It is no secret to the tech community that our field is evolving rapidly and unpredictably. Generative AI is automating entry level programmer jobs; a 40% boom in the number of computer science students has created a heavy and oversaturated job market; the market’s response to this surplus has been to hire only the top 5-10% of programmers in the field. Collegiate technology students like myself are wondering what they can do to be in that top 10%. Jill Olimpieri, director of recruitment and retention at the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, has agreed to share her advice on how to secure your place in the professional world after college.

Could you please tell us your name and a little bit about your role here at Pace?

Of course. My name is Jill Olimpieri, and I am the Director of Recruitment and Retention here at Seidenberg. My job at the university is to recruit students to the program and make sure it’s a good cultural and academic fit for them. I help them through the process of being a perspective student, help them navigate orientation as an admitted student, and am involved in basically all they do here from that point on. From before admission to graduation.

What resources would you say Seidenberg students underutilized at Pace?

I definitely think there isn’t a large enough undergraduate turnout to our more professional events. Those events really help to build your network with both students and industry professionals. Attending those events can expose you to previously unknown areas of interest as well. The 9th floor is also pretty underutilized; it’s an area where you can do work, connect with other students, relax, etc. Um, let’s see. Oh, come check out our labs and facilities! We have a robotics lab, a software engineering lab, a digital forensics lab, and there’ll be a new lab for artificial intelligence soon. If you have experience, perfect! If you don’t have experience, perfect! They’re open to students with varying degrees of knowledge.

What personal qualities would you say define a successful Seidenberg student?

Curiosity. Students should be coming to school curious and excited to learn. They also need to understand that there’s an important difference between wanting to learn and wanting to get a degree; the difference being a true learner tries to connect the curriculum across their AOK courses to their major to their senior thesis (if you’re an honors student). Being a lifelong or continual learner helps tie your entire experience here at Pace together. It’s crucial. Genuine curiosity will take you a long way. Students should be asking, ‘What if I took it one more step? What if I push it further?’ Are you excited to see what’s on the other side?

Now on the more ‘business’ side of things. In terms of resumé buildings, are there any specific or general things you think students should have on their résumés? What makes a student stand out on the internship/job hunt?

It kind of goes back to the personal qualities you were looking for in students. Curiosity and passion will naturally lead students to do more. Some students only care about their GPA, they’re all about their GPA— but if a student applied here with a 4.0 GPA and nothing else, I would easily take a student with a lower GPA and a more expansive portfolio. The lesson being: do things. The next thing I’m about to say might be a bit controversial to some technology students, but teamwork is also really important. Or just some form of team building. I understand that’s difficult to do in a collegiate environment sometimes, but it’s in teams where you learn culture, diversity, how to take on challenges. And in general it’s important that you demonstrate to employers that you know how to work with others. Even if your job isn’t strictly team based, you’re still dealing with other people. It’s funny, some students in their internships, let’s say they’re a software engineer, tell me that at the end of the day they pass their project to another person somewhere on a different continent. Well, that means you’re working in a team. They’ll say, “I work alone,” but no, you work on a team! Your team has an expectation, your code needs to be readable, it needs to be done in a timely manner. It’s a team sport, and you need to be able to play it well.

How do you think Generative AI will change job opportunities for computer science students?

Maybe certain areas will have a little bit more automation, but they’ll still need humans. I’m uncertain because I’m not sure anybody knows the answer. It’s a dynamic field that continues to evolve. I would say make yourself and your portfolio versatile, expansive, and marketable. Try different classes. Try different things so you’re able to jump into multiple fields. But really, it’s a huge open-ended question for a lot of people. AI’s tricky. It could help or it could harm.

Related to your answer to the previous question, do you see any general trends in the job market? Is the industry leaning in any certain direction because of Generative AI?

Career services can probably give you a better answer than I can, but I would say the job market has always ebbed and flowed. This is really not super different. The same advice as always applies: when students have a diverse set of skills and expansive portfolios, it helps when there are challenges in their market. You have to find a job that’s not going to be cut by AI or automation. Cybersecurity seems to be a very secure market. It’s a place I don’t often feel they cut. That’s your backbone in a way. You need security to keep everything afloat. It’s an area that hasn’t had as much disruption as others. You have to find markets that are historically stable and in high demand. You got to the thing that has the demand.

To wrap up, do you have any general advice you want to share? Jill’s tips and tricks?

Get uncomfortable. Get to a place where you can feel curious and challenged. Push yourself as a person and a professional. Get out of your comfort zone. That’s what I would say. And make sure to have fun! Academics are important but being a college student is important too. Going out, and having fun, and being safe, and making friends are all super important.