Bridging academia and job market realities with Extern’s Matt Wilkerson | E1945

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… ⁠Equinix. The Equinix Startup program offers a hybrid infrastructure solution for startups, including up to $100K in credits and personalized consultations and guidance from the Equinix team. Go to https://deploy.equinix.com/startups to apply today. CLA. Innovation takes balance. CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors can help you get from startup to where you want to end up. Get started now at https://www.claconnect.com/tech HubSpot. If you’re fundraising, be sure to check out the Million Dollar pitch competition from Hubspot for Startups & HubSpot Ventures. Apply now at ⁠https://www.hubspot.com/milliondollarpitch * Todays show: Extern’s Matt Wilkerson joins Jason to discuss the concept of externships and their role in bridging the gap between academic curriculum and job market reality. They delve into the demand for cybersecurity professionals (14:18), the value externships offer in career path decisions (28:43), and the impact and evolution of Extern (37:20). * Timestamps: (0:00) Extern’s Matt Wilkerson joins Jason (4:22) The concept of externships and he problem of student loans and work experience (7:04) Equinix - Join the Equinix Startup Program for up to $100K in credits and much more at https://deploy.equinix.com/startups (8:09) The Extern student experience (14:18) The demand for cybersecurity professionals and the benefits of externships (19:11) The gap between academic curriculum and job market reality (23:58) CLA - Get started with CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors now at https://claconnect.com/tech (25:30) The value of externships in helping students figure out their career paths (33:02) HubSpot - Be sure to check out the Million Dollar pitch competition from Hubspot for Startups & HubSpot Ventures. Apply now at ⁠⁠https://www.hubspot.com/milliondollarpitch (34:17) The impact of Extern on students and the job market (46:04) Understanding customers and the evolution of Extern (52:11) The mission of Extern and advice for new founders * Mentioned on the show: https://www.hotjar.com/net-promoter-score * Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp * Follow Matt: X: https://twitter.com/mwilker LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwilkerson/ Check out: https://www.extern.com/ * Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis * Thank you to our partners: (7:04) Equinix - Join the Equinix Startup Program for up to $100K in credits and much more at https://deploy.equinix.com/startups (23:58) CLA - Get started with CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors now at https://claconnect.com/tech (33:02) HubSpot - Be sure to check out the Million Dollar pitch competition from Hubspot for Startups & HubSpot Ventures. Apply now at ⁠⁠https://www.hubspot.com/milliondollarpitch * Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland * Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis * Follow TWiST: Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast