| BiTmaP Graduates First Class
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 25, 2006
NATIONAL BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING PROGRAM GRADUATES FIRST CLASS
Graduates Can Expect 40 Percent Higher Pay
Chicago, Ill. - BiTmaP, the nation's only accredited, tuition-free bioinformatics training program, today announced the graduation of its first class. They can expect 40 percent higher pay in bioinformatics compared to an entry-level information technology (IT) position.
According to a 2005 Enterprise Systems salary survey of IT professionals, entry-level IT staff earn an average of $53,000. According to Ann Reed, BiTmaP's program director, students are receiving offers starting at $75,000.
One success story is BiTmaP graduate Glenn Bushee, a Minnesota native who accepted a position at the Medical College of Wisconsin Bioinformatics Program while completing his final BiTmaP course. Glenn now works on the Medical College's generic clinical research database and supports their clinical, proteomic and genetic research customers.
"As an online course and living in Minnesota, BiTmaP appeared to be the perfect opportunity to begin a career change," said Bushee. "The results have been beyond my expectations and played a major role in my placement at the Medical College of Wisconsin."
Steven Dorst, Information Technology Applications Manager at the Medical College of Wisconsin Bioinformatics Program, was impressed with how BiTmaP supplied Bushee with the scientific domain knowledge necessary to process the complex requirements his customers demand.
"BiTmaP candidates bring practical IT delivery experience and a bioinformatics background that make them well-suited to develop novel computing solutions in a research setting," said Dorst. "We look at BiTmaP as a source of bioinformatic talent, and have encouraged corporations in the nearby research park to do the same."
BiTmaP, a Chicago Technology Park initiative funded by the Department of Labor, is designed to bridge the gap between the surplus of unemployed or underemployed IT professionals and the fast-growing life-science community. The University of Illinois at Chicago, the only accredited bioinformatics PhD/MS program in Illinois, is BiTmaP's academic training partner.
The class has ten graduates. Nine are Chicagoans and one is from Minnesota. Half were unemployed and the others were underemployed when they enrolled in BiTmaP. Their IT backgrounds ranged from software engineer to systems network administrator. Six had Masters degrees.
"I want to congratulate the class of 2006 for seizing this opportunity to break into the exciting new field of bioinformatics," said Ann Reed. "We are confident BiTmaP has prepared them to tackle the ever-growing data challenges in the life sciences industry."
The graduation celebration for the inaugural BiTmaP class will be held on Thursday, May 25 at 4:30 p.m. at 2100 W. Harrison in the Chicago Technology Park.
For more information on BiTmaP visit www.bitmapchicago.com or call 312-243-1289.
About BiTmaP:
BiTmaP is a tuition-free bioinformatics training program, designed to bridge the gap between the surplus of unemployed or underemployed information technology (IT) professionals and the fast-growing life science community. BiTmaP is sponsored by a $3 million grant awarded to the Chicago Technology Park by the U.S. Department of Labor. BiTmaP has appointed the University of Illinois at Chicago to provide IT professionals with the science knowledge and specific IT skills required to obtain and maintain employment as bioinformatics professionals. For more information, please visit www.bitmapchicago.com or call 312-243-1289.
###
Associated File: None
|
