Susan Alaimo| Community Contributor
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College-bound students who dream of working at one of the most prestigious tech companies after graduation should pick their school most carefully.
There are a few very specific universities favored by "FAANG"companies – Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google – as well as by other prestigious tech companies, when hiring recent graduates for lucrative positions.
The University of Washington greatly surpassed all other schools with regards to the number of graduates securing employment at major tech organizations, according to TechRepublic.com. When reporting "employee make-up"at the most elite tech companies, University of Washington ranked first at Amazon with more than 5,000 employees and first at Microsoft with more than 6,000 employees. It ranked fourth at Facebook with close to 1,0000 employees.
Stanford University earned the top spot at both Apple and Google, with 2,000 and 4,000 employees, respectively, at these two highly sought-after employers.
The University of California at Berkeley topped the list at Facebook with more than 1,500 employees and came in second at both Apple (close to 2,000 employees) and Google (close to 4,000 employees).
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Other universities with high representation at the top tech firms include University of Southern California, Carnegie Mellon University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign, University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), Arizona State University, and Washington State University.
In anticipation of applying to these competitive universities, which feed the high-salaried tech firms, students should seek hands-on experience starting at a young age.
According to MJ Narula, owner of "Code Ninjas"in Hillsborough,girls need to get coding experience prior to reaching middle school, or their likelihood of pursuing a career in the tech world is minimal. For both boys and girls, those who gain exposure to coding and other tech skills at a young age have the opportunity to engage in the field and produce a "passion project"that will ultimately boost their college applications.
It’s also important for future tech leaders to post high SAT scores, which not only help gain admission to the most competitive colleges but may also come into play in future job interviews.Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder and CEO of Amazon, is one of the most famous advocates of using SAT scores in the hiring process.
"Hiring only the best and brightest was key to Amazon’s success,"claimed Bezos, who himself scored highly on standardized tests from the time he was a young child.
Susan Alaimo is the founder and director of Collegebound Review that, for the past 25 years, has offered PSAT/SAT® preparation and private college advising by Ivy League educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.comor call 908-369-5362.
