“Help someone climb their highest mountain and their vision will expand far beyond the horizon.”
The United States of America has always been regarded as the land of opportunity. Even though the modern world has evolved in such a way in that the statement is no longer universal or definitive, it still holds true for some areas, starting with cutting-edge technology. There are researchers, scientists, engineers and great minds innovating all around the world, but the US is still one of the strongest references to follow as the tech landscape is built in such a way in that innovation does not only happen in a lab but rather, its consumers’ pockets, their homes, actively improving their life. Even though this approach might not be considered pure because it’s also driven by commercial interest, the reality is that it is proven time & time again that innovation must fuel profits in order for innovation itself to have fuel to grow. The 90s and the 2000s especially form a strong argument for technology growth. The giants of our era are no longer in retail, finance, or heavy industry, but rather, they are tech-driven companies: Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Tesla – these are the new leaders that push innovation not only inside their own offices but also in the entire tech landscape. And you know what all these companies, as long as many other names in the tech space have in common? Actually, there is a lot to mention here, but just to name a few: they all have headquarters or a significant presence in or around Silicon Valley; their core workforce group is made up of software engineers; they all are ever-growing companies; the work experience that they offer their employees is top-notch, not only based on high salaries and benefits, but also the culture, the growth mindset, the learning and career experiences that simultaneously help and challenge their people to become the best in the world at their trade – because that’s what innovation demands.
In short, working at a Silicon Valley company, either big tech or start-up is probably the highest point that an IT candidate can dream of or wish for in their late teens or early 20s. But, even in a world where we are all born equal, we are not equally positioned to achieve this dream. There are barriers – distance, culture, formal education, even the cost of a plane ticket to Silicon Valley differs depending on where you are in the world. And the caveat here is that skills that these companies are looking for are not limited by the same factors. All it takes for a student to start learning software engineering is a basic PC, an internet connection, a dash of curiosity and for anyone aiming for that top 1%, a ton of ambition. So, in a world where tech companies are actively scouting that top 1% and highly-ambitions students are striving to reach that level of excellence, there comes opportunity, not just for the students, not just for the companies, but for our world to evolve by this matching of innovation demand and innovation potential.
Our mission is to offer high-potential IT juniors from around the world the setup that gives them the highest chance to succeed professionally. Of course, one could argue that dropping a million bitcoin in their wallets would be more valuable, but we say that it will not be as meaningful. We believe that presenting a highly ambitious teen with the right professional context, surrounded by the right people, with the right challenges will be fundamental in maximizing their chances to change the world our future for the better.
The journey we’re proposing is by no means set in stone – we feel that the American J1 exchange program is the perfect setup for what we want to achieve. Offer these students a work and cultural experience, show them what it’s like to work amongst the top innovators of the world, challenge them to embrace new, more ambitious projects and expand their horizon beyond what they had thought was possible. Our end goal should be to light a spark of greatness that will steadily grow into a flame and keep on blazing for their entire life and professional career. An internship spanning several months will by no means represent a lot of time, but hopefully, it will be enough for both junior and company to realize that they can, together or far apart, do amazing things. Juniors will also return to their home countries to pass on the work ethics, cultural experience and mindset they have acquired during their stay. Throughout all of this, we will be the ones making sure that the candidates’ experience is flawless, not just from a work point of view, but in all aspects regarding their Silicon Valley experience, down to the very last detail. We are the ones that will find the right job for their skills and knowledge, the right employer for their mindset, the right living accommodation for their personal and commuting needs. We will be the ones to provide them with the information they need at every step, answering any question in a timely manner. Even though we are helping them with a career-defining experience, our support is not limited to the professional side of things. We help them discover and explore the United States of America, both from a touristic point of view, but also culturally, learning from locals and expats alike, gaining insight into the US mindset, visiting amazing places and meeting amazing people. Speaking of people, Silicon Journey is also a strong community of like-minded, ambitious individuals, IT juniors, alumni, mentors, guardian angels, partners and friends on both sides of the Atlantic. We have created our ecosystem to enable and maximize the value that the IT junior gains from this experience. It is a true cultural exchange, with direct presence and contact in the best IT working environments of the world, in the world’s IT hub, Silicon Valley, alongside prolific, inspiring IT leaders and trailblazers.
We encourage our IT juniors to be in the best place they can be, to work in the best place they can work at, to take on the most challenging of career challenges, to learn more than they have learned before, to make the most and enjoy every moment of their experience. We believe that by doing this, we will light a spark in IT juniors from around the world to make it a better place, with direct impact in their local markets as a result of the know-how, learnings, experience and network they will have gained on their Silicon Journey.
