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Computer Science and Web Design students from Roosevelt, Cleveland, and Ingraham high schools visited Google Seattle today at their Fremont offices.

About 70 high schoolers got a first-hand look at what professional life is like at Google’s progressive, cutting-edge technology workplace. They were treated to a tour of the offices and heard a “tech talk” by a Googler (Google-speak for engineer) on their new 3D Maps Tours feature. Following that, the students peppered a panel of Googlers with great questions about the technology, their career paths, and work life at Google. Pizza and chats with the Googlers followed.

Students were wowed by everything. The Google offices were modern, open, creative, and beautifully designed. Googlers are treated to 3 meals a day in multiple cafeterias (and we’re not talking about vending machines and microwaves here), game rooms, massages, medical clinics, place to take naps, a gym, and lots of other amenities, all provided by the company. One student was heard to question why anyone would ever leave the building. “You have everything here! Do you even need an apartment?”

Beyond the facilities though, the visit was instructive for our students to hear about paths to a job at Google — major in computer science in college, be passionate about it, seek out internships, and make lots of stuff!

The Googlers were certainly passionate and smart and enthusiastic about their work. They were also very generous to take time out from their regular work day to spend time with all of us.

Thanks to all of them and especially to our host, Zoanna Jones, for their gracious hospitality and organizing such a great visit for SPS students. And also many thanks to Hélène Martin at the UW for introducing us, and to Mary Davison from SPS CTE for making this field trip possible for us.

— Andy Davidson, Roosevelt HS
— Susan Evans, Cleveland HS
— Brett Schormann, Ingraham HS

ZUCKERBEGR: The Musical!
by cdza
At RHS use this link: 2_hkk6lFTb4

Today, Facebook went public.

What does this mean? Going public means that a private company has its IPO (Initial Public Offering), or begins selling shares in the company publicly, on the stock market. This allows the public, ordinary people like us, not just large institutional investors, to own a piece of that company. The idea is that as the company grows, the stock price will go up and our investment in that stock will increase in value. You hope.

One measure of a company’s size and success is its market capitalization, or the total value of all of its shares of stock at the current share price. Here is a snapshot of some companies in technology, banking, oil, and of local interest so you can compare their market caps, as of today: