On Wednesday, December 14, 2022, a panel of technology professionals will discuss how they started their careers. “Paths Into Tech” attendees will learn about scholarships, educational programs, and tips and tricks for breaking into the industry. The free event will be held at Ohio Country Public Library in Wheeling, WV, starting at 6:30 p.m., and is open to the public.
Panelists will include:
- Anne Jackson, senior UI/UX (User Interface/User Experience) designer at PPG
- Jeremy Doolin, associate professor at West Virginia Northern Community College
- Teal Larson, software engineer at Airbyte
The event will also have free refreshments and plenty of time before and after the panel to network. (If you want to skip the small talk, the panel will start at 7 p.m.!)
The event is intended to encourage and support locals who are interested in or just curious about technology careers. While there aren’t a huge number of technology jobs locally, it’s a fantastic industry for remote workers, who can get all the benefits of a higher-paying job while enjoying the low cost of living here in the Ohio Valley compared to a tech hub like New York City or San Francisco.
Libby Horacek, a software developer with the New York-based consultancy Position Development, will host the event and moderate the panel. Horacek moved back to Wheeling from New York City during the pandemic. She missed attending tech events, so she decided to organize her own. “I needed a lot of help in starting my career in tech,” she says, “and this event is a way to pay that forward and meet some new friends in the process.”
