44% of workers' core skills are expected to change in the next five years.
*according to World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2023
We need to help students realize STEM skills are critical for any career, even those not traditionally considered “STEM.”
FIRST® helps build the STEM skills and real-world skills young people need to become productive global citizens – including teamwork, resiliency, and a lifelong love of learning.
The breadth of career opportunities that an education in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) can provide is wider than ever. Today’s students are inspired by FIRST to build futures tailored to their unique talents and interests.
While students figure out their tomorrows...
Help them build their skills TODAY
“I use skills I learned through FIRST every day. For example, working backward from deadlines and planning out work in stages, being able to summarize complex design thinking into quickly digestible briefs, coordinating with various sized teams and working with people who all bring different skills to the team. These are all things I learned early in life through FIRST and apply every day.”
Dr. Melissa Smith
Staff UX Research Lead, Google Workspace
“My experiences in FIRST taught me to organize and lead a team of people across skillsets, under a tight timeframe, to achieve an end goal that would change from project to project. My career is almost the definition of STEAM. We are highly technical people that are producing art and entertainment for the masses across media outlets. We have to take a creative vision and translate that into technical execution in order to pull off events like the Super Bowl halftime show.”
Jason Rudolph
SVP, Screens Producer, Aeon Point
“I can trace all of my career success back to my FIRST experience! Through FIRST, I learned what engineering really was by designing and building robots - but it was about so much more than the robots. There are so many things in my job now that feel familiar to working on a FIRST team. Today, I am a Senior Project Engineer for Hasbro Gaming and Avalon Hill. In my role, I am re-imagining the most classic board and card games in the world and am helping to create the next amazing game.”
Kelly Carlson
Senior Project Engineer, Hasbro Gaming and Avalon Hill
“Participating in all FIRST programs had an indelible impact on my life. FIRST provided me with a robust foundation I have relied on throughout my career across the private and public sectors, most recently serving on The White House's National Security Council staff. This foundation of invaluable skills includes teamwork, leadership, public speaking, stakeholder management, and more. FIRST has enabled me to explore my interests and strengths at an early age. FIRST has changed my career and my life.”
Shrey Majmudar
Associate, McKinsey & Company
“My FIRST experience laid the groundwork for my personal resiliency. Attempting to build a robot in six weeks as a freshman in high school seemed impossible, but as I started to get into FIRST, impossible transformed into inspiration. The confidence I developed by seeing what a team could accomplish, what I could learn, and my capabilities propelled me into my college life and career. Now I know that with a great team, the right questions, and a little bit of daring, anything is possible.”
Ellen Willcock
Senior Production Engineer, Dow
FIRST is the sport where everyone can go “pro”
Founded as a nonprofit by inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST has been bringing competitive robotics to life for over 35 years. FIRST works because our Pre K-12 programs use strategies known to increase student interest in STEM: hands-on learning, working as a team on real-life problems, exposure to careers and adult mentors, emphasis on FIRST Core Values, and a culminating celebration where students can showcase what they created and learned.
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Thank you "Get Anywhere" campaign supporters
Across global industries, leading organizations seek employees equipped with adaptable skills needed for the jobs of tomorrow. “Get Anywhere” campaign supporters know the critical role FIRST plays in fortifying the STEM talent pipeline by expanding student interest in these fields.
