444 N Wabash Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
USA
About This Event
Join General Assembly for a panel of incredible community leaders about the various paths available to developers – from agency, to freelance, to in-house, the skills companies look for in a hire, and the resources to get you started.
What You’ll Take Away:
- What the day-to-day of a web developer looks like
- Various career paths
- Top skills needed to succeed
- Companies in Chicago hiring web developers
- The best communities to meet other development folks
- The ups and downs of this career
Come early to hear about General Assembly’s Web Development Immersive program at our Info Session beforehand, starting at 5:30pm (RSVP here). Stay late to mingle, hear from our experts, and enjoy drinks on us.
Why It Matters: According to the U.S. Department of Labor, by 2020, there will be 1.4 million computer specialist job openings so this means that the door is wide open for individuals who do not have a traditional background in computer science to learn how to code and make an impact on the growing world of technology. So join us to get the scoop on this rapidly growing industry and see if web development is a fit for you.
Agenda:
- 5:30-6:15pm: Check-in and networking OR Web Development Immersive Program Info Session
- 6:15-6:20pm: Welcoming remarks
- 6:20-7:30pm: Panel
- 7:30-7:45pm: Audience Q+A
- 7:45-8:15pm: Mingling and wrap-up
About the Panelists
Software Engineer
NORC at the University of Chicago
Scott Beslow is a 16-year software developer with experience using a diverse set of technologies across organizations both huge and small. Scott has spent the last few years helping startups, non-profits, and could-be entrepreneurs build awesome web apps. In his current role, Scott is a Software Engineer at NORC at the University of Chicago, where his work enables social science research studies. He is passionate about using software to advocate urban sustainability, build a more open government, and innovate for social good, and is an active contributor to the open-source community. Scott has an MS in Environmental Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, and a BA in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Developer
LaunchPad Lab
Wade is a developer at LaunchPad Lab in Chicago. He got into software development to make awesome things for people who want to make life better for themselves and others. He spends most of his days tinkering and building in JavaScript and Ruby, but he’s always exploring new and exciting languages and frameworks. When he’s not coding he likes to play basketball, play drums and take pictures all over town.
Principal Consultant
DevMynd Software
Eryan re-entered the world of web development in 2009 as a freelance consultant, after a 7-year detour as an attorney. Once he took the leap into full-time front end development, through his work with javascript APIs and his focus on improving the usability of applications, he implemented new ways for people to shop online as well as helped build one of the most successful fundraising platforms ever. His desire to go deeper into the stack of development tools led him to DevMynd, where he can lead teams that solve clients’ problems using whatever technology is appropriate: front- or back-end, desktop or mobile, native or web.
