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Should the U.S. Be Doing More to Prevent Child Poverty?

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Should the U.S. Be Doing More to Prevent Child Poverty?

In her guest essay for the Opinion section — “We Pay to Keep the Old Out of Poverty. Why Won’t We Do the Same for the Young?” — Bryce Covert argues that the United States should provide a safety net for children similar to the one that exists for older adults. Ms. Covert writes:

The United States has an incredibly high child poverty rate.

Nearly one in seven children lives in a poor family. By comparison, fewer than 10 percent of adults are poor, and under 9 percent of those age 65 and over are. Child poverty also doesn’t fall evenly across demographics: 71 percent of poor children are Black, Hispanic or Native American.

But child poverty is not a problem without a solution. Americans may roll their eyes at being constantly compared unfavorably with Western European countries, but in this case we aren’t just bested by the usual suspects. The United States is a pretty extreme outlier. Out of 40 countries, America ranks 38th, behind not just Finland, Denmark, Germany and France but also Slovenia, Estonia, Russia and Mexico.

There’s a very simple reason for this: We don’t give parents enough money to raise their children. Or at least we didn’t until last year’s expanded child tax credit payments that proved we could if we wanted to.

Some have blamed single women choosing to have children out of wedlock and “the decay of the American family” for poverty, in the words of the former representative Michele Bachmann. But the shapes and sizes of our families can’t explain our high child poverty rate. “Across countries, child poverty rates are pretty similar in terms of the poverty that’s there before the government does anything,” Jane Waldfogel, a professor of social work at Columbia, told me. Even with the comparatively paltry wages low-income Americans earn, the country still has similar poverty levels to others just based on income alone, before the government offers families benefits.

Ms. Covert then describes how the United States has addressed poverty among the elderly:

By contrast, we’ve spent significant resources over the past half-century on alleviating elderly poverty. Social Security is the greatest anti-poverty program we have in the United States. It kept 26.5 million people out of poverty in 2020, most of them seniors. Unemployment insurance, the safety net program that clocks in next, lifted 5.5 million people above the poverty line. We rarely talk about it this way, but Social Security is a form of direct cash payment to all Americans once they hit a certain age.

“It’s not rocket science,” Dr. Hoynes said. When it comes to how much we spend on the elderly, “we look pretty similar to other countries.” The United States simply spends less on a permanent safety net for children.

Students, read the entire guest essay, then tell us:

  • Do you think the United States should be doing more to reduce child poverty? If so, which of the programs that Ms. Covert outlines seems like the best idea to you? If not, where do you think the responsibility to reduce poverty falls, other than with the federal government?

  • Ms. Covert writes that the U.S. government is willing to spend money to prevent poverty among the elderly, but is “much stingier” when it comes to children. Why do you think that is?

  • Do you think the United States should provide direct payments to families to help them raise their children? What are some benefits of these “child allowance” policies? Can you think of any downsides? With both in mind, do you think that the expanded child tax credit should have continued past December?

  • Why do you think the child poverty rate in the United States is “a pretty extreme outlier” compared to that of many other countries? Do you think it should consider some of the social programs offered by other countries, such as universal health care or child care, or early childhood education?

  • Ms. Covert raises counterarguments suggesting poverty persists because Americans are “unwilling to work” or because single women have children. How does Ms. Covert push back against these counterarguments? Did you find her reasoning, or any of the counterarguments, compelling?

  • What do you think are some of the long-term consequences of child poverty, which disproportionately affects children who are Black, Hispanic and Native American?

  • What is one statistic that stuck out to you from this piece? Why did it resonate with you?

Writing a Short Biography With Obituaries

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Writing a Short Biography With Obituaries

5. What, if anything, do you find inspirational about the person’s story?

6. Now, read the obituary as a writer. What do you admire about the way this piece was written? What is your favorite line, and why?

Now, it’s your turn: Write an obituary for someone — perhaps someone you knew personally, a historical figure you are learning about in school, a character from a novel you are reading or anyone else whose life story you’d like to tell.

1. First, you’ll need to do research. You might read newspaper articles or biographies, watch or listen to interviews featuring your subject, or talk with the person’s family members or friends.

(If you’re speaking with someone whose loved one has recently died, remember to approach the conversation with compassion. When Neil Vigdor, a Times reporter, calls someone who has lost a family member or a friend, he starts by saying, “I’m deeply sorry to be reaching out under these circumstances.” Then he asks to hear more about the person who died.)

2. Next, you’ll need to identify the most basic facts of the person’s life and death. Here is part of a tip sheet from The Times’s Obituaries desk on the essential information every obituary should include:

Date of death

Place of death

Age at death

Cause of death

Full birth name, and place and date of birth

Education

Military service

Marriages, to whom and when; and divorces, if there are any.

Names of parents, siblings, spouse or companion and children. Numbers of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The more biographical background the obituary can give, the better. For example, how did they start their careers? Details like education and military service should be given when relevant or interesting. If possible, give the names and occupations of the subject’s parents, as well as his or her place and date of birth.

But you don’t want your obituary to just be a list of dry facts. Add what journalists call “color.” What made this person’s life interesting? In “How to Write an Obituary,” Malia Wollan interviews Victoria Chang, a poet who wrote obituary poems after her mother died, and gives examples of these kinds of details:

“Everyone is special and quirky, and I think the best obituaries capture the essence of those qualities about each of us,” Chang says. What things did she collect? What did she love to eat? What brought her joy?

3. Finally, it’s time to write. The format of an obituary is often uniform. Ms. Wollan describes it this way:

An obituary tends to have three distinct parts: the beginning (name, age, date of death, cause of death [if possible to include], work, education); the middle (anecdotes that celebrate the person’s life); and the end (so-and-so is survived by, which Chang calls “a very efficient way of saying who’s grieving.”)

Also, consider the tone you want your obituary to have. Ms. Wollan continues:

An obituary is for the living, but you should consider the sensibilities of the deceased. How would the person want to be remembered? “Imagine what they would write about themselves,” Chang says. It’s OK to be funny. “There’s a lot of humor and oddity, strange tensions and funny stuff about people and the things they do together,” Chang says.

And if you want to get creative, instead of writing a traditional obituary, make a slide show of the person’s life with photos and text, put together a mixed media collage or write an obituary poem, as Ms. Chang did for her mother. Share what you make with your class.

If you want to learn more about obituaries in The New York Times, the documentary “Obit” is available on Amazon Prime. You can also listen to this interview on NPR with two obituary writers from The New York Times.

How do you turn your passion into your purpose?

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How do you turn your passion into your purpose?

Learn how an animal lover became a voice for the voiceless.

“Finding a passion is great. But having a purpose is even greater.” In the Philippines, Karen is living by these words as an animal rescuer and advocate. Like most goals in life, turning your passion into your purpose is easier said than done. But through her hard work in the Animal Behaviour & Welfare course offered by the University of Edinburgh, Karen has done exactly that. And she wants you to know that you can, too.

Passion

As an accomplished actor, athlete, and animal lover, Karen is no stranger to passion. You could say it’s a prerequisite for her. So when Karen found out that, just like people, animals can be discriminated against, she couldn’t stay offstage or on the sidelines. Karen’s love for animals motivated her to take action.

Process

Looking to change the lives of animals for the better, Karen found a course from the University of Edinburgh on Coursera and began to build the skills to make an impact. Through her Animal Behaviour & Welfare course, Karen learned about the current state of animal cruelty around the world and how much more global awareness is needed. She discovered how animal welfare organizations can focus on unserved parts of their community.

Purpose

Since enrolling on Coursera, Karen has started to spread awareness of animal neglect, abuse, and abandonment. She’s also proposing different projects for different communities to help animal welfare in her country. Karen has become more confident in speaking publicly and sharing her knowledge online and offline. She’s now actively participating in different forums and telling others about her personal experiences.

What You Can Do

Just like Karen, when you find a new passion, you can do what it takes to give your work a new purpose. This can be a life-changing experience. It was for Karen. If you’re inspired to pursue new opportunities and ready to learn the skills you’ll need, you can come to Coursera to follow your passions and discover your purpose.

This 21-Year-Old Programmer Taught Herself To Code & Launched 2 Startups

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This 21-Year-Old Programmer Taught Herself To Code & Launched 2 Startups
Akshaya Dinesh Spellbound founder

As a computer science major at Stanford, Akshaya Dinesh’s future felt pretty much laid out: “I thought the next step for me was to become a software engineer and get a job in tech,” Akshaya recalls.

Akshaya, 21, grew up in the New Jersey suburbs and learned how to code at her parents’ suggestion the summer before high school. She became a prolific hackathon participant and had her sights set on working for a major tech company like Facebook or Google someday. “I kind of revered the Silicon Valley stereotype,” she says.

In college, Akshaya immersed herself in the tech world and landed coveted internships at Microsoft, Bloomberg, and even a flying car startup. But as she got closer to her goal, something felt missing: “I wasn’t really feeling the impact of my work,” Akshaya says. “I was building a super tiny feature in a huge organization where I couldn’t interact with my users.”

So Akshaya decided to make something of her own. In March 2020, she built Ladder, a networking app for Gen Z professionals who were struggling to find tech jobs and internships during the pandemic. Ladder took off among her peers and, through a startup accelerator, attracted high-profile investors like Tony Xu of Doordash and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. At 19, Akshaya dropped out of Stanford to pursue startups fulltime.

“Being able to create your own vision and see that come to reality is something that is so rare in the workplace in so many different careers,” Akshaya says. As an Asian American woman occupying a predominantly white male space, she’s had to cope with her share of “small hurdles” and microaggressions as a founder, she says.

Akshaya is already onto her next company, Spellbound, a B2B product that incorporates interactive user experiences embedded inside of the body of emails. “My goal with the company is really to build an extremely successful large business and sort of prove to the world that you don’t need to be a white man to accomplish the same types of success,” she says.

Here, Akshaya shares how she fell in love with coding, how she copes with impostor syndrome, and her advice for developers who have entrepreneurial aspirations, too.

How’d you learn to code?

“The summer between middle school and high school, I just was super bored and had nothing to do. It was my parents who encouraged me to try to learn a new field. They basically were like, ‘Here, try to learn Java. Just pick it up and it’ll be a good skill in your toolkit.’

My parents weren’t developers, but they worked at companies where they saw that programmers were getting so many opportunities. They witnessed that there was clearly a huge demand for programming. I really owe it to them to give me that initial push. At the time, I was super against it: I never wanted to be an engineer; I thought it was not the right role for me. I’m very outspoken, and I wanted to do something where I could interact with people more.

So I unwillingly learned Java and hated it. The first language that I learned after Java was JavaScript, because I realized that Java wasn’t enough for me to actually build anything of use. I wanted to make a website — the very first website I built was a personality quiz. I actually used Codecademy to learn JavaScript for that website.”

Why did you stick with it?

“The reason why I ended up falling in love with computer science was through hackathons. I saw a hackathon sticker on somebody’s laptop, and I googled, What is this hackathon thing? I discovered this crazy world of these 24-hour events where it’s like a fun sleepover, you get to meet totally new people, and just go build a product. It was only until I had started to apply my skills in coding to actually building real-world applications that people could use that I started to see how insanely powerful it was. I became absolutely obsessed.

Throughout my four years of high school, I ended up going into about 45 hackathons, which was a lot of sleepless nights and traveling across the country — even the world. Attending these events all by myself put me very outside of my comfort zone. At most of these hackathons, I was one of very few girls there, so I felt very, very lonely.

If it wasn’t for Codecademy and attending hackathons, I would have quit after day one, because it was just so boring to me at first. Writing if statements and while loops, I was like, This is pointless. Getting to see how cool it is when people build a real-world application is what inspired me to keep going.”

What was it like launching your first company?

“I ended up starting my first company, Ladder, by accident. When the pandemic happened, everybody was sent home from school, and a lot of internships and job opportunities also started to fall away. It started out as just a simple side project meant to help my fellow students get new career opportunities and mentorship. There was so much demand and interest that it turned into a product that could almost resemble a new type of LinkedIn for that demographic.

The hardest step was getting something in the hands of users and getting their feedback. At most of the hackathons where I built all these cool projects, I never got to the point where I was confident enough to actually put it out into the world — they were all just works in progress. I was always worried like, What if they find bugs? Or what if they don’t like it?

It was super intimidating. There was a huge learning curve for me to dive into startups and understand how this entire world works. I had no idea how to raise [venture capital] funding or how to hire someone — I was barely a student myself, because I had only done 1.3 years of college.”

How’d you cope with that impostor syndrome?

“What I realized was that the most successful founders have an insane amount of confidence in themselves, their story, and the product that they’re building. Even if that confidence isn’t yet totally deserved, I think portraying that competence is honestly what gets people excited about your mission.

The female founders in my network — like, friends who I’ve helped fundraise or introduced to my investors — the first thing I tell them is, ‘When you enter a pitch meeting, just assume that you’re also a white male, and you have all the same privileges.’ You can warrant the same ruthless confidence that anybody else has.”

Did people treat you differently as a young woman of color?

“There are small biases and micro-patterns that I notice. At my last company, I had a male co-founder, and sometimes if we didn’t have our titles on LinkedIn, people would reach out to them as a default, or they would assume that I was a non-technical co-founder. There’s always the assumption that I don’t know how to code and I had somebody else that’s helping me on the technical side.

For some reason, when I fundraise for my company — even though it’s a totally normal B2B SaaS company that has nothing to do with women — I tend to only be introduced to the female partners at VC firms. That was a really weird thing for me to encounter, because I’m pretty sure other founders aren’t only getting introduced to a certain demographic of partners.”

What advice would you give someone who wants to build a product and launch a startup like you did?

“The first step to being an entrepreneur is getting validation in your idea. A lot of programmers become very obsessed with making the perfect product, fixing every single bug, and building every single feature. They spend six months building this incredible product, and they launch it only to realize that nobody actually wants to use it because they weren’t solving a real problem. For everything that I’ve worked on, I’ve always tried to validate before I even write a single line of code.

For Ladder, I ran some no-code experiments using existing platforms to try to mimic some of the functionality and see if I could get engagement out of my users. Only once I had seen the really positive signs of success in those early experiments did I then go and write my first line of code and build the real product. Probably the biggest pitfall that programmers turned into entrepreneurs have is they tend to write code a little bit too early.”

Interview has been edited for clarity.

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If you’re not sure where to begin or what to learn next, this is a great place to start. Check out our top coding courses, Skill Paths, and Career Paths.

4 Misconceptions About Working In IT — & What It’s Really Like

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4 Misconceptions About Working In IT — & What It’s Really Like
Misconceptions about working in IT — & what it's really like

If your only reference point for IT is the voice on the end of the help desk that answers your frantic computer questions, that’s understandable — but you might be overlooking a fascinating field full of opportunities for people who want to work in tech.

To put it simply, IT (which stands for “information technology”) is all about “making sure technology is working together,” explains Kofi Friar, Senior IT Manager at Codecademy who oversees the technology, user accounts, and systems for all Codecademy’s internal services.

One pervasive misconception about the IT field is that it’s monotonous or, well, sleepy. Most people don’t realize how broad the IT field is, says Austin Turecek, Senior Cybersecurity Analyst at Flashpoint (who has contributed to Codecademy’s cybersecurity courses). The reality is that there are lots of different roles within IT that extend beyond repairing hardware and software, like cybersecurity, operations, and systems management.

For example, Austin’s job is in deep and dark web intelligence and analysis — meaning he researches malware and tools that threat actors utilize, and then finds ways to mitigate the risks. In other words, Austin tracks down the internet bad guys.

So what’s it really like to work in IT? If you’re intrigued, be sure to check out our Introduction to IT course to learn the basic IT skills and get a taste of the industry. Here, IT professionals dispel some common myths about working in IT and dive into rewarding IT jobs that you may not know exist.

The misconception: You have to be a computer genius to work in IT.

IT professionals aren’t walking computer manuals, despite their extensive knowledge and problem-solving prowess. You don’t have to know everything there is to know about computers to get hired, because a lot of learning takes place on the job. “It helps if you have a good knack for computers and you understand them,” Austin says. “But there’s such a broad and open door to IT.”

Like developers, people in IT often use Google to fill their knowledge gaps. “Being able to research and apply solutions based on what you read online is a talent that is really needed when it comes to IT,” Kofi says. “So analyzing and interpreting information is really important.”

A baseline understanding of how to code is nice to have in IT — but critical thinking skills and the ability to “think like a computer” are just as valuable, Austin says. “One of the biggest things is the ability to pay attention to process, to problem-solve, and to identify issues quickly enough that they don’t become larger issues,” he says.

The misconception: You’re mostly fixing broken hardware.

While responding to individual IT support tickets might fit into an IT professional’s day-to-day life, the “break-fix aspect” is just one part, Austin says. Working in deep and dark web intelligence and analysis, Austin’s days are never quite the same: “Some days, I will sit there and code for 10 hours straight, and that is my day,” he says. “Other days, you’re just reading through reports and documents.”

Surprisingly, there’s a lot of writing in IT, Austin says. You’re often tasked with writing reports, memos, policies, standards, or instructions for diverse audiences. For example, you might need to summarize complicated material for people in C-level or upper management who may only skim a document; and then you also may have to provide in-depth technical explanations for colleagues to follow, he says.

The misconception: Soft skills aren’t necessary in IT.

There’s a stereotype that people who work in IT are quiet, introverted, and maybe even dismissive. Like any field, IT attracts a mix of personalities, including folks who are naturally quiet and those who are energized by being around other people.

In IT, you’re constantly interacting with your customer base, whether that’s a group of software engineers or someone in a nontechnical role who needs troubleshooting guidance. “In my experience, IT is a very community-driven job,” Austin says. “I can’t fix your broken internet if you don’t call me and I don’t talk to you — so it is a very social position.”

Interpersonal skills are super valuable in IT. Kofi affectionately refers to IT as “technical therapy,” because there’s often an emotional component attached to tech problems. For example, you might find yourself consoling someone who can’t access an essential file or talking to someone who’s angry that their kid spilled a drink on their laptop.

Patience and compartmentalization can help handle these difficult scenarios: “It’s so easy to focus your frustrations on something like a computer because it doesn’t talk back,” Kofi says. “People may take that energy to you when they come to the help desk for support — but you’ve got to understand that’s not directed at you.”

The misconception: IT operates mostly behind the scenes.

In some ways, IT can be “hidden,” which only adds to the misconceptions about the field, Austin says. “You have people who are maintaining the aspects of the computers that you don’t necessarily consider,” he says.

It’s true that IT is typically involved in “doing the behind-the-scenes things to help a business operate more smoothly,” Kofi says. However, IT can also have a major influence on a company’s big-picture strategy.

For example, someone in a position like Kofi’s would have to evaluate the status of a company’s internal technology and make decisions to improve processes. That could be anything from upgrading cybersecurity measures to setting up hardware services when companies return to the office. “It’s a lot of project management, which requires an understanding of how our organization works, and who uses what tools and how,” he says. “The strategy side of things really excites me.”

If IT sounds like the right path for you, check out our Introduction to IT course, which will give you an overview of core IT subjects, like operating systems and networks. To go a little deeper into cybersecurity, including how hackers gain access to a system, consider our Skill Path Fundamentals of Cybersecurity. And for even more advice about how to find a job in tech that you’re passionate about, head to our career center.

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Cool Job: I’m A Senior IT Manager For Engineers At Urban Outfitters & Free People

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Cool Job: I’m A Senior IT Manager For Engineers At Urban Outfitters & Free People
Cool Job: Senior IT manager at Urban brands

When most people think about the information technology department, aka “IT,” they usually picture the tech whiz who upgrades your hardware or patiently helps you troubleshoot. (That British sitcom The IT Crowd only reinforced this stereotype.) But IT is a vast field that’s full of opportunities for people who want to work in tech.

Deanna Christy is an IT manager at the fashion portfolio URBN, which includes Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and Free People. As the senior manager of engineering operations, Deanna’s role at URBN entails strategizing long-term retail e-commerce projects, performing quality assurance testing, and helping developers manage their workflow.

Broadly speaking, IT involves using technology to organize, store, share, and process information. “IT, to me, is the back-end functions and workers that have to make the click-of-a-button work,” Deanna says.

Deanna sort of fell into the retail e-commerce field, but found that her leadership and organizational skills were well-suited for IT. “When I first started out, I used to call myself an investigator,” says Deanna, who’s worked for URBN since 2017. “If there was an issue, I wanted to figure out what it was, what system it was involved in, and how we can fix it.”

URBN campus
URBN’s campus at The Navy Yard in Philadelphia.

Now, Deanna describes her specific role as a “relationship-builder” between developers. “I want to be a developer’s partner and help provide a shield so they can work on what I’m asking them to do,” she says. For example, if a developer needs more time to complete a project or has questions that need answers, she advocates for them and makes it happen without compromising the project’s deadline.

Here’s what it’s like to work in IT at a fashion company like URBN, plus the technical and soft skills you’d need to be a successful IT manager.

What got me interested in the job

“When I got into tech, I thought that I needed to become a developer. Development might make a little bit of money in the long term, but that might not be the best path for your skillset. Deep down, I love organization and I really love building a bond between teams who work on certain systems and being that connector.

Sometimes in tech, people like to work in their own bubbles at their own pace. It really takes a lot of relationship-building, so that individuals know you’re not just pushing them to get an end result — you know how they work, and you know what level they work on. From that partnership, you build this little team to work with other individuals down the line and in other systems. I really found my niche was that I can understand their work levels.

What really intrigued me about the fashion industry is that customers are buying, for example, a T-shirt, and I am worrying about all the functions behind the scenes. That goes from how the website functions, down to our order management system, down to our warehouse shipping system, down to delivering a package on your doorstep. To you, it takes three clicks — but to us, it’s this huge order of operations. I just love that there’s this whole lifecycle of simply ordering a product.”

How I got in the door

“I studied marketing in college — I did not study tech or computer science at all. A family friend knew somebody at David’s Bridal who was looking for an e-commerce systems analyst. All they told me was that they need somebody energetic who they can mold. I was like, Sign me up. That’s what I want.

That was my very first job in the fashion industry, and I wasn’t really sure even what e-commerce meant at the time. They handed me a book, APIs for Dummies, and I was like, What is an API?  [It’s an Application Program Interface.] It was a challenge. I said to my co-worker at the time, ‘You need to sit with me one hour every single day and teach me what a systems analyst does.’ We actually work together now at Urban Outfitters, so I always give him the props that he taught me everything.

URBN campus Philadelphia
URBN’s portfolio of brands includes Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, BHLDN, Terrain, Menus & Venues, and Nuuly.

Anyone who gets into tech is going to first think: What did I get myself into? Is this the right avenue for me? You can learn through working with other tech teams where your avenue might really be. That’s how I got to where I am now. I started as a systems analyst, which you’ll often see called a ‘business analyst’ or ‘BA.’ I moved into this project management role because I liked overseeing all the functions for one project across multiple teams. From there, project management and program management kind of went hand-in-hand.

Really, what I loved at the end of the day was coordinating across multiple teams, and being the person who says: You’ve got to do this. You have to do that. And once you do it together, I will test each of those individual functions to ensure that the flow works all the way downstream. I want to be the leader across teams to connect it all together.”

What I actually do every day

“There’s a couple of different aspects of what I manage here at Urban Outfitters: We can manage something that’s front-end and customer-facing, like curbside pickup or membership programs where customers can get exclusive discounts at checkout. Another thing is, if we open up a new warehouse, making sure you can get your items quicker from a warehouse source in an area closer to you. But then there’s these projects that are a little more technical, like moving our back-end servers to a cloud functionality.

What I really like is you can be involved in IT without actually coding. You have to understand what each team can do to get your project out the door and how to test it for them. I do a lot of testing myself, [which requires] understanding what they’re developing. How can I test it for them to ensure that there’s no issues?”

Here’s what you need to get started

If you want to learn more about IT, our course Introduction to IT is a great way to get a taste of the field. The beginner-friendly course will cover the basics of how computers work (including the hardware and software you should know and a guide to troubleshooting), plus dive into operating systems, databases, and cybersecurity. You’ll also have a chance to work on a hands-on decryption project.

As an IT manager, you should be able to understand the different use cases for various programming languages, Deanna explains. “You don’t really need coding experience, but you need to understand the levels of coding,” she says. Introduction to IT actually includes a review of programming basics, where you’ll learn how to communicate problem-solving with flowcharts and pseudocode. (Codecademy has lots of additional courses that cover Code Foundations.)

For example, if there’s a project that requires front-end and back-end engineers, Deanna has to know who from the engineering team is best suited to execute it. “What we need to do [in IT] is understand the function of each developer, what they need to do, and what their outcome could potentially be,” she says.

Since IT management also involves working with teams and managing individual timelines, getting experience managing or owning a project is good, so you can “dig down deeper into how system integrations and flows work,” Deanna says. Positions like business analyst can also be a gateway to ultimately becoming an IT manager, because you’ll learn how the business side interacts with IT, she adds.

Also consider being a quality assurance manager or tester, which is someone who tests a developer’s code, Deanna says. “Testing functions of a developer’s output is also an easy entryway into understanding different tech systems,” she says.

Deanna’s biggest piece of advice: Don’t write off IT as an option for you. “I want anybody to get involved in tech, because I think anybody can,” she says.

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If you’re not sure where to begin or what to learn next, this is a great place to start. Check out our top coding courses, Skill Paths, and Career Paths.

Want To Get A Job In IT? Here’s How To Break Into The Field

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Want To Get A Job In IT? Here’s How To Break Into The Field
How to break into IT and get entry-level job

For people trying to break into the IT or “information technology” field, the opportunities can feel vast — almost too broad to know where to start. IT consists of lots of roles beyond manning help desks, like cloud computing, cybersecurity, and data processing and management.

So what does it take to land an entry-level job in IT? For starters, having technical knowledge is just one piece of the puzzle.

Ahead you’ll find even more practical suggestions and advice from IT pros who understand how to get from inspired to hired. For an overview of the IT industry, be sure to check out our course Introduction to IT.

Narrow down your interests

Your first step toward a career in IT is figuring out what application of IT interests you the most, explains Kofi Friar, Senior IT Manager at Codecademy. Are you fascinated by cybersecurity and get excited about uncovering cyber threats or attackers? Or do you like to manage people and organize workflows? Or do you thrive completing hands-on tasks, like hardware repair?

“From there, try to get some exposure to IT,” Kofi says. For example, YouTube is a great resource for technical videos and tutorials that can help familiarize you with hardware components, he says.  

You could also reach out to someone who works in IT, and ask about shadowing them for the day, or just picking their brain over coffee, Kofi suggests. “Try and set that up and see if that continual excitement of what brought you into it is still there,” he says.

Go to conferences

The IT world is very “community-driven,” says Austin Turecek, Senior Cybersecurity Analyst at Flashpoint (who has contributed to Codecademy’s cybersecurity courses). Attending IT conferences in person or virtually is one way you can expand your horizons and network with other IT professionals. It can be inspiring to hear from thought leaders in the industry and people are typically excited to talk shop in these settings, Austin says.

“People who are involved in computers and cybersecurity, especially at conferences, really love it,” Austin says. “If you go up to a presenter, and you’re like, ‘Hey, I thought that was a really interesting point. Could you explain it a little bit more?’ you’ll get into a 3-hour conversation, which can turn into potential connections for jobs in the future.”

If you’re not super confident in your in-person schmoozing skills, or just want to polish your online presence before heading to a conference, here are some tips for using LinkedIn to network.

Embrace your background

Career-switchers who want to make a change and get into IT might second-guess whether they have the “right” experience to get hired. “But one of the things that’s really great about IT is it’s open to a very diverse background,” Austin says. In previous cybersecurity roles, Austin’s colleagues were former professional football players, morticians, club bouncers, history professors — you name it.

Rather than stressing over every line on your resume, focus on emphasizing your soft skills (like creative problem-solving and communication) that could be relevant to IT. “I’ve been hired based, not on my technical skills, but my ability to understand problems and explain them in a simple way, as well as my personality and my people skills,” Kofi says. “Technical skills can always be learned.”

Get some educational training

IT tends to be welcoming of nontraditional educational backgrounds, too. Austin suggests looking into IT certifications that could boost your hiring potential.

It’s also worth it to take online courses (and include them on your resume) to show that you’re proactive about professional development. Codecademy Pro members earn certificates after every completed course, Skill Path, or Career Path. Want to amp up your resume with certifications? Check out our full catalog of courses. Regardless of what IT role you’re most interested in, it’s always a good idea to have a baseline understanding of common programming languages, like Python or JavaScript.

Show that you’re eager to learn

You don’t need to have mastered everything there is to know about a field to get a job. In IT, there’s plenty of room for people to learn on the job. Kofi’s first job in IT was offering hardware and software support at his college’s help desk. The role enabled him to be a sponge: He learned how software applications work on computers, saw how certain issues affect hardware, and was exposed to servers and user account management.

Working in hardware and software laid the foundation for Kofi to get promoted within IT, and ultimately apply the same ideas and solutions to a large-scale enterprise. “No matter what level of technology you’re speaking at, I think that it’s good to understand the primary principles of IT,” he says. “Because whether you’re looking at security or project management, those foundational pieces will always be there.”

Contribute to open-source projects

Submitting code to open-source projects is a great move, even if you’re going for IT roles. For example, if you want to pursue cybersecurity, you could identify vulnerabilities in open-source projects that you submit code to and help improve, Austin says. “A lot of employers will see that as good experience,” he says. And if you’re looking for more hands-on practice to bolster your job applications, check out our cybersecurity Portfolio Projects.

Stay enthusiastic

According to Austin, there’s a misconception that people who work in IT can be dismissive or jaded, but those stereotypes shouldn’t deter you from pursuing the field. “IT is very much: You get what you put into it,” he says. “If you really show people that you enjoy the work and that you want to improve the work, there will always be someone who’s willing to help you grow.”

Kofi agrees that you should embrace a curious and beginner’s mindset: “If you’re curious and you’re passionate, take the time to explore that curiosity,” he says.

Want to work in IT? Start by taking our Introduction to IT course, which will teach you the core IT subjects, like operating systems and databases. You could also check out our Introduction to Cybersecurity course to learn the ins and outs of malware and network security. And for even more advice on how to kickstart a career in tech, head to our career center.

Catalog Home | Codecademy

If you’re not sure where to begin or what to learn next, this is a great place to start. Check out our top coding courses, Skill Paths, and Career Paths.

6 Spring Script Fonts That Will Blow You Away

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6 Spring Script Fonts That Will Blow You Away

Spring is here, and so are flower buds and warmer days. To help you bring your next project to life, we have created a roundup of 6 spring script fonts that will be a great addition to your font collection. They are fresh, modern, and easy to use.

6 Spring Script Fonts

Playful and casual fonts that will be perfect for spring and summer crafts. Combine them with pastels or bold, colorful palettes to create heart-warming designs for your social media. They will be also perfect for all wedding-themed prints and digital graphics. Click on the font cover or name to see its Creative Market page.

Pin me for later!

If you are browsing this post at work or just do not feel crafty right now, we have something for you too! All the fonts collected in one please on easy to pin graphic so you can save those inspirations for later.

6 Spring Script Fonts That Will Blow You Away

Show us your works!

I would love to see what you create using those spring script fonts. Make sure to let us know in the comments, or share your creation on social media and tag Designer Blogs.

Don’t forget to let us know which font is your favorite. Do you like script fonts, or would you rather see a compilation of classic serif or sans-serif fonts?

Still looking for a perfect font? Check the list of 6 Cute & Playful Fonts

P.S This post includes affiliate links so by clicking them you are supporting us. Thanks!

A New Social App

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A New Social App

Have you heard of BeReal? If not, here is how it works:

Once a day, at an unpredictable time, BeReal notifies its users that they have two minutes to post a pair of pictures, one from each phone camera, taken simultaneously. The only way to see what other people have posted that day is to share your own. You can post after the two-minute window closes, but all your friends will be notified that you were late; you can retake your day’s photo, but your friends will know that, too. Your friends can respond to your posts with something called a “RealMoji” — basically a selfie reaction, visible to all of your connections. All of the photos disappear the next day.

Does the idea of this appeal to you? Why or why not? What problems with other social networks do you think BeReal is trying to address? Do you think it, or any other social app, can lessen problems like the toll some have taken on teenage mental health?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to learn more.

Want more Picture Prompts? Find them all in this column.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Word of the Day: categorically

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Word of the Day: categorically

The word categorically has appeared in 83 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on May 5 in “Chile Files Claim Seeking Ecuador’s Place in the World Cup” by Tariq Panja:

Qualification for this year’s soccer World Cup, already disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, now faces more uncertainty after Chile this week called on FIFA to throw out Ecuador and hand its place in the tournament to Chile instead. Chile contends that its South American rival fielded an ineligible player who is in fact Colombian.

To support its case, Chile on Wednesday filed a claim, reviewed by The New York Times, that contains registry documents, including birth certificates, that it says show the defender Byron Castillo was not only born in Colombia, but also that he is three years older than is stated on the documents used to identify him as Ecuadorean.

… Ecuador’s soccer federation released its own statement in which it rejected what it called “false rumors” about Castillo, who it said was an Ecuadorean citizen in a legal and sporting sense. “We categorically reject any attempt by those who seek to avoid our participation in the World Cup in Qatar, which was legitimately obtained on the field,” the federation said.

Can you correctly use the word categorically in a sentence?

Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.

Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the “Recommend” button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.

If you want a better idea of how categorically can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.

If you enjoy this daily challenge, try one of our monthly vocabulary challenges.

Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.

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