Clayton State Alumni Offer Computer Science Career Advice at STEM Networking Day Event
(November 19, 2025) - Students from the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (CSTEM) had the opportunity to meet with and get career advice from Clayton State University alums working in the computer science field at a recent networking event. The CSTEM Networking event featured representatives from major Atlanta-area employers, including Microsoft, Coca-Cola, AT&T, MARTA, Georgia Power, Atlanta Gas Light, and Truist Bank.
Juwan Hollingsworth, Technical Support Engineer II with J.P. Morgan
Juwan keeps a spreadsheet with all the jobs he applied to after graduation. “Every rejection that I got fueled me to keep going. It took me 8 months to land my first job. It was a smaller company, but I learned a lot.”
Juwan advised the students to “be a sponge and soak up as much as you can” when you start working to continue learning after graduation. “My first job was at a ticketing company, and I was there for one year. I knew it was not the salary I wanted or the projection I would be making. So, I continued to apply for other jobs, and toward the end of that year, I landed the job with J.P. Morgan. That probably doubled my salary. So, if you keep working, the right job is there for you.”
JB Byers, Software Engineer with Truist Financial Services
JB mentors several current Clayton State students. He recommends “make sure, before you graduate, to build a good network. For those of you in technology, you are facing an onslaught of AI. So, you must keep your grades tight. AI is a great tool, but you're also competing with robots now, as well as everybody around you. You must set yourself apart when entering this industry. Make sure that your network, make sure you keep your grades tight, and stay up to date on the technology trades.”
JB also emphasized the importance of social skills in the workplace and at industry networking events. “I've always said to my mentees. Likeability will get you indoors that competency cannot. If you don't know anything else, be a people person. Go network. There's Meetup, your peers at this table, and LinkedIn. Endorse each other. As my mentees also know, I typically have students call me to Truist once a month for lunch with senior engineers.”
Emanuel Peters, Technical Solutions Architect with Productive Cloud Solutions
“If you are in computer science and coding, it's important right now that you level up your skills like never before. You should aim to become a full-stack developer. As a full-stack developer, you need to be familiar with various systems, architectures, and cloud technologies. You need to be a one-stop shop basically. You're going to be expected to use AI in industry to do what senior staff is doing, because it's coming to a divide right now.”
“You have to go out there and talk to different businesses, do free projects, do anything to develop your skills as fast as possible. And while you're in the classroom studying, even outside the classroom, because you need to basically be a big tier developer to be able to lead. Figure out what it takes to be a venture developer and study for that level. Push yourself to that level.”