It’s quickly becoming the No. 1 choice for 20-something and 30-something career changers who are fed up with their current gigs and want to learn a valuable skill quickly.
Coding—also called programming or software engineering—is the go-to field for these types of transitions. Coders learn how to build websites, apps and the digital products and programs that companies use to carry out their operations. Three-month training boot camps have been popping up all over the nation and are churning out coders who can immediately command a $90,000 salary (or more).
As with most careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), African-American, Latino and female software engineers are sparse. So Nas, alongside corporate heavy hitters like Microsoft and Google, is doling out scholarship money to people hoping to attend General Assembly—a coding school with locations in New York City, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, London and Washington, D.C.
“This is the start of what hopefully will be a contribution to what will be a more diverse and accessible community worldwide,” Jake Schwartz, General Assembly CEO, told Betabeat during an interview.
Each of the donors is tackling an underrepresented group in STEM.
Nas’ venture capital firm, Queensbridge Venture Partners (yes, the kid has an investment company; he’s invested in companies like Lyft and Dropbox), is funding scholarships for African Americans and Latinos with the Opportunity Fund. Google is donating scholarship money for women. Microsoft and a veterans-advocacy group called Hirepurpose are funding scholarships for vets.
READ MORE: TheRoot.com
Article Courtesy of The Root
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Nas Offering Tech Scholarships for Black and Hispanic Students was originally published on wzakcleveland.com
