DETROIT — Graduating college seniors with degrees in computer science and related majors from an accredited 4-year college or university need to look no further than Hacker Fellows, a new program that allows them to work as a developer at a Michigan start-up.
This program, administered by the tech training provider Grand Circus in partnership with the community business funding organization Invest Detroit, gives graduating college seniors an opportunity to launch into the Michigan start-up scene.
The Hacker Fellows Program is actively recruiting college graduating seniors that are craving an experience in technology with major impact. Individuals selected for the program will complete a six-week session of hands-on training in Grand Circus’ classrooms in Detroit. During this period, the fellows will be given the tools to develop necessary entrepreneurial and technical skills needed to succeed in a start-up community.
“Michigan start-ups are constantly looking to fill top developer talent for their companies,” said Bradley Hoos, co-founder of Grand Circus and leader of its community programs. “Our program, through generous support from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, will attract some of the best talent to Michigan and promote job creation within the tech community.”
With a location in Michigan’s thriving technology hub, fellows will benefit from creating relationships with entrepreneurs and learn the logistics of entrepreneurship. Once the six-week course is completed, fellows will be placed with a Michigan start-up, working as a software developer for the remainder of the year-long fellowship. Fellows will receive a minimum annualized salary of $60,000 during their fellowship year.
Invest Detroit vice president Martin Dober called the program “a way to cultivate and retain talent at start-ups throughout the state, which will in turn generate more commercially viable companies, creating density and jobs. Our organization’s First Step and Detroit Innovate funds are focused on providing financing and programmatic tools to promote the formation and development of high-growth companies in Detroit and the region.”
For more information about how to apply to be a Hacker Fellow or for how to have your start-up hire top young developer talent, please visit www.hackerfellows.com.
Funds for this initiative were provided by the 21st Century Jobs Fund, a Michigan Strategic Fund program designed to accelerate the growth and diversification of Michigan’s economy. The MEDC, a public-private partnership between the state and local communities, provides administrative support for the 21st Century Jobs Fund. For more information on the 21st Century Jobs Fund initiative, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org.
More about Grand Circus’ tech training programs at www.grandcircus.co. And more about Invest Detroit — and its more than $200 million in loan funds and New Markets Tax Credit allocations used for economic development — at http://investdetroit.com/.