These technology jobs have high school students talking

Article Mar 7, 2024 Read time: 1 min

Kyndryl hosted students from the Academy of Innovative Technology to discuss career paths and the fields that interest them the most

Muhammad Khan, a 10th-grade student at the Academy of Innovative Technology, has big dreams: he hopes to start an artificially intelligent robotics company. Similarly, Khan’s classmate, Mujtaba Ahmed, wants to land a job that protects people — and their personal data — from illicit activity on the dark web.

“The technology field is growing so much,” said Ahmed. “I want to keep taking courses and keep learning about the technology that I’m interested in, the technology of the future.”

Both New York-based teenagers, who are part of the school’s IT and cybersecurity program, visited Kyndryl’s headquarters with dozens of their peers to learn about various careers in technology. Students met with Kyndryl leaders with expertise in cybersecurity, sustainability and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as other fields. This full-day event was part of a continuing partnership between the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider and the Academy of Innovative Technology.

Todd Scott, a senior vice president at Kyndryl who helped guide some of the students, spoke with Khan and Ahmed about the power of technology and their career ambitions within the industry.

Muhammad Khan

Mujtaba Ahmed

Tell us a little bit about how technology plays a role in your everyday life.

Mujtaba Ahmed: Obviously, with such technology like mobile phones we can talk easily to friends and family anywhere in the world. We can send instant text messages, unlike in the past when people had to send letters to each other, which took weeks. Now I’m able to communicate with my family and friends in India easily through social media, video calls and instant messaging. These are small things that we take for granted but are very important for my everyday life. Also, because English is not my first language, technology helps me learn, whether it’s using videos, artificial intelligence, search engines or online simulations.

Muhammad Khan: For me, it’s the cars and getting from one place to another. In the past, there was nothing — people used animals to go from one place to another. Now we just pick up our phones, book a ride and go anywhere we want to go. I came to the U.S. from Pakistan, where cybersecurity is playing a growing and crucial role in addressing challenges related to the digital safety and security for families. With more people doing digital banking and online transactions, cybersecurity has helped many families I know avoid scams and protect data.

What interests you the most in the world of tech right now?

Ahmed: The technology field is growing and always evolving, so I'm interested in the technology that supports all of it, like IT. And other technologies like AI are interesting because it can help people write essays, resumes or to solve problems.

Khan: I want to be able to take what I learn in high school and college so that I can get a good paying job. I’m also interested in learning more about AI and coding — seeing all the advancements in cars is amazing.

From left: Mujtaba Ahmed; Todd Scott, SVP at Kyndryl; Muhammad Khan. The two 10th-grade students at the Academy of Innovative Technology visited Kyndryl's headquarters with their peers to learn about careers in technology.

What skills do you think you'll need to be an innovator of technology or to just be in a position to be hired by a company in the future?

Khan: You need programming skills, of course.

Ahmed: You also need to have knowledge about cybersecurity at the same time.

If you could start your own technology company, what would you focus on and why?

Khan: I'd like to make an AI robotics company because people are tired from working too hard — that way people won’t have to do more work than they need to. Robots and automation can help do things. Technology is about making our lives easier, so using AI with machines to do simple tasks is important. Look at the way we use the Internet of Things (IoT) to control our doorbells, cameras or thermostats. I want to take it a step further; I want to help people who may need assistance. It can be useful for the elderly, people with disabilities and for newcomers to the country.

Ahmed: I would like to start a company in IT because there is going to be more of a need for it in the future and you can an earn a lot of money in that field. I am really interested in work that helps develop internet protocols, particularly making more protocols on the dark web. There are lots of scams going on and I want to be able to create an environment where people can operate on the web safely. Back in my home country, people are often targeted by hackers — and there aren’t many ways for their data to be protected. I would like to develop a system that can use machine learning to automatically help detect threats in real time and work with engineers to help prevent them.

As part of its mission, Kyndryl is committed to promoting equitable access to student-centered and technology-enabled education, ensuring all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. The company aims to create meaningful skilling opportunities and exposure to technology careers.

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