tools that hackers use to infiltrate systems— malicious codes and intruder techniques.

Jobseekers should earn at least an associate degree, but the majority of careers will need a bachelor’s degree. Universities offer a wide

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range of cybersecurity majors, such as computer science, computer engineering, information assurance, software development and security, criminal justice with a cybersecurity concentration, and administration with a cybersecurity concentration. Even after completing a bachelor’s degree program, jobseekers may do well to seek out advanced training and degrees such as doctor of science in cybersecurity.

Additional licenses and certifications can add to your expertise, as well as specialize your craft into vital areas such as banking or defense. Of particular note is obtaining a security clearance from a government agency or the Department of Defense.

When preparing to enter this industry, as always you should seek out internships that will get you firsthand experience in the field and allow you to make valuable connections to mentors, peers, and employers. Additionally, seek out and go to security conferences, participate in hacking contests, and contribute to open-source projects in order to gain hands-on experience and exposure to real-life security scenarios. These experiences will allow you to build your resume and experiences, and bolster your resume above others.

There are jobs in cybersecurity across the United States, and even more as part of our digitally connected global economy. Employers are seeking qualified candidates with degrees, skillsets, and certifications that demonstrate their expertise and integrity. Students should seek out internships and other experiences that highlight their exposure to real-world security scenarios. The future is bright for jobseekers and students looking to join the cybersecurity field. HE

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