The technology workforce in Alaska is stagnant and has stunted the businesses in the technology sector in Alaska. Programmers often leave the state citing "no jobs" while potential employers overlook Alaska due to "lack of talent." Previous attempts to build and promote a programming community have been implemented in a very focused or niche manner such as "web developers meetup" or "game developers" meetup. Due to Alaska's large land mass and low population density, none of these groups have been sustainable.
The Alaska Developer's Alliance is bridging this gap to create the critical mass of programmers needed to promote and grow a community capable of supporting knowledge-based and technology businesses.
- Problem statement
- Solution
- Community responsibility
- Organizational structure
- Code of Conduct
- Guiding Vision and Ideas
- Conclusion
- Founders
Alaska does not currently have the required workforce to fill the existing gaps in the workforce, support local technology development, or scale a high growth technology startup. _
- Newer engineers have very few career prospects.
- Seasoned engineers either leave Alaska or work remotely because there are few jobs commensurate with experience or industry wages.
- Engineers working remotely from Alaska offer valuable skill sets and experience that are in-demand, but haven’t found a way to participate in the community.
- Major corporations in Telco and Oil & Gas are outsourcing jobs to the lower 48 because they can’t find the workforce locally.
- State and local government cannot fill senior developers positions
Without a cohesive programming community, the technology workforce in Alaska will continue to struggle.
In order to help drive engineering in Alaska we are building a community that serves as a hub for programmers, engages with students of all levels, and provides ongoing training and professional development.
The Alaska Developers Alliance is a grassroots organization that addresses all of the problems by being discipline agnostic, including all programming abilities, engaging community stakeholders(employers), and providing continuing education for programmers to progress their career. By positioning it as the flywheel of the Alaskan programmer ecosystem businesses can better see how their involvement with the organization will directly impact their own businesses and the future of Alaska.
As a grassroots organization, our primary responsibility is to the developers that exist in our ecosystem. The ADA strives to create the best possible community that can exist and is a welcoming group for all human beings regardless of race, sexual orientation, creed, and preference for tabs vs. spaces.
It has a responsibility to the community to exist and will create an organizational structure that will promote the success of the ADA in coming years.
We will adopt a board to handle turnover and add some redundancy for members to step back if need-be. The organizational structure will consist of a board staffed by ADA members and a Launch Alaska position.
Launch Alaska will serve as the fiscal sponsor for the ADA. This is includes:
- Fundraising within the Alaskan Community and corporate outreach
- Financial management (receiving sponsorships, paying expenses, accounting, etc)
- Guidance based on needs communicated from Launch Alaska Stakeholders
The ADA maintains a code of conduct that is ingrained into the fabric of the organization. We strive to be an inclusive organization. If we can improve please let us know.
Moving forward will explore the ideas listed below to create a deeper, more robust community of developers in Alaska. These list is malleable and will be talked about at board meetings, discussed with the community, and change with the direction of the group.
In order to overcome the lacking technology sector in Alaska, we must invest time and money into fostering a community organized around learning the craft of programming. This is the single biggest factor in the future success of Alaska's knowledge-based economy.
Arsh Chauhan
Adam Link
Conroy Whitney
Isaac Vanderburg
Jeff Levin
Jeremy Mayfield
Vincent Castro