With an estimated 2 million technology jobs open and a huge shortage of people to fill them, companies are scurrying to hire.
In the Washington, D.C. metro area alone, 650,000 jobs need to be filled and in Charlottesville, while not quite as bustling a tech area, there's a shortage as well. Student Techies, a new business that matches skilled students with needy employers, attempts to combat this deficiency.
Started in August by Paul Doherty, a 1992 College and 1999 Darden alumnus, Student Techies send students to perform a variety of tasks, ranging from setting up networks to Web design to Internet tutorials.
Based on the premise that students can do the job just as well as anyone else and at a lower cost, the company finds students part-time jobs and takes a small commission from their wages.
|
"Companies will pay someone $150 an hour to network their office. We feel that our techies can do it just as well and for a fraction of what they pay other people to do it," Massie said.
Amy Briggs, a fourth-year College student taking a semester off from school, began working for Student Techies this week.
"They were really fast, I put in a resume last Wednesday and I already have a job," said Briggs, who does web design and Internet tutorials.
Pat Cosner, a fourth-year Engineering student, maintains Student Techies' Web site and does Web design for University Printing and Copying Services.
"I work anywhere from 10-15 hours a week, the work has been pretty good so far," he said.
Doherty came up with the idea for Student Techies when he was a case writer for SNL Securities, a Charlottesville firm.
"After graduating from Darden, I was writing about IT staffing and consulting companies. Through my research, I found that the demand for technology support was huge," Doherty said.
He has made many local business contacts through Darden and through SNL securities, where he spent the bulk of his professional career.
Doherty wanted to delve into the world of entrepreneurship and he thought that enabling students to fill the employment gap would alleviate the growing need.
"We think that students are the perfect people for these kinds of jobs. They have grown up using the Internet and computers. They are cutting edge about what's happening in technology," said Ashley Massie, vice president of Marketing for Student Techies and 1992 a College graduate.
But Student Techies has found that selling their idea to clients has been difficult at times.
"Convincing potential employers that students are equally as effective and are most cost-effective than other consultants isn't easy," Massie said.
But nevertheless, after Student Techies began advertising in August, students have been eager to get involved with the company.
"Student response has really been great. We've currently got about 60 students in our database. They are excited and ready to work with us," Massie said.
Student Techies plans on hiring a chief technology officer in the coming weeks. "As soon as we hire a CTO, we need to be in the position where we can expand to three or four cities," Massie said.
Student Techies hopes to prove their concept in Charlottesville in the next month to six weeks.
"We hope that within eight months to be up and down the east coast," Massie said. "There are a lot of other places we could have started this. Areas like D.C. and North Carolina certainly have a demand, but we wanted to be here and we wanted to prove our company using local businesses."
Student Techies gets money by charging a commission on the students' earnings. They advertise that students can get anywhere from $10 an hour for work such as networking and writing HTML, the language of Web sites, to $40 for more complex and in-demand languages.
"Right now we generally take $6 or $7 from the students' hourly wage, sometimes we'll take less, but we haven't taken more." Massie said. "We're in the stage where we're seeing what the clients are willing to pay for different kinds of work."
Student Techies is in the process of partnering with a number of companies. They have forged a partnership with Testengine.com, a Richmond based company that offers computer-delivered testing.
Testengine offers students employed with Student Techies free online testing so students can assess their technical skills. This in turn will allow Student Techies to make a more accurate match with the employer's needs.
Other potential partners include Xperts.com, a company that offers comprehensive Internet-based solutions and staff augmentation services, Computerresale.com, a company that sells refurbished PCs and Expressionnetworks.com, a local company that provides E-Business solutions and network services.
.
Read More
Student Council passes appointment bill, approves new CIOs at final meeting of semester
By Arshiya Pant | 9 hours agoMendoza Gonzalez also said she will be meeting with Kenyon R. Bonner, vice president and chief student affairs officer, to discuss further strategies for the Student Council Endowment Fund.
Professors speak about leading productive dialogue on Israel-Hamas war
By Lexie Stadler | YesterdayThe event was hosted by the University’s Task Force on Religious Diversity and Belonging, which is designed to ensure that the University is welcoming to community members from all religions and cultures.
Honor Committee considers formal ban of AI detectors as evidence in trials
By Lexie Stadler | 2 days agoThe Committee also addressed balancing student perspectives with those of Committee representatives during panel discussions.
