Episode 64: Nikhil Pampati – Educating students about their career options through Jobscopia

Nikhil Pampati is a high school senior at the Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies in New Jersey. In his free time, he serves as the cofounder and CFO of the national nonprofit Jobscopia, which runs programs that connect students with professionals and provide them with real-life insights into potential careers.

On this episode, Nikhil shares the story of what inspired him to start Jobscopia when he was a high school junior, and how he evolved this idea through customer research (which included interviewing strangers on the streets of San Mateo), cold calling companies to get them to participate, and networking with employees at hackathons and conferences. He also talks about how he balances his startup work with going to high school, and his advice for young and aspiring entrepreneurs.

You can learn more about Jobscopia at www.jobscopia.com or connect with Nikhil on Facebook.

Nikhil's full bio:

Nikhil Pampati is currently a high school senior at the Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies. In his free time however, he serves as the cofounder and CFO of the national nonprofit Jobscopia, a US-based program he started as a high school junior in 2017. Jobscopia has assisted in the professional development of hundreds of high school students across the country, mainly in New Jersey and California. They not only work with executives from top companies such as Merck and Verizon, but also with local startups to give students an insight into the specifics of different careers. Nikhil also works with NJ’s Junior Achievement to launch the JA Company Program. Over the course of several months, he was able to secure partnerships with Microsoft in New Jersey as well as the Boys and Girls Club of New Jersey. Currently, he is the lead facilitator and teaches middle-school students the basics of venture development. However, he doesn’t limit his involvement with entrepreneurship to New Jersey, as he has managed events and workshops in New York, California and Chicago. Over the summer, he even had the opportunity to mentor almost 20 ventures in New York. He has a passion for learning, exemplified in his research at The New Jersey Institute of Technology regarding the interactions between startups and the market.