They call themselves "Tech Treckkers" - the group of MIT Sloan MBA students making an annual trip to Silicon Valley to look for jobs and network with alumni.

About 120 MIT Sloan students will arrive in Silicon Valley in the first week of 2011 with a reception at the Computer History Museum on Jan 3rd for the students and alumni.

The organizers report that there is "cautious optimism" about job prospects in 2011.

"One of the companies we tried to book last year gave us the cold shoulder, which I assume was because they didn't have any open positions," said Ryan Thurston, who is joining the Trek to Seattle, where he spent eight years at a tech startup before enrolling at MIT Sloan. "This year, the same company is at least willing to sit down and discuss a visit."

There is also a Boston Tech Trek, with visits to Novell, Nokia, Akamai, and Skyhook Wireless.

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Please see:

EAST MEETS WEST - 5 Observations on Silicon Valley from an MIT Sloan Perspective