IT Events in Metro Detroit (week of 6/22)

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IT Events in Detroit

The tech scene in Metro-Detroit is bustling with startups, meetups, user-groups and talented IT professionals. To help techies stay in the loop, Brightwing announces IT events in the area every Monday. Such events include networking meetups, tech workshops, and informational seminars. Have an event you’d like us to promote? Contact Us.

 

 

Mon, June 22 – Women in Mobile/Wireless Tech: An Exploration of Opportunity

When: 6:30 – 8:30 pm | Where: The Iroquois Club – 43248 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills

 

mtamAn event designed to encourage women to enter careers utilizing mobile/wireless technologies by showcasing a panel of successful women in a variety of career-types where mobile/wireless technologies knowledge has been instrumental to their success.

 

Thurs, June 25 – Monthly Meetup: Visual Studio with Randy Pagels

When: 5:30 pm | Where: Spud Software – 9468 S Saginaw Rd, Grand Blanc, MI

 

grand blanc .net user groupAs a Sr. Developer Technology Specialist, Randy Pagels serves as a field expert for Microsoft’s flag-ship development and application lifecycle management tools, specifically Visual Studio, Visual Studio Online, Team Foundation Server, Test Professional, Lab management, Release Management, and Azure dev/test scenarios.

 

Visual Studio 2015 is one of the biggest releases ever, with major changes to the entire .NET ecosystem!  There’s Roslyn, support for native Windows, iOS, and Android app/game development, cross-platform mobile development tools, ASP.NET vNext, productivity enhancements, broadened support for commonly-used libraries/frameworks/utilities, ALM enhancements, Application Insights… wow!  It can be tough to wrap your head around all the changes, so come us for quick guided exploration of the many new Microsoft technologies you can add to your developer toolkit.

 

Sat, June 27 – Sun, June 28 – Intro to Ruby (2-day Workshop)

When: 1:00 – 5:00 pm | Where: Atomic Object – 1407 Randolph St, Detroit, MI

 

GDIReady to start programming? Want to learn one language that you can use to build web apps and iPhone apps, do system administration, and security? Then you’re ready to learn Ruby!

 

Through this workshop, you’ll get a thorough introduction to programming fundamentals with Ruby. We’ll use the interactive Ruby shell; write command line programs that use loops, conditionals, methods, and classes; and learn the basics of object oriented programming. We’ll mix lecture and practice, and help guide you through the coursework. Food & drinks will be provided by Atomic Object on both days.

 

Tues, June 30 – Intro to HTML & CSS Workshop

When: 7:00 pm | Where: Grand Circus – 1570 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI

 

GDIThis will be a four 12 hour crash course in HTML in CSS, taught over several days. It’s a great introduction to two of the most fundamental technologies behind any webpage. The class will go through the fundamentals of these two languages, then spend time on some common practical applications of them.

After taking this class, students will be able to: Understand HTML tags, Create a basic website from scratch, Use CSS to change that page’s style and presentation, and more.

 

Wed, July 1 – July Downtown IT in the D Casual Networking Event

When: 5:00 pm | Where: The Whisky Parlor – 608 Woodward Ave Floor 2, Detroit, MI

 

Casual Networking Social for Information Technology Professionals in metro Detroit. No agenda. No speakers. No 30-second commercials. No cover charge. No free lunch. Never. Just networking with IT professionals. Plain and simple.

 

it in the d

So come on out, bring some business cards (or don’t, it’s OK), meet some like-minded people in the Metro Detroit area, and who knows, you could meet a life-long friend, a new business partner, or no one at all…it’s what you make of it that makes these events great.

 

Wed, July 1 – Techstars Mobility at Ford Field

When: 6:00 – 9:00 pm | Where:  Ford Field – 2000 Brush St, Suite 201, Detroit, MI

 

D new tech NewTech is welcoming Techstars Mobility in Detroit in an awesome way. The July D-NewTech event will be sponsored by Techstars Detroit and the pitches will be presented by their 10 portfolio startups. Each entrepreneur will have 4-min to present and then 5-min of Q&A. There will food & beer. YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS!

 

 

Why Michigan Is Leading the Tech Talent Race

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michigan tech talent

The amount of tech talent in Michigan has been growing immensely – Much of this growth has stemmed from the technology entrepreneurship and innovation sector.

 

Read below as Paula Sorrell, former VP at Michigan Economic Development Corporation, shares her experience with the changing entrepreneurship landscape in Michigan and changing perception nation-wide.

 

Original Post: Pure Michigan Talent Connect Newsletter

 

I recently spoke to a great group of students and budding entrepreneurs at MSU, who shared some of the perceptions about starting a tech company, including needing to be located in Silicon Valley to get funded and find tech talent.

 

For Michigan, this is a lay-up. Very few states offer any type of support for early stage tech companies to get off the ground (California isn’t one of them). The cost of living on the coasts is close to prohibitive for young companies. Besides the funding support to help companies get started – and those coming out of a university have an incredibly high 75 percent five-year survival rate – the talent question for early tech companies is addressed on several fronts:

 

1) The tech transfer offices at Michigan’s universities employ 19 part-time mentors in residence. These experienced entrepreneurs help companies build their strategies and develop their products to be ready for funding. They could be retired on a beach but instead choose to give back to the state and the university by dedicating time to helping companies move forward. Many of them opt to join a new company after their engagement with the university.

 

2) The SBDC Tech Team are also mostly made up of nine experienced tech entrepreneurs who help companies create their technology roadmaps, guide them through strategic decisions, and annually help companies in Michigan raise more than $60 million in follow-on funding.

 

michigan tech talent

3) The Tech Transfer Talent Network allows post docs or grad students working on research to continue to build their tech businesses and stay in the state.

 

4) The Hacker Fellows program trains coders to work in tech startups, where they join the best and the brightest.  There are a number of fellows programs that operate around the state and particularly in Detroit – I’m always impressed with their intelligence and dedication.

 

5) The Michigan I-Corps program teaches tech entrepreneurs in our state’s universities how to get customer validation and assess market need for technologies.

 

6) The Smart Zone Incubators and the Business Accelerator Fund match consultants and mentors with tech companies on a regular basis.  They work with the community to identify appropriate “help” and advice for companies.

 

Finally, the students and researchers themselves are an incredibly impressive group at our universities. They are amazing technologists, courageous risk-takers, and fascinating innovators. Because Michigan has outstanding universities and faculty, staff and students who are willing to tread new waters in entrepreneurship, we are certainly the state with the largest advantage.

Developing Detroit: Amber Conville

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The Detroit tech scene is filled with passionate, inspirational individuals who are eager to re-develop Detroit. The city has become a huge technology hub for many tech enthusiasts and innovators.

 

That being said, Brightwing has created Developing Detroit: An interview-based blog to spotlight individuals who drive technology in the city. Discover motivations, advice, and opportunities, straight from the source of Detroit innovation.

 

Our first Developing Detroit interview is with Amber Conville, a Software Engineer who prides herself on helping other software community amateurs & professionals in-and-around Detroit.

 

amber conville

 

AMBER CONVILLE

 

Coder | Tech Group Organizer | Detroit Software Community Activist

What’s your favorite part about your involvement on the tech scene?

I think my favorite part is that once you organize the event, a bunch of like-minded people get together & learn something new. It’s always nice to hear people say, “This is really cool. I feel really inspired to work on this.”

 

Where does your inspiration to code, and collaborate with other tech professionals, stem from?

I just really like coding. I’ve always liked puzzles, and I eventually got into coding just for fun. I’ve had coding jobs for about 7 years now. It’s great.

 

Have you faced any challenges in your programming/software development career? If so, how have you dealt with these challenges?

I’ve been pretty lucky in the jobs that I’ve had so far. I’ve liked them a lot and they’ve had a lot of good mentorship opportunities.

 

What advice do you have for women who are looking to become a programmer/tech professional?

I would say join user-groups and networking groups that are dedicated to women in code. Even if you’re intimidated and don’t fully comprehend what somebody is talking about, you’ll pick up little bits  of information and you’ll meet other people who can help you. It can seem daunting at first, but that’s how you do it.

 

We’ve noticed that you’ve had a lot of involvement in Metro-Detroit’s tech-scene and software community.

What is it about Detroit that makes for a great tech environment?

Well Southeast Michigan has had a pretty amazing tech community anyways for a long time. It just seemed natural that if I wanted a group to exist, I would just make one. Lots of people who organize things are perfectly willing to help you do that here. I love it. Everybody is really excited about Detroit and about the software community. It’s perfect.

 

What’s your vision for Detroit programmers in 5-10 years from now?

Most people are hoping Detroit turns into a Silicon Valley, but I’m really not. I’m hoping that Detroit just keeps doing what it’s doing now. I think Detroit being a software city is awesome. I also think that we need lots of other industries here like art and science-type industries. I’m sure there’s a facet for software in all of those things.

 

What advice do you have for young tech enthusiasts that are looking to join the software community in Metro-Detroit?

Get out into the world. There’s a million meetups and user-groups. There’s a ton of people who are passionate about learning, teaching, and mentorship.

 

What kind of resources does the software community in Metro-Detroit have?

There’s a lot of people who want to help. I would suggest going to tech conferences too. 1DevDay – which has a lot of hard talks, is just one day where you can learn a lot, and there’s not a lot of commitment. TechWeek, SelfConference, and Grand Circus are also great resources for the software community.

 

Are there any tech startups in Detroit that really stand out to you? If so, which ones?

Detroit LabsI haven’t been paying too much to the startup scene. I’m a little biased since I used to work at Detroit Labs, but they are a really great company and they’re doing a lot of great things with their apprenticeship program. They hired about 30 people last year who had no coding background, and most of them are developers now.

 

What are the perks about working in Detroit?

There’s a lot of really great food – I like that a lot! It’s also a great place to learn, grow, and do something new and exciting.

 

Tech professionals have a lot of opportunities and options these days.

What do you look for in an employer?

I work at a company called Test Double and it has all the things I want. It’s small and everybody is on the same page as far as what they want for the company, including the founders. It’s also remote, so I don’t have to leave my house if I don’t want to. Test Double is just really good at investing in their employees. They’re also committed to helping with personal and professional goals outside of work. That’s the kind of relationship that makes for a good company.

 

What are you passionate about and where do you want to take your career?

I really like organizing things that can give opportunities to people that might not have had them anyway. I like to help make things easy, discoverable, and safe to learn.

 

What advice do you have for developers looking for work?

Developers are in demand. Walk outside basically (laughs). But honestly, using your network is the best way to do it. If you don’t know any developers or software connections, start making connections at meetups and user-groups. Also, I suggest looking for programs like the apprenticeship with Detroit Labs.

 

You’ve organized one of the first Ruby user-groups in Detroit.

What inspired you to create the Detroit.rb user-group?Detroit Ruby

This group actually used to exist. It hadn’t met in over a year before I took it over. I started doing Ruby on Rails with my job now and I really wanted to go somewhere to beef up my skills.

 

What are some of the major advantages you see with this programming language?

Rails is dead easy for doing most things that you need to do on the web. That really makes it easy for people to get into programming without too much overhead. When you’re starting you can be like BOOM.. I now have a website that has a database, can save things, and looks nice if you put CSS on it. That’s a pretty huge step when you’re new to programming.

 

What advice do you have for programmers looking to learn Ruby?

There’s some really good resources like Rails for Zombies, which is a stupid fun little thing that will teach you how to start working in Rails, and therefore Ruby. I think Why the Lucky Stiff guy is still out there too, which teaches you how to write Ruby with cartoon foxes and silliness.

 

Bonus Questions

When you’re not programming, what do you like to do in your free time?

Play a lot of videogames (laughs)

 

Is there anyone or anything you idolize in the software community?

I have a lot of people that I look up to – it’s A LOT of people. Mostly, it’s the people that I’ve worked that have taught me how to program, and to those who mentored me through tough situations and rough teams. I also look up to the people who taught me how to do user-groups and conferences.

 

Which 3 words best describe the Detroit Tech community?

Passionate | Ambitious | Vibrant

Interested in being featured or have questions about the Developing Detroit series? Contact Joe at [email protected]

Girl Develop It Ann Arbor 1-Year Anniversary Fundraiser

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Girl Develop It (GDI) Ann Arbor is celebrating it’s 1 year anniversary with a fundraising bash on Thursday, June 4th. All are welcome! The celebration honors the amazing Ann Arbor-based women in tech community that Girl It has helped to build up over the last year. Hear brief remarks from some incredible students, instructors and volunteers whose lives have been impacted by their involvement with GDI and mingle with community members who’ve supported the growth and success of Girl Develop It throughout the year.

 

GDI Ann Arbor

Thursday, June 4th 2015

6:00 – 9:00 PM

The Forge 4.0 by Pillar

 

301 E Liberty St., 7th Floor

Ann Arbor, MI 48104

DIRECTIONS





GDI Ann Arbor has grown into a community of over 900 members locally, 25 instructors, 40 volunteers and have held almost 50 events including classes, informational talks, and happy hours.
 
They have invited over 40 local, hiring companies – so there will be plenty of opportunities for networking and engaging with the Ann Arbor tech community! All proceeds from the event will go toward Girl Develop It programming and scholarships to help women, including underrepresented and unemployed women, take the group’s classes to further their careers.

Purchase your ticket today before they sell out.

 
About Girl Develop It

Girl Develop It is a nonprofit organization that exists to provide affordable and judgment-free opportunities for women interested in learning web and software development. Through in-person classes and community support, Girl Develop It helps women of diverse backgrounds achieve their technology goals and build confidence in their careers and their everyday lives. The group has chapters in 47 cities across the country. For more information on Girl Develop It visit their website, where you can get info on a chapter near you or learn how to start a chapter in your area.

 

Girl Develop It Detroit

Live in the Metro Detroit area? Check out the Detroit chapter of Girl Develop It. They offer tons of classes for people interested in learning to code or improving their coding skills.

Grand Blanc .NET User Group Meetup – May 14

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Grand Blanc .NET User GroupThe Grand Blanc .NET Users Group is for developers working in and around the Microsoft .NET framework. If you are interested in learning more about .NET and related technologies from talented like-minded developers, this group is for you. Best of all, it’s free to join. The regular monthly meetings feature speakers from around Michigan who provide their insights on .NET and other relevant software developer topics. The meetings are typically on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 5:30 PM. The food and drinks are provided by Brightwing.

 

THE NEXT MEETUP
Thursday, May 14, 2015 5:30pm
UM Flint -William White Building – Room 3203
303 East Kearsley Street, Flint, MI
Price: FREE
Sign up online to RSVP (space is limited)

 

TOPIC: ALTERNATE LANGUAGES FOR THE CLR
This month, RIIS Software Developer, Onorio Catenacci, will discuss alternate languages for the CLR. Most developers think of C# and .Net as being synonymous but this is a bit of a misconception. There are other languages available to the .Net developer – languages that can make certain jobs much easier and less error-prone.

 

Onorio will discuss some of these alternate .Net languages and how to integrate them into a .Net project. Onorio is a software developer with 20+ years of experience. He’s especially interested in functional programming and he lead the F# special interest group in Southfield for several years. He also led the Great Lakes Functional Programming Conference in Ann Arbor in 2012.

 

Are you interested in speaking on a topic at the next Grand Blanc .NET User Group? Contact the group through their meetup page. The group also loves to give away swag at the meetings. Software licenses, geek devices, tech books, t-shirts and more are always greatly appreciated by attendees!

 

Looking for a .NET job? Check out all Brightwing’s jobs.

Programming Language Map: Job Breakdown

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Which programming languages support the most jobs in your state? Data suggests that popularity among languages don’t always coincide with employment trends.

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Programming Language Map: Job Breakdown

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Which programming languages support the most jobs, with the least competition, in your state? New data from Experts Exchange suggests that the most popular languages don’t always coincide with employment trends.

 

Location, Location, Location – Programming jobs are often dependent on where we live. For instance, if you’re one of the millions of people who prefer Java, your safest bet to find a well-suited job may lie within Washington, Nebraska, or Mississippi. User-friendly Python, on the other hand, provides an abundance of jobs in California and New York. And wow – Microsoft’s C# is among the most widely demanded languages with low competition.

 

Programming Map

 

Why is C# the most demanded language?

Every year, demand and popularity among programming languages seem to trend in new directions. But why C#? One contributing factor may lie within emerging tech hubs like Detroit and Dallas. Many tech startups and firms are trending towards the innovative C# – as it’s often referred to as a blue chip (high quality, widely accepted) platform. It also doesn’t hurt that it provides beautiful, visual coding support tools. Since C# is still emerging, the demand for developers will likely evolve – but not subside.

 

The rest of the pack

Some developers consider Python as the Apple to programming languages since it focuses on readability and simplicity. Mega sites like Google and Yahoo use Python, and 10 states list Python as the most demanded language for tech jobs. This language isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Since Java and JavaScript both have widespread popularity, the combination of many jobs and low competition is rare. That being said, there doesn’t seem to be much of a geographical trend among these languages. Perl is all by itself in Maine – perhaps because Maine has heavy demand for bioinformatics professionals, where they must know the language.

 

Which programming language represents your state? Do you think that demand and competition among languages directly affect programmer salaries? We think so.

 

SEE ALSO: Programming Languages That Pay the Most

Project Management Event: Spring Symposium

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Looking to discover project management opportunities and insights? If so, join Brightwing and others as we sponsor the 14th Annual Spring Symposium – Retool For Success in a Changing World. This event, brought to you by PMI Great Lakes, is loaded with networking opportunities and speaker presentations. As an added bonus, attendance will earn you 8 PDUs (Professional Development Units) to adhere to continuing certification requirements.

 

Opening Keynote Speaker | Tony Zeiss – “Staying Relevant in a Changing World: Four Secrets to Success”

Dr. Zeiss has been a community college professor for thirty years, and is a recognized national leader in professional development and leadership coaching. He’s also been named the CEO of the year in Colorado & North Carolina.

 

Closing Keynote Speaker | Anthony Reed – CPA, PMP

Reed has over 30 years of IT experience, including 25 in project management and executive positions. His area of expertise has been analyzing and implementing multi-million dollar, international applications for some of DFW’s largest fortune 500 companies. He has finished over 100 marathons on all seven continents, and in all 50 states – wow.

 

Speakers List | Full Agenda | Register Now

pmi

Programming Languages that Pay the Most

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Ever wonder which computer programming languages pay the most? Upon researching some of the most popular ones, we discovered some intriguing information.

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Programming Languages that Pay the Most

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Ever wonder which computer programming languages pay the most? According to Business Insider, the average salary for computer programmers just hit an all-time high as it approached $100,000.

 

Having knowledge in programming languages such as Objective C, Java, or .NET is proving to be highly rewarding. Upon researching some of the most popular programming languages with the TIOBE Programming Index, we discovered some intriguing results. The graph below represents the 10 highest paying programming languages to use[Quartz], with their respective popularity (as of March, 2015).

 

programming languages

 

Ruby

Although it’s not quite as popular as your Java and C languages of the world, Ruby has been emerging lately as one of the top choices for tech startups in the United States. Since it’s fully-open sourced, and has a large community culture, Ruby is likely to rise in popularity soon.

 

Objective C

Used by some of the first iOS developers, it comes to no surprise that Objective C is one of the most popular and rewarding programming languages. Today, object-oriented Objective C, often works side-by-side with Apple’s new Swift language.

 

Python

This widely used high-level programming language is perhaps as popular as it is because it allows programmers to express concepts in fewer lines of code.

 

Java

One of the biggest reasons Java is so popular today is because it’s a favorable option for client-server web applications. There are approximately 9 million Java developers – many of them can expect to earn nearly $100,000.

 

C++

In the middle of the pack comes C++, a general-purpose programming language that has been around since the early 80’s. Used for many system programming situations (i.e. embedded systems), experts developing in this department can bank about $93,000 on average.

 

JavaScript

JavaScript is a dynamic computer programming language. It’s probably not as popular as its big brother Java because Javascript code is run on a browser only, where Java creates applications that run in a virtual machine or browser.

 

C

Originating in the 1970’s, C programming language is the oldest, and most popular of all other relevant languages. Many languages have borrowed from C, including Python, Java, and JavaScript.

 

R

The R language is widely used among statisticians for developing data analysis and statistical software. Learning this language is probably right down your alley if you enjoy math.

 

C#

C# is a newer language that is an evolution of C and C++. It was designed to build a wide range of enterprise applications that run on the Microsoft .NET Framework.  This language is trending upward in popularity and has a diverse variety of programming styles.

 

Visual Basic .NET

Another major language of the .NET Framework is Visual Basic .NET. This language uses statements to specify actions, and is mainly used for commercial purposes. Although it comes in 10th in salary (out of hundreds), it’s still among the best languages to know in 2015.

 

Most of these programming languages are paired with IT jobs that are in high demand –  some of which will surely be around for a long time, but are increasing in popularity and competition every year. No matter the case, if you’re thinking of being a computer programmer or learning more coding languages, you’ve most likely made a good decision.

 

SEE ALSO: Programming Language Map: Job Breakdown

 

Deciphering UI and UX | The Basics

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In today’s professional world, the concepts of UI and UX are being used interchangeably. Understanding the difference will help companies to hire and target the right people, optimize design efforts, and help professionals make sound and optimal career-related decisions.

 

ui/ux

In other words – “A UI without UX is like a painter slapping paint onto canvas without thought; while UX without UI is like the frame of a sculpture with no paper mache on it. A great product experience starts with UX followed by UI. Both are essential for the product’s success.” – Rahul Varshney, Co-creator of Foster.fm.

 

UX Design refers to User Experience Design – It’s the process of development and improvement of quality interaction between a user and all facets of a company. It is in theory a non-digital (cognitive science) practice, but used and defined predominantly by digital industries.

 

UI Design refers to User Interface Design – it is responsible for the transference of a brand’s strengths and visual assets to a product’s interface as to best enhance the user’s experience. It’s a digital field, which includes responsibility for working with developers or code. (Career Foundry, 2014)

 

If you would like to learn more about the benefits of  defining and differentiating UI & UX, be sure to check out UI vs. UX – The Dilemma & The Basics seminar with Grand Circus in Detroit. Not only will they discuss the overlaps between the disciplines, but they will also clarify the roles and responsibilities for both UI Design and UX Design.

 

If you are on currently job hunting, inquire about one of our Brightwing’s IT Jobs. We have a diverse range of opportunities including contract to hire, as well as, direct IT jobs with our clients. To sign up for job alerts, and receive helpful information to assist you in the pursuit of your next job, join our talent community.

 

victor

For nearly 10 years, I have been specializing in professional technical recruiting. I take pride in finding talented opportunists and being that “Go-to-Guy” for my candidates and contracted employees. In my free time, I like to play hockey and relax on the boat with my family.

LinkedIn

 

 

 

Computer Programming For Kids: Hackaball

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It’s not easy to promote both coding and healthy living for kids. Engineering innovation companies, Made by Many and MAP, are attempting to change the way kids interact with programming by introducing Hackaball – a new toy that promises to get kids off their butts and play outside, all while learning various computer programming skills.

 

The ball-shaped toy comes packed with LED lights, a speaker, a processor, and a lot more! Not only can Hackaball be used as an alarm clock and a sound recorder, but it can also be used to create games. Its outer silicone membrane acts as a shock absorber, which allows for it to be thrown and played with.  At $69 a pop, kids can own their very own coding Hackaball.

 

So how does Hackaball work? With a free space-themed mobile application, kids can write if-then rules that allow them to create their own kind of play. They decide how they want to use it. For example – kids can make it so that any time the ball drops or hits a wall, it changes colors. They could also program it to vibrate or make noises based on a command. Older kids can even create games with Hackaball – A hit-counter game, as shown in video, can be created with the ability to save high scores thanks to a Hackaball memory chip. The possibilities of coding creativity are endless.

 

Hackaball engineers launched a one-month Kickstarter campaign for the toy’s support and development. In one week, Hackaball raised about three-fourths of its $100,000 goal!

 

Hackaball will allow kids to be part of the computer programming maker generation. These kind of developments can change the outlook on IT jobs, as more people will be encouraged to code at a young age.

Exciting Scholarship Opportunities for Metro Detroit Developers

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scholarship opportunitiesGrand Circus is excited to announce the scholarship opportunities for their upcoming Enterprise Developer Bootcamp. The role of an enterprise developer is exciting – salaries of senior .NET developers average $105,000 annually and career opportunities pop up every day across metro Detroit. Employers are looking for .NET talent, and are ready to fill these positions upon bootcamp graduation.

 

Grand Circus has three scholarship opportunities available – all applicants can apply to as many scholarships as they qualify for:

 

– The Microsoft Scholarship – celebrating the inventors of the .NET framework, this scholarship is for individuals committed to reinvesting in the city of Detroit and its residents.

 

– The Dr. Grace Hopper Scholarship – celebrating the inventor of the first programming compiler and the reason the COBOL programming language exists, this scholarship is from women making the leap into the tech industry.

 

– The Dr. Clarence Ellis Scholarship – celebrating the first African-American phD in Computer Science, this scholarship is for underrepresented minorities within the industry.

 

Scholarship applications are available to all applicants to Grand Circus’s Enterprise Developer Bootcamp in the second phase of the application process. Apply to the boot camp today! To get into touch with Grand Circus about these scholarship opportunities, give them a call at 313.338.8379.

 

Brightwing is currently looking for passionate .Net Developers to work on cutting edge technologies. If you know someone in the field, introduce them to Brightwing and you can earn a $1,250 referral bonus and a $50 Visa gift card! You can submit your referrals here.

Earn a $1,250 Referral Bonus For .NET Developers

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net developer job michigan

So here’s the deal – We’re looking for passionate .Net Developers to work on cutting edge technologies with one of our long-time clients in Michigan. The position will utilize the latest versions of Visual Studio and MVC frameworks. Our Michigan client has a fun, faced paced environment where forward thinking is accepted and preferred. If you know someone with these skills, introduce them to Brightwing and you can earn a $1,250 referral bonus and a $50 Visa gift card!

 

How does it work?

1 – Submit your .Net Developer referrals online at brightwingbdev.wpenginepowered.com/referral-program/

2 – You will automatically recieve a $50 Visa card for any .Net Candidate who interviews with us. For            successfully place candidates, you will earn 20% of the $1,250 bonus upon placement and the                remaining 80% will be paid out after the employee has worked 90 days.

3 – In addition, to thank you for your kindness, you will receive a $25 gift card for every 5 qualified                referrals you provide in a 12 month period.

 

What makes a referral qualified?

A qualified referral will contain one or more of the following criteria:

–   Someone you’ve worked with in the past

–   Someone that has been personally referred to you

–   Someone you met while networking

 

* Please note, all Brightwing employees will earn additional points under the Partner Points Program      for the initial referral as well as the candidate placement.

Software Developer Opportunities in Metro Detroit

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There is no better time than now to jump-start your career as an IT professional in the Metro-Detroit area. According to the Detroit Free Press, user-interface software developers and systems engineers are 2 of the hottest jobs in Michigan this year!

It’s no easy task to start or change career paths. Luckily for Detroiters, there are resources out there that allow you to develop IT and software development skills in a matter of months.

 

software developer

Take Grand Circus Detroit for instance – A proud Downtown Detroit company dedicated to producing fresh, local high-quality tech talent. They’re known for their intensive 8-week bootcamps that give students everything they need to know to start a tech career. One woman, Chandra Floyd, quit her job of 11 years to chase her dreams with Grand Circus Detroit.

Girl Develop IT is another organization that shows individuals how to master the ropes of coding and software development. They are a nonprofit organization that exists to provide affordable and accessible programs to women who want to learn web and software development through hands-on instruction. Girl Develop IT’s Michigan chapters include Detroit and Ann Arbor.

 

There are more tech opportunities than ever in the Metro-Detroit area. Whether you have a desire to become a software or web development professional – or just want to enhance your knowledge, look no further than your local tech development organizations.

If you are ready to discover a new job opportunity now, you may be in luck! Inquire about Brightwing’s information technology jobs for current openings.

Monthly Developers Meetup – DevLunch

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Looking for an opportunity to meet up with other Techies and Developers in the Metro Detroit area? If so, Brightwing is proudly sponsoring Great Lakes Area .Net Users Group (GANG) as they host DevLunch on January 28th. On the 4th Wednesday of every month, local developers meet to talk tech, socialize and network over lunch.

As a volunteer-driven, developer-focused organization, GANG is dedicated to .NET development and other related subjects. If you don’t know a lot about the industry, it’s a great opportunity to learn from some of the pros over a casual lunch. Attendance at these events is absolutely free!

 

Location

Granite City Food and Brewery.Net Developers

699 West Big Beaver Road Troy, MI 48084

Next Lunch

Wednesday, January 28

5:00pm – 6:30pm

 

Looking for career opportunities as .Net Developer? Check out Brightwing’s IT jobs and inquire openings on our website! You can also set up job alerts to make sure you never miss out on a job opportunity.

IT Networking Event – Connections Happy Hour

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Calling all tech enthusiasts! Join Brightwing as we sponsor Connections Happy Hour on Thursday, January 8th. We look forward to teaming up with Metroplex Technology Business Council (MTBC) in this beneficial networking event.

Connections gives you the opportunity to meet other tech playmakers in the Dallas area, reconnect with past partners, and discover the latest happenings in the Dallas-Fort Worth tech scene. If you are looking for a job opportunity, this may be a great place to kick-start your search.

As the largest technology trade association in Texas, MTBC’s Connections Happy Hour is an event you won’t want to miss!

Networking Event

 

Location

 

The Social House in Addison
5100 Belt Line Rd., #410
Addison, TX 75254

 

Date/Time

 

Thursday, January 8th
5:30 pm start time

 

Looking for a job right now? Get a head start by checking out our IT jobs and inquire openings on our website! You can also set up job alerts to make sure you never miss out on a job opportunity.

 

EVENT: The Three Best Ways IT Professionals Can Gain Soft Skills in Detroit

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get It jobs

Are you looking for a job in IT? Make sure that you are presenting more than just your technical skills to potential employers. In a study released April of this year, it was found that 77% of employers  believe that “soft skills (less tangible skills associated with one’s personality, such as a positive attitude) are just as important as hard skills. Sixteen percent of employers said soft skills are more important than hard skills when evaluating candidates for a job .”

Brightwing, “IT in the D” and New Horizons Computer Learning Centers have a solution to the “soft skills” problem!  We are teaming up to help you improve the way that you present yourself to potential employers in our FREE half day workshop! Attendees will learn:

–The Ten Commandments of Networking – Leaders of “IT in the D” hilariously break down effective networking in 10 easy steps

–Getting the most out of your recruiter relationship – When you’re a techie, it’s incredibly likely that you will be contacted by a recruiter. We can teach you how to use the experience to your advantage, and make you aware of red flags.

–Resume writing and interviewing skills – Recruiting in the Detroit area for over 40 years has given Brightwing some serious perspective. We have seen everything, from awkward to heartwarming, and want to help you make the best impression.

Set yourself up for success and join us on August 14th!

REGISTER HERE

How to Stay Relevant in Mobile App Development

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job for mobile app development

Mobile app development is hot, and to stay relevant you need to keep your skills sharp. As of January 2014 mobile apps made up 47% of Internet traffic. This is the first time that mobile app usage alone has exceeded internet usage of PC’s. What’s more, 43% of mobile phone owners (globally) now use the market leader, Android. From a technical standpoint, to stay relevant in mobile app development, developers need to continually learn new skills and push the envelope, while also embracing and mastering the soft skills.

Our friends at The Muse created The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development (below) for Software Engineers and Mobile App Developers. The guide gives great tips and tricks for all areas in IT, especially mobile app development as this niche is exploding with growth.  The experts talk about the importance of continued learning, effective communication skills, management experience, conferences to attend and must read books. Are you looking for an Android mobile app development job? Click here! To create your own career growth plan as a mobile app developer, read on…

 

The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Engineers from The Muse

10 Easy Ways to Become A Better Web Developer

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How to become a better developer

Click photo to enlarge

In an industry that has the tendency to change overnight, the most successful web developers are the ones who are always learning. This past week I had the pleasure of attending Self.Conference in Detroit. The conference was for web developers, by web developers and while some aspects were past my level of understanding (I’m just starting to learn), a common theme kept coming up: You don’t know everything, you’ll never know everything, and no one else knows everything either. In a nutshell, the most successful people are the those that continue to learn new things. If you approach your technical challenges at work or in play with the idea that intelligence can be developed (see image) and is not something that you “should already know” (static intelligence), you will overcome blocks in the road and be better equipped to take on new challenges. Ready to get started?

Here are 10 ways to challenge yourself that can teach you problem solving skills and give you the tools to succeed as a web developer:

1. Join user group communities
More likely than not, there are groups of web developers in your area that meet on a regular basis (check out meetup.com). In addition to camaraderie, user groups will allow you to pair with a mentor, be a mentor, teach you something new about skills you have, inform you of the next “hot” thing, and let you expand your mind outside of your job. This will help you grow as a professional and as a person. If there isn’t one in your area, start one. Our personal favorites are IT in the D and Great Lakes Area .Net User Group.

2. Partner code with someone new
One of the Self.conference speakers spoke about ways to push forward innovation in code, and partnering with new people or co-workers can allow you to look at a problem differently. Think about the combinations of web developers: Master and master, novice and master, and novice and novice. In every situation there is learning and challenge involved so don’t always partner with someone in your comfort zone.

3. Take a class
Again, tech moves incredibly fast and there are groups that are willing and excited to teach you what they know. A few of our favorites are New Horizons, Girl Develop IT, and Grand Circus.

4. Work with a mentor
Outside of a classroom, you can also find a mentor who will work with you one on one. If you check your ego and immerse yourself in their expertise you have the ability to master a new skill and may find a new passion.

5. Learn from mistakes you make
Making a mistake is unfortunate unless you learn why it was a mistake. Knowing how and why a system, app, program, etc. breaks is a step in the direction of mastery.

6. Attempt to learn a new language every year
Learning new skills will break you out of your rhythm and possibly give you new ideas or ways to problem solve.

7. Learn all aspects of the business
Ignorance is not always bliss. If you find yourself getting frustrated with different areas of your company, for example the business development team, figure out what makes them  tick and how they work. Like you, there are reasons for the decisions they make, knowing the process better will help you understand and even better predict client needs.

8. Attend a conference
Definitely attend a conference. In addition to building your professional network, conferences give you the opportunity to test drive new skills and forecast what is next.

9. Teach
This goes back to master partnering with a novice. Teach a novice web developer your perfected skills, and chances are that you yourself will learn something in the process.

10.  Have patience, and use repetition
The first speaker that I heard from at Self.conference spoke about using repetition and practice to perfect your craft. While you may be a Ruby on Rails ninja, there is always room for improvement.

The best way to take control over your career, other than networking and personal branding, is to make sure that you are always learning. Try out something new that interests you, or teach someone a new skill. You will never regret time spent tackling a new challenge.

Looking for a Web Developer Job? Check out all of our jobs and apply today.

 

How 5 Detroit Women Landed IT Jobs

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“Because Detroit is a baby tech community, we are helping to build a diverse IT community from the ground up. People from different backgrounds, cities, upbringings are able to get started, and land IT Jobs here.” – Erika Carlson

it jobs girl develop it grand circus

It’s no secret that Detroit is becoming a hot  scene for IT development and IT jobs of all kind. Groups such as Girl Develop IT (GDI) and Grand Circus are really working to make a community of learning to support and sustain that growth. On April 30th, GDI and Grand Circus held a Women in Tech Web Careers Panel Discussion to teach learners and practitioners of all levels how to navigate the wide variety of IT jobs available. Some attendees came to ask where they should start, some wanted to know how to transition as well as how their skills would apply to different jobs. Deena Wiltsie (Recruiting Panelist for Brightwing), Chandra Floyd (Detroit Institute of the Arts), Erika Carlson (Detroit Labs), Laura Eagin (Freelance), Nicole Rodriguez (Xperience) and Monica Wheat (Founder of Digerati Girls), spoke to the challenges and successes they have had finding IT jobs, clientele, navigating a male dominated field, and why it was all worth it.

Key takeaways :
-If you are making a complete shift in your career, even if you have been working for 20 years, don’t look down on entry level positions. They get your foot in the door and can really help you learn.
-Show how passionate you are about learning and the industry when interviewing, even if you have minimal development skills.
-Put yourself out there and opportunities will float your way.
-Job shadowing can be an incredible way to learn what you know, what you don’t and what you need to learn.
-Learning HTML makes a designer better at what they do.
-The experience that you get while problem solving is invaluable. Development is a way to help people solve their business issues or questions.
-Consistent learning is the best part!
-Communication is INCREDIBLY important on development teams.
-Make sure you have an online portfolio to showcase your work or projects.

Click on the image below, or click here to view the full story.

women in tech it jobs

 

IT Career Event: Interviewing and Job Search Skills for IT Professionals

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Michigan it jobs search Brightwing and New Horizons are teaming up to help you market your IT skills. Join us for a day of FREE workshops that are sure to make you stand out from the crowd!

Are you looking for a job in IT? Have you taken courses to further your experience? Brightwing and New Horizons are working together to make sure you are not only prepared for your tech job search, but that you are confident in yourself as well as your resume.

In addition to our breakout sessions, New Horizons will be raffling off an iPad Mini, and Brightwing will be raffling off a $300 gift card to Micro Center!

The event will be held on May 21, 2014 at the New Horizon’s Livonia Campus 14115 Farmington Rd, Livonia, MI, 48154. Event starts at 8:30 and goes until 12:30.

look for an IT job in michigan

 

9am – Sign-in & Networking

  • Coffee and light snacks will be served
  • Meet with Brightwing recruiters and representatives from New Horizons

 

9:30 am – 10:15 am – Personal Branding Workshop

  • What to wear to an interview – Get all your questions answered
  • How to effectively use social media to enhance your personal brand and tricks to help you get found. We will cover LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+

 

10:30 am – 11:15 am – Get the Most out of your Recruiter Relationship

  • How to identify a good recruiter
  • Tips to help you steer clear of bad recruiters
  • Propel your career forward by creating a life-long relationship with your recruiter

 

11:30-12:15 – Resume Writing/Interviewing Skills

  • Resume Writing: Beyond the Basics
  • Real world tips for preparing for today’s toughest interviews
  • After the interview: What to say and do to ensure you make it to step 2 and beyond

 

Looking for a job right now? Get a head start by checking out our IT jobs and applying on our website! You can also set up job alerts to make sure you never miss out on a job opportunity.

 

A Mobile World: IT Staffing Strategies Must Adapt [Infographic]

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In order for your IT staffing strategy to be effective, mobile recruitment has to play a huge role. The growth of mobile usage in the past 3 years has gone from 35% to 56% and will only continue to grow. What’s more, a mobile presence is even more important when staffing tech savvy IT professionals. The statistics don’t lie: 50% of the average global mobile web users access the web almost exclusively on their smartphone. The infographic below by Staff.com illustrates just how many people are searching for jobs via a mobile device. So, if your IT Staffing strategies aren’t paying off, make sure job applicants can find your jobs via a mobile device and painlessly apply. Want more hiring tips? Fill out the form to the right, to receive tips on how to hire your most valuable employee.

IT staffing strategies

Author: Elyse L. Turner

Invest in Yourself: The 20 Best Ways to Improve Your IT Skills

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learn to code and gain it skillsFriend of Brightwing, IT in the D (Detroit for those not familiar), runs one of the best and largest networking groups in the Metro Detroit Area, blog and internet radio show of the same namesake. Recently, a blog was written explaining their frustrations with net-workers who accept job rejection instead of taking the initiative to learn a new IT skill or code language. There are so many ways to gain new IT or technical skills, but you have to be proactive. Here are the best coding resources that we’ve found, many of which are at little to no cost. When you’re ready, get to it! Your next opportunity may be closer than you think.

1.Girl Develop IT– There are branches in many large cities, and the classes are reasonable or even FREE (Isn’t it a magical word?). I will be taking my intro to HTML & CSS class with these chicks. They rock. While it is Girl Develop IT, they do not discriminate. Men can sign up too.

2.Hackbright Academy– For West Coasters this is a great resource for women looking to learn code and become software engineers.

3.Girls Who Code– Another great resource looking to teach women to code! Their mission says it all, “Girls Who Code programs work to inspire, educate, and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities.”

4.Grand Circus Co– This Detroit based group offers classes with the mission to elevate the tech community. If you are in the Detroit area and are able to check it out, you should. They are doing some amazing things.

5.Codecademy– This site helps you learn, from your own home, JavaScript, HTML and CSS, and jQuery for FREE.

6.OHours– This site allows for you to have office hours with professionals who want to share their skills. Are you building an app, and have some serious questions about all aspects from development to launch? Find someone to talk to!

7.Code School– This site allows you to learn GIT, BACKBONE.JS, SASS, Rails and JQuery. For a small monthly fee all this can be yours.

8.Treehouse– This interactive learning site allows you to learn web design, web development, iOS development, Android development, and WordPress. The basic subscription is $25/ month, Pro $49/ month.

9.Processing– Since 2001, Processing has been a programming language, development environment, and online community.

10.Meetups– Meetup is a great site that allows groups with similar interests to “Meet Up.” Many of these groupd are user groups, learning and teaching. Check it out, there will certainly be a group that can connect you to your end goal!

11.Blogs-

12.Apps-

13.MIT Open Courseware-“The idea is simple: to publish all of our course materials online and make them widely available to everyone.” Dick K.P. Yue, Professor, MIT School of Engineering. Don’t you want to be able to say “How bout dem apples” at the end of a course? Act like Will Hunting and consume all of the information you can.

14.Udacity– The mission speaks for itself: “Our mission is to bring accessible, affordable, engaging, and highly effective higher education to the world. We believe that higher education is a basic human right, and we seek to empower our students to advance their education and careers.”

15.Mozilla Developers Network–  This site, nicknamed MDN exists as an, “evolving learning platform for Web technologies and the software that powers the Web.” This includes CSS, HTML, Javascript, Opne web app development, firefox add-on development and firefox OS development.

16.The Code Player– Here you can, “Learn HTML5, CSS3, Javascript and more…Video style walkthroughs showing cool stuff being created from scratch”

17.Coursera– Coursera’s mission is to “Partner with top universities and organizations worldwide, to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free.”

18.Khan Academy– On Khan Academy you can learn much more than programming (I’ve listened to a history class from time to time), but intro to programming and more specific courses are readily available for your viewing and listening pleasure.

19.Learn Python The Hard Way– Like its namesake, this site makes you learn Python the hard way. It forces you to actually learn how to write, and not copy pre-existing code. Go hard or go home right?

20.HTML5 Rocks–  A product of Google, this site is all HTML5 all the time

Did I scare you? Check out any or all of these sites, groups, and forums at your own pace, but do check them out. You are much better off trying something out and learning from a setback, than not trying at all.