Californiacommunitycollegessandiego Imperialregion

CaliforniaCommunityCollegesSanDiego–ImperialRegion

InformationCommunicationTechnologies(ITC)/DigitalMediaSector

Minutes

Friday,December12,2014,4:00p.m.–7:00p.m.

SanDiegoCityCollege,RoomMS140

FacultyIndustryinAttendance

RoseLaMuraglia,MichelleGray,SallyDeaton,KathleenLopez,RichardGholson,PatNewman,

CarolBurton,CharleneAtkins,EvanDonaldson,TomLuibel,GregoryDifferding,VickiMaheu,RickCassoni,TheresaSavarese,WalterWesley,CliftonQuinn,LarryForman,PaulMargolin,JamalRogers,JudithHicks,ElizabethNorvell,ChuckPhillips,AlfonsoSaballet,JodiReed,GaryHayslip,RandGreen,LeroyBrady,SudabehPhillips,andLisaRodriguez.

CALLTOORDER

ThemeetingwascalledtoorderbyRoseLaMuragliaat4:00p.m.Introductionsweremade.

GENERALINFORMATION:

RoseLaMuragliagavebackgroundonDoingWhatMattersInitiativeandthepurposeandgoalsofthepaneldiscussionwithregardstoperspective,programs,demand,andLMI.

Theoutcomeofthegrantafteroneyearandfourmonthwere:tenpeoplewenttotheMid-PacificITCConferencelastwinter,learnedaboutandbroughtbackinformationandknowledge;fivemeetingswereheld;QualcommhadaCommunityCollegeDaywhicheightpeopleattended;groupswenttodifferentcollegestotalkwithstudentstotellthemwhatjobsareindemand.

Shediscussedwheretheprogramisgoingnow.TheQuickstartcompanywilldoITtraining,anddeansfromthecollegesneedtoletherknowwhogoingtowhichcourse.

PhilBlairofManpoweragreedtodoapresentationtofacultyandcounselorsatSanDiegoCityCollege.

Certificatesarefastwayintojobs,anddegreescantaketimebecauseofremedialandotherrequirements.Collegesneedtoquantifythatcertificateshavevalue.Sheemphasizedthatcertificatesarethebeginning,nottheend;butalsoneedtobegoodforpeoplecomingbackandretoolingforcareerchange,too.

SheofferedthefactoidthatsaysSanDiegohashighestpercentageoffouryeardegreegraduatesworkingasbartendersandbaristas.

IntroductionofPanel

 / EvanDonaldson: / InfosystemsManagingDirector
 / BenMolten: / ConnerNetworkPresident
 / JamalRogers: / USNavy/SPAWARProgramManager,SoftwareDevelopment
 / ChuckPhillips: / DigitariaChiefTechnologyOfficer
 / GaryHayslip: / CityofSanDiegoDeputyDirector,ChiefInformationSecurityOfficer
 / PaulMargolin: / BoozAllenSr.SoftwareAnalyst
 / JenniferPniak / DigitariaHumanResourcesManager
 / JudyHicks / SolarTurbinesHumanResourcesSr.AdministrativeAssistant

GENERALDISCUSSION

Chuckreiteratedthesentimentthatemployeeswhoworkedtheirwaythroughschoolthriveandaremorewillingtopushtheirlimits

Garyspokeofthedifficultiesofhiringcandidateswithnodegree,includingpushbackfromexecutivemanagementandprovingacquiredknowledge,butsaidsuchcandidatescanbegreatassets,also.

Jamalgenerallyagreed,butstatedthatadegreeisbettertohaveduetothebreadthitgivesanemployee.Technologycanbetaught,buttheyneedpeoplewhocanexcelwhentherearenorulesorguidelinestofollow.

Evanrecognizedthattherearepeoplewhohaveshowncreativityandadvancedwithoutdegrees.Intheend,companieshiretosolveproblems,andpeoplewhohavemadetheirwaythroughschoolhavealegupinproblemsolving.

Paulagreed,andexpressedthattheylookforpeoplewhocankeepupwiththeeverchangingtechnologies,aswellashavetheabilitytoworkwellwithothersandmaintainlinesofcommunicationwithsupervisors.

EvanjokedthatwhatPaulmeanttosayisthepersonneedstobeabletosolveproblemswithoutcreatingproblems.

Anaudiencemembernotedthatthepanelhasmentionedproblemsolvingseveraltimes,andasksiftheycouldgiveanexampleofwhattheymean.

Jamalofferedanexampleinvolvingcloudsynchronizationproblems,whicharenoteasilysolvable,andrequireincrediblecreativity,collaboration,communication,andtheabilitytocreatesomethingfromnothing.

Evanofferedexamplequestionsthatemployeesmightbeasked,suchas,“Howdoyoumakeauserinterfacethatsomeonereallylovesusing?Howdoyoudelightacustomer?Howdoyoumakeasoftwareprogramthatsomeoneenjoysusingandwon’tabandonhalfwaythrough?”Someofthesearetechnicalproblems,somearemarketing,andsomeareproblemswithcreativity.Headdedthathisclientswouldbethrilledtofindpeoplethatcouldsolvethesetypesofproblems.

Jamalagreed,andaskedtheaudiencewhattypeofpathinstructorsaretakingstudentsdownwhentheytalkaboutcreativity.

Anaudiencememberrespondedthatheputsstudentsingroups,andletsthemcompeteagainsteachother.Healsogaveexamplesofsomeideasstudentshaveexplored,suchasanappthatcanturnintoacharger,oraredboxtypemachineintheairport.

Roseaskedthepaneltogivetheirinsightonwhetherornottheyfeltthatjustlearningtheexercisesinthebookissufficientenough,ordotheyfeelthattherecouldbeanaddedbenefittohavestudentscreateaprojectusingtheknowledgethattheyjustlearned.

Evanstatedthathefeltthetextbooks“aretoolsthatteachyouthewords,andtheprojectsallowyoutousethosewordstowritepoetry.”

Roserepliedthatthesetextbooksareprojectbasedbooks,andclarifiedthatshe’saskingifitwouldbebeneficialforthestudentstodoprojects“outside”thebooks.

Garystatedthatbetweenallthedepartmentshiscompanyhandles,beit,fire,police,etc.,thebiggestthinghistwosecuritygroupslookforistheabilitytotroubleshoot.Hehasseenpeoplethathaveamaster’sdegreeincyber,butdonothavethecontextualknowledgetheylearnedfromthebookandbeabletoapplyitwhentheirnetworkisbeinghacked.

EvanequatedGary’sstatementwithanexamplefromthemovie“Apollo13,”inwhichtheastronautshadtomakeasquarefilterfitaroundholeusingonlywhattheyhadonboardthecraft.

Garygavemoreexamplesofhowclient’sproblemsanddemandsareeverchangingandemphasizedtheabilitytoadaptandprovidesolutionsateverychange.Heislookingforpeoplethatmaynotknowalltheanswers,butimmediatelyworkhardtofindsolutions.

PaulacknowledgesaquestionfromRoseaboutstandardizedcurriculum.Standardizedcurriculumisgoodbecausestudentscanlearnittop-down,bottom-up.Creativeprojectsaregreatbecausestudentscanexpandtheirowncreativenessandobservehowotherstudentsthink.

Judystatedthatshefoundthatwhatshelearnedinthestandardizedcurriculumdidnothelpheratallinthefield. Sheneededtore-teachherselfhowtouseprogramsandalltheirfeaturesinordertobeabletoperformherjobeffectively.Sheaddedthatpeoplecomingintothejobmarketneedtopayattentiontohowtheircompanywantsthingsdone,correctly

usegrammarandpunctuation,andknowwhatprofessionalformsofcommunicationshouldlooklike.

GaryspoketoJudy’spointandgaveexamplesofhowbadsomeoftheemailcorrespondencehehasseenhasbeen.Hehasnoideahowsomeonecanwriteanexecutiveletteraskingforamilliondollars,andwritethatletterliketheywerepostingonTwitter.

JamalalsoagreedwithJudy’spointonprofessionalisminemails.Hepointedoutthatpeopleneedtobeabletospeakwithpotentialclientsinlaymen’sterms,andassumethattheyneedtoexplaineverythingindetailinordertoeffectivelycommunicateideas.

Evanstatedthatcommunicationisreallytheflipsideofproblemsolving. Ifyoucan’tcommunicateasolutiontosomeone,thenit’sasgoodasnothavingasolution.

MicheleaskedJenniferifshehasanyadviceonwhattotellfaculty,sincehercompanyhiresbothprogrammersandadministrators.

Jennifertalksabouttheimportanceofcorrectspellingandpunctuationonaresume,andadvisesthatcandidatesshouldhavemultiplepeoplelookitover,becausemistakeswillcostthemjobs.

Garyreiteratestheimportanceoftheresume,offeringanexamplewhereafirstapplicantwasmuchpreferred,butthecontactinformationforhisreferencesdidn’twork,sothesecondapplicantgotthejob.

MicheleaskedGaryintermsoflevelsintheITfield,suchasentry,intermediateandadvanced,whereheseesimplementingthecommunicationskillsandtheresumepiece?

Garyexplainedhowhebuiltatractforveteransthatwouldguidethemonhowtoadvanceinthefield,showingnetworkingsites,certificatesneeded,andalltheexperienceneededoverthecourseofa20yearperiod.HestatedthatpeopleneedtounderstandthatgettingapositioninITismorethanjusttakingacoupleclasses,andstressedthatanITresumeisverydifferentthanaregularresume,becauseemployersarelookingforspecificcertificationsandcontinuedgrowthintheindustry.

AnaudiencememberaskedGarytoexplainwhatexactlydoesanentrylevelapplicantreallyneedtohave?

Garyrepliedthattheywillbeunion,mostlyhiredasISA’s1,2,3,4,andshouldhaveaBAoreducation/experience.Youdon’thavetohaveadegreeifyoucanshowexperienceandcertifications.Hestatedthattherearespecificcertificationscandidatesmayneeddependingonwheretheyarehired,suchasSCADAnetworksforpublicutilities,orNetwork+,Windows2008or20012,andLinuxforlibraries.

Anaudiencememberaskedtherestofthepaneltogivetheirinputonwhatitistobeaqualifiedentrylevelcandidate.

Jamalstatedthatthemilitaryislookingforcollegedegrees,BApreferredcertifications,orexperienceifsomeonedoesnothaveadegree.Theyhavearoboticsprogramforhighschoolstudents,andaremainlyworkingwithopensourceandlookingforengineers.

RoseaskedthepanelwhatkindsofjobswouldbeofferedtopeoplewithCityCollegeassociate’sdegreesand/orcertificates.

Evanstatedthathiscompanyisprobablylookingmoreatassociate’sdegrees,butnewhireswitheitherwilllikelystartoutdoingtechnicalsupport,workingtowardstheadministrativeside,websitedesign,dataanalysis,andcoding.

RoseaskedGarywhatcertificatesfromajuniorcollegehewillpayattentiontoandwhichoneshewillnot.

GarystatedthathedoesnotevenlookatCH,andCISSP,becausecandidatesmayhavethecertificatebutstillhavenocontexttogowithit.HemaytrysomeonewhohastakenCiscocourses,Network+,Security+,windows,oranyofthemoreremedialtomid-levelcertifications.HealsoacknowledgedthatsomejuniorcollegelevelstudentsareabovethenormandreallyknowCisco,andhewilloccasionallyhireandcrosstrainthemforhissecuritiesteam.

RoselistedalltheclassesthatCityCollegerequiresstudentstotakeinordertoachieveanassociate’sdegreeorcertificate:A+,Network+,Security+,ClientforWindows,ServerforWindows,ActiveDirectoryServices,BusinessCommunications,CustomerServiceandHumanRelations,crashcourseinOffice,aspeechclass,Linux+,andProject+.ShethenaskedGaryifhefeltthatthosewereadequateforanentrylevelposition.

GarysuggestedeliminatingtheProject+classandimplementingsomethingvirtual,likecloudsecurity.

RosestatedthatCityCollegewasaddingclassesinVMware.

GarystatedthatheprobablywouldwanttolookintotheapplicationsideofVMwaretraining.

Jamalagreedthathiscompanywouldbeinterestedaswell,orifthecandidatehadknowledgeinvirtualboxorHyperV.

Anaudiencememberaskedthepanelwhatsomeofthemoreimportantappsareandthekindsoflanguagespeoplewillneedtolearnforthem.

Chuckansweredthatpeoplewithknowledgeofcrosscompilersoracceleratorsfornativemobileexperiencewouldinteresthim.Headdedthattheyarealwayslookingforpeoplewhohaveadeeppassion,andgoaboveandbeyondwhatisaskedofthemintheclassroom.

Evanofferedhisbeliefthattheindustryismovingtowardsareaslikesecurities,bigdata,opensource,andcloudtechnology.Hefeltthatthoseareareasthatmanycompaniesarehiringfor,butthereisalackofqualifiedcandidates.

Anaudiencememberaskedthepanelwhattheyfeltanapplicantwillneedtobehiredintothebigdataoranalyticssideofthefield,aswellashowtheyfeltaboutstudentscompletingatwoyearprogramandthenbeingbroughtonboardwithacompanyinatwoyearinternship.

Anotheraudiencememberaskedhowthepanelwouldadviseatwoyearstudenttogettheneededexperiencewhichemployersarelookingfor.

Paulnotedthatitdependsonwhichtractthatpersontakes.Forexample,aBAwillnotsufficeforhardcoreanalyticsbecausethepeopledoingthosejobshavePhDs.

Anaudiencememberaskedthepaneltosuggestthreetofourcoreclassesthatwouldhavetobetakenbeforethestudentstartsgoingdownnewtracts.

GarysuggestedlookingatCoursera’scoreprogramfordata.

Anaudiencememberaskedwhatthemembersofthepanelspecificallyneedtosee.

JamalstatedthatbigdataisbornfromGoogleandYahootypes,andisreallymoretrendanalysis.Theproblemwithajuniorcollegestudentgettingthereisthattherearetoomanyworkingpartsthatmakeupdataanalyticstonarrowitdowntoafewcoreclasses.Theamountofdataismassiveandunstructured.

Anaudiencememberaskedifthereareanyjobsinthedatafieldforatwoyearcollegestudent.

Garyrepliedthattheremightbeifthosepeoplewereworkingbehindthescenes,withthecloud,orVMware.

RoseexplainedthatthevariousITdepartmentsaretryingtoputtogetherprogramswhichwillatleastbeabletogetstudentsafootinthedoorinbigdata,andmentionedastudy indicatingthatfocusingononelanguagewasbetterthanbasicknowledgeofseverallanguages.

ChuckagreedthatlearningprogramslikeR,Java,andPythonareneeded,butstillmaynotbeenoughtoworkinbigdata.

EvanstatedthatitwouldbemuchmorebeneficialforstudentstomasterinC,thenlearnayearofonelanguage,moveontothenextlanguage,andsoon.

Pauldisagreedslightly,andstatedthatmasteringCisnoteasyandlearningsomeofthesmallerlanguageandprogramsallowsstudentstostepuptohigherlevels.Headdedthatit’sreallyaboutknowingprogramsandalgorithms.

Jamaltalkedaboutamaster’sprogramthatUCSDoffersforengineeringthatis50%businessand50%learningtheharderlanguages.

Anaudiencememberaskedwhatclasses,asincoursenames,thepanelcouldsuggestthatwouldbegoodenoughtograduatejuniorcollege,andallowpeopletocontinueatauniversityconcurrentlywithatwoyearinternship.

Jamalstatedthatsuchaquestionisdifficulttonarrowdown,becausethesecurityissuesaroundbigdatabreaksintomultipletractsagain.

Garydiscussedhowpublicentitiesrequiredifferentkindsofcompliancestobemetfordifferenttypesofdata.

Paulstatedthatthereisaneedforjuniorprogrammingsupportinthedataanalyticsfield,butisnotsurethatatwoyearcurriculumisenoughtoreallygetstudentsintothefield.

AnaudiencememberremarkedthathefeltstudentswholearnJavawouldnotnecessarilybethepeoplewholearnotherlanguages.Hesawaseparationbetweenadmin,securities,andanalysispositions.

PaulagreedthathavingaverygoodbasicknowledgeofJavaisamustinordertocommunicatewithseniorlevelemployees.

Garynotedthathiscompany’sjuniorandmid-levelemployeeshavemaster’sdegrees.

EvanremarkedthatGaryandPaularerepresentinglargercompanies,andthathefeltthereareentrylevelpositionsinSanDiegoforthesmallcompanies.

Anaudiencememberaskedifthepanelcoulddrawupalistoflanguagesandthenratetheminorderof“needtoknow”tohelpschooladministratorsdevelopcurriculumsforthefields.

Evanstressedthattherearedifferencesbetweendataandbigdata.Someonecouldgetintothedatafieldandgetexperienceasa“dataanalyst,”whichiswhereitwouldbegoodtohavethebasicsofalanguage.

Jamalstatedthat,whenhespeaksofbigdata,heisthinkingaboutwhatistrending,andfromtheredecideswhatkindofanalysistouse.

Rosetalkedabouthowit’simportanttoworkwithwhatwehaveonthebackend,whichisbasicprogramming.ShediscussedsomeresearchshowingthatinSanDiegothemostneededpositionsareinbusinessandofficesupport.ShespokeaboutacertificateinbusinessthatwascreatedwithclassesinWord,Excel,Outlook,etc.,becausethesearethingssomeonewouldneedtoknowwell.Roseaskedthepanelhowtheyfeltaboutknowledgeinsocialmedia,suchasFacebookorLinkedIn.

Thepanelagreedthatitisnotvaluable,andwouldnotbeconsideredinanITposition.ThepanelalsoagreedthatAccessisobsolete,andthatSharePointismuchpreferred.AgoodcandidatewillknowhowtobuildSharePointpagesanddirectoriesincollaborationwithteams.Evanaddedtherearestillsomepositionsforcandidateswhocanbuildwebsitesandmaintaintheminthesmallerbusinesssector.

Roseclarifiedthatthecurriculumthecollegesaretryingtodevelopisnotjustforonecollege,butfortheentireregion.

Jamalofferedthatstudentsshouldhaveatleastoneclassincriticalthinking,problemsolving,andart.

RoseaskedJudyandJennifertodescribetheirpositionsandtoelaborateonsoftwaretheyneedtoknow.

JudysummarizedwhatSolarTurbinesdoes,andnotedthatshehaseightmanagerstoreportto.TheyhavealargeITdepartment,whereentrylevelisdesktopdeployment,movingontoprintcartridges,andthentohelpdesk.

Paulstatedthatconfidentialityandresponsibilityareimportantinpotentialcandidates.

Jennifersuggestedaclassinprojectmanagement,ascandidatesshouldexpecttohandleprojectsthatrangefromfairlysmalltoquitelarge.SheaddedthatstudentsshouldhavefullknowledgeoftheMicrosoftSuite.

GaryexpandedwouldexpectajuniorcollegestudenttohaveaVCA,alongwithNetwork+,Security+,etc.TheVCPtestisextremelydifficult,anddesignedforsomeoneatamoreadvancedlevel.Headdedthatprofessionalism,responsibility,andtopnotchcustomerservicearekeyfactorsforcandidatestohave.

RoseaskedifofferingclassesinCiscoisstillasmartchoiceforthedistrict.

Chuckcommentedthatmoreandmorecompanies,largeandsmall,areswitchingtothecloud.

GaryfeltlearningCiscoisabigstepinunderstandinghownetworkswork,andcanbeanadvantagewhenpeoplestartworkingwiththecloud.GettingcertificationsinCCNAandCCDAisaverygoodidea.Also,prospectivecandidatesneedtobeawarethatstayingcurrentwithrapidlychangingtechnologyrequirespassionandawillingnesstouseandlearnfromresourcesoutsideofschool,includingnetworking.

ChucksuggestedthatstudentslearnfullstepJavaScript,whichiscurrentlyingreatdemandbutshortsupply.CommunitycollegescouldgettheirstudentstoamidlevelJavaScriptpositionwithintwoyears.

Roseaskedifa“programmingbootcamp”mightbesomethingthatcouldworktogetstudentsintheprogrammingfieldsooner.

ChuckandGarybothsaidno.Therearenoshortcutstolearningprogramming,onlytimeandexperience.

Evanstatedthatsomefoundationscouldbebuiltin9monthswithabootcampdesign,butitwouldn’tbeenoughtimetogetsomeoneintothefield.

Michelesuggestedthatcollegesshouldchangetheexpectationsforsuchagrant,becauseindustryisindicatingthatitisn’tasufficienttimeframe.Ifstudentswerenotstartingfromzero,theremightbebetterresults,butbootcampsmightonlybenefitpeoplewhoalreadyhavecertainskillsets.

ADJOURNMENT

Roseconcludedadjournedthemeetingat7:30p.m.

PatriciaPugnier