You know what bugs me?

It bugs me how it’s still an uphill struggle for skilled, ambitious people to find careers where they can make a serious impact on the future. It also bugs me how startup recruiting is so difficult, despite tech startups doing the most exciting and innovative work. You know what I’m talking about.

Too many people passionate about technology are working on products or services that create little if any meaningful value. Or worse, they’re not even working in the tech sector at all.

But here’s what we also know.

If you want to impact the future, there’s arguably no better tool than technology. And jobs in the tech industry rank among the best career and income growth opportunities out there.

What we’ve discovered about tech careers in the heartland

Have you been following some of the data and insights our Powderkeg team has been sharing from our recent Tech Census Reports? Here are the highlights of how people feel about their tech careers: 

• A large percentage of people working in tech are extremely passionate about the products they’re building.
• Job satisfaction in tech is crazy high (9+ average on a 10-point scale).
• The majority of Midwest tech startups provide equity/ownership plans, giving professionals the opportunity to share in huge upside potentials.
• Company culture is a top priority (and this goes way beyond cliche office perks you see at startups on shows like “Silicon Valley”).

I recently talked with a founder friend in Cincinnati who is building an IoT platform company called Losant. The local community voted Losant “Most Innovative” tech company and “Best Culture” in Cincy (huge props to Charley and his team). Here’s what he told me:  

“We’re starting to see some executive boomerangs in Cincinnati. These people are going out to the coasts, getting experience, and then coming back to work here.” – Charley Key, CEO of Losant.

Read that again.

People are boomeranging back from the coasts for job opportunities at Midwest tech companies.

And our team hears similar things from most of the tech companies we work with in cities like Indianapolis, Denver, Boulder, Kansas City, Raleigh, and Nashville.

How do we help people find meaningful tech careers in the heartland?

But it still needs to be easier for the best people to find the best jobs in the Midwest, South, Southeast, Rocky Mountains, and other regions between the coasts. Here are the biggest problems we’re seeing:

• The best companies move so fast, they don’t have time to do exhaustive searches (even for some of their highest-impact roles).
• The most qualified people aren’t getting the chance to work on the most innovative products and projects.
• Senior talent—or people capable of growing into leadership positions—remain the most difficult professionals to find.

That’s why we’re building some new tools for talented leaders and technologists.

If you know someone who might be interested in the exploring new career opportunities in this tech community, please send them our way. Better yet …

If you are intrigued and want to learn more while sharing some feedback on what we’re building …

>>>Click here to join this private mailing list for people exploring careers in tech.

By opting in, you get to provide direct feedback on the career tools we’re building.

I’m really excited about the momentum we’re building as a community. Things look good for heartland tech, and I know that we can make it even easier to connect great people with great tech teams.

Thanks,
Matt