A head start on tech jobs – RightNow Technologies shows girls the value of technology education- (Shouldn’t your company be participating in the "Go for IT" Program?)

A group of 19 middle school girls listened intently Wednesday afternoon as Susan Carstensen of RightNow Technologies http://www.rightnow.com/ explained how every job at the Bozeman-based company requires an in-depth knowledge of technology.

Sales and marketing employees have to use their technological expertise nearly as much as the software designers, she said.

By KAYLEY MENDENHALL, Chronicle Staff Writer

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2004/06/17/news/02technologybzbigs.txt

"Technology is all around," Carstensen said. "You need to be able to talk about the technology and be able to demonstrate how it works."

The girls visited RightNow and shadowed women working for the company as part of a week-long program called Go for IT — or information technology. The program is funded through a state grant for nontraditional careers and has been administered at Sleeping Giant Middle School in Livingston for the past three years.

Go for IT encourages girls to take computer classes at a young age, learn how to use digital cameras and consider information-technology fields as career choices, said Cathy Ziebarth, computer teacher at Sleeping Giant.

"It’s amazing the number of jobs out there that women are not involved in," Ziebarth said. "Typically going to RightNow does have a big impact on the kids and some have gone into careers based on that."

The girls teamed up with RightNow employees and learned about everything from legal contracts to accounts receivable. They asked questions of their job mentors and prepared reports on the experience.

"I’m really into the whole technology thing," said Alex Schwartzer, 13. "I wanted to learn more about it and see what careers are out there."

Alex spent Wednesday afternoon with Julie Brown, who works in RightNow’s legal department. Brown reviews contracts with customers and said she has to understand how RightNow’s product works.

"I didn’t realize there were so many jobs you could have all based around technology," Alex said.

Since the Go for IT program began, Ziebarth said, she and other teachers have tracked the number of girls enrolling in high school computer classes. That number, she said, has gone up.

"It’s a good program," Ziebarth said. "It’s good for the girls to see the women, other than their mothers, other than their teachers, as a real positive role model."