Switch raises more cash to help users manage credit card payment information online

Taylor Soper | GeekWire | 10 March 2017

“Switch continues to raise cash to build out its platform that helps people manage their credit card information online.

The Seattle startup has reeled in another $400,000 from angel investors, bringing its total funding to date to nearly $2 million.

Founded in 2014 by veteran entrepreneurs that pioneered “Internet-in-a-Box” technology back in the 90s, Switch develops financial-related technology. Its first product is a credit card updater for online accounts, giving customers an efficient way of keeping their payment methods up-to-date, along with better visibility of their cards.

The idea is to help people easily update online payment information on various websites when replacing a credit card that was lost, stolen, or expired. This can be a frustrating and time-consuming process that is becoming more common with the increasing number of online services people are using on a daily basis that requires credit card information, from Amazon.com to Uber to Spotify to Netflix.”

Read more here.

View Switch’s job opening here.

 

Looking to the library to land your dream job

Terri Gleich | The Kitsap Sun | 10 March 2017

“Jade Moret went to Kitsap Regional Library last fall looking for a resume-writing workshop. What she found was one-on-one career counseling that she credits with helping her land a dream job.

“I had previously worked as a scientist and an educator and my resume was like a CV. It was very dry and very bland,” she said. She was sending it out but getting no response.

A one-hour session with Bainbridge Island volunteer Carina Langstraat helped Moret shake things up. “She looked at my resume and said, ‘OK. Let’s start over.’ And it was exactly what I needed to hear.”

Moret reformatted her work experience and personalized each resume she submitted with keywords from the descriptions of the jobs she was seeking. Within two weeks she had an interview and soon accepted a job as an outreach educator for a Seattle nonprofit.”

Read more here.

 

Starting salaries at Seattle tech companies

Daniel DeMay | Seattle P.I. | 10 March 2017

“If you’re young enough to wonder about what you should study in college, put “computer science” down on that interest slip and move on.

Those with degrees in the tech fields seem to get paid pretty well and the job security is through the roof.

But just how much?

We looked through Glassdoor.com’s average starting salaries for Seattle tech companies and came up with some numbers that might surprise some and might make some ask why they didn’t earn different degrees.

For software engineers, the average overall salary in Seattle is $108,240, more than $10,000 greater than the national average.

The numbers vary pretty widely, but by and large they come in above six figures. “

Read more here.

 

Washington Apprenticeship Program Opens Doors to Tech Careers

Ben Romano | Xconomy | 8 March 2017

“A few years ago while working as a crew leader for a moving company, Shawn Farrow was dreaming of a job in technology.

“We moved a lot of people in the tech industry, so I was able to talk with them and see their way of life,” said Farrow, 30. “It made me decide, yeah, this is the direction I need to go.”

But the path he travelled from there to a first-of-its kind software development apprenticeship in a venture-backed Seattle tech company illustrates just how difficult it can be to break in to one of the 21st century’s most important and well-paying industries—even for someone with a college degree.

The apprenticeship program, Apprenti, is an effort of the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) to solve two major challenges facing its member companies: a shortage of skilled workers and the persistent under-representation of women, minorities, and military veterans in its ranks. Backed by some $11 million in federal grants and contracts, and with heavy corporate participation and funding, Apprenti is taking a very old model of workforce development and applying it to tech, both in the Seattle area and, later this year, nationally.”

Read more here.

Learn more about the Apprenti program here.