Jim McKelvey of LaunchCode inspires young programmers

Jim McKelvey is co-founder of LaunchCode, a newly formed St. Louis based non profit company with the mission of connecting aspiring and talented programmers with established companies. He spoke to students at Columbia Area Career Center about his work and the prospects of employment for students with programming skills. His enthusiasm about the opportunities for students was evident as he gave numerous examples of programmers he has placed and the professional as well as financial success they are achieving. His message was simple, if you like to program, have built something, are committed to working hard and learning as you train, there is a place for you in the current job market. Age and education are not determining factors for success. In fact, he claimed that many of the students in the audience were qualified right now to be placed through LaunchCode. McKelvey encouraged students to continue their learning experience on line through free computer science courses offered through Harvard, MIT and Stanford.His goal is to attract a surplus of programmers to the St Louis area with the hopes of luring companies needing programmers to follow.  For more information on LaunchCode click here.

Jim McKelvey, co-founder of LaunchCode

McKelvey talks with Advanced C++ Programming students after presentation