Tech Career Guide: Non-technical roles in tech
Part 1: Find out about the most popular and in-demand non-technical jobs in tech.
When you think of jobs in tech, you might imagine a developer, engineer or data scientist -someone who has technical skills such as coding.
Technology companies aren’t just hiring technical people though, they’re also hiring for non-technical roles in areas such as marketing, product, and design.
Tech companies require people with different skill sets- you do not need to be technical to work in tech. Glassdoor actually found that 43% of roles advertised by tech companies were non-technical.
Why should I work in tech?
Well, we really could spend all day talking about why tech is the best industry to work in. For now, we’ve rounded up our top three reasons:
1. Have access to unlimited jobs
Technology jobs are projected to be among the fastest growing and are in demand due to the UK’s digital skills gap. According to this report, more than five million tech jobs are expected to be added globally by 2027.
2. Get paid an above average salary
If you’re aiming to boost your savings or jet set around the world — a job in tech could make both these things happen, quicker. The tech industry pays a lot higher compared to other industries; Glassdoor found that on average tech jobs paid £20,000 more than non-tech jobs.
3. Have fun building the future
Who wouldn’t be part of an industry that’s building our future? It’s such an interesting time to work in the industry with new emerging technology to be worked on, other industries to be disrupted, and underserved audiences to cater for.
What jobs could I do?
Tons! You’ve got lots of options for your next career move.
Below we’ve created a list of some of the most popular and in-demand non- technical jobs. Each job has a role description, the required skills, and further links. We’ve also included tips from industry experts.
1. Product Manager
Role description:
A product manager is responsible for leading the success of a new product and working cross-functionally with several teams such as tech, marketing, and sales.
You’ll be responsible for making sure the product is being made as efficiently as possible; listening to the product users to understand what features they want; gathering and analysing customer feedback to make future decisions about the product. This article talks about women may make the best product managers.
Good for those who:
- Enjoy working collaboratively with several teams
- Are creative but also analytical
- Have strong communication skills
- Can empathise with others & understand different peoples’ needs
Expert Advice from Andy Ayim, Managing Director of Backstage Capital & previous Product Manager.
“Top 3 things I would advise for anyone looking to break into Product Management:
- Attend Product events such as Product Tank’s monthly meetup
- Consume content such as books, blogs, and podcasts from product leaders such as Marc Abraham My Product Management Toolkit and the This is Product Management podcast
- Speak to PM’s — you can meet some at events, which is better than a cold message on LinkedIn.
Doing the above three will feed your curiosity and help you decide whether or not you want to learn more and give it a try (or not!).”
To read more of Andy’s tips, sign up to his newsletter here.
Further links to read and watch:
2. UX Designer
Role description:
How many times have you deleted an app after having a bad or difficult experience using it?
A UX designer’s job is to make sure this doesn’t happen. UX stands for user experience — a UX designer is responsible for making digital products such as apps or websites useable and effective. A UX designer asks why certain parts exist, how they work, and what they add to the product. UX designers make sure the product is accessible to their audience, i.e. they keep in mind those who may have impairments, different sized devices, feature phones, etc. You’ll have a mixture of responsibilities and tasks such as including talking to clients about their requirements, conducting user testing, re-designing apps to make them responsive and building wireframes. It is a user-centric role and, therefore, requires insight into the psychology of consumers.
Good for those who:
- With a design background/ interested in design
- Comfortable working with data
- Enjoys testing out new ideas and analysing the results
- Likes working in a collaborative environment
Further links to read
3. Copywriter
Role description:
A copywriter at a tech company has the important job of communicating what a company does internally and externally with language and tone that is representative of the brand. They, sometimes, have the job of transforming complex and confusing tech jargon to customer friendly language.
Depending on the size of the company, a copywriter’s responsibilities may range from thinking of a brand’s name and tagline to creating customer manuals, user guides, and product descriptions.
If you’re already a writer, this would be a good way to transition into tech by using your previous skills. You could learn to code to help understand to gain some technical knowledge.
Good for those who:
- Love writing or professionally write for a living already
- Curious and excited about tech
- Creative and full of new ideas
- Likes to communicate and work with various
Expert tip from Roshni Goyate, Senior copywriter and co-founder of The Other Box
“I’ve always found that my job as a writer in tech has been to bridge the gap between an amazing tech product and its customer. That has often meant translating entirely new, never-before-seen concepts into short, choppy one-liners that anyone will, not only understand but, want to have in their lives.
User experience is everything, and actually not dissimilar to brand experience and tone of voice: you’re taking the customer on the journey with you in a way that feels smooth and logical. One of my main bits of advice would be to work as closely as possible with the development team to make sure you fully understand the product you’re writing for and to make sure every single word is true to the brand.”
Further links to read and watch:
4. Operations Manager
Role description:
An operations manager gets stuff done- they ensure that the day-to-day operations of a business run smoothly and ensure deadlines are met.
You’ll be responsible for all the logistics of the organisation such as preparing budgets and inventories and overseeing the supervision of employees. Within the tech industry, you could be responsible for planning and implementing the logistics of an app which delivers a service and ensuring customers have a good experience.
Good for those who:
- Loves being extremely organised and able to work under pressure
- Comfortable with making judgements and decisions quickly
- Is a people’s person — enjoys working and managing multiple teams
Expert advice from Aleksandra M. Pędraszewska Co-Founder and Head of Commercial at Vivid-Q.
“I think that to be a successful operations manager (or a non-technical team member in general) in a technology company, you need to remain constantly curious about the actual solution and underlying science behind it. To build trust and make things run efficiently you need the backing of your tech team, and there is no better way to get it than by being genuinely interested in what they create on a daily basis.
Leading operations in an early-stage technology start-up gives me this great feeling of making things happen. You see change (both for better and for worse) happening constantly in different parts of the business and overlooking it is extremely exciting. It really gets you out of bed in the morning.”
Further links to read:
Account Manager
Role description:
Depending on the type of company you’ll be working for, the responsibilities and duties of an account manager can vary. However, for most jobs, your main responsibilities would be managing and nurturing current customer relationships and proactively looking for new relationships and opportunities to grow the business and revenue. You may also have to demonstrate products to customers and explain how your specific product or solution meets customers’ needs.
Good for those who are:
- people’s people — they need great interpersonal skills and are comfortable talking to different parties
- confident at multi-tasking and juggling different projects
- excited by tech
Expert Advice from Sonya Barlow, Founder of Like-Minded Females and Delivery Manager at Mudano
“Working in tech allows me to be creative, innovative, disruptive yet strategic and logical. Becoming a tech manager is like learning a new language; I’ve had to learn how to communicate with those technical and manage expectations with stakeholders.
Though, this is one of the most important things about being a manager, its giving people their space to be their true selves, communicate in their language and adapt to their personality. Technology, honestly, brings unity, ignites passion, and makes everyone a problem solver!”
Further links to read:
Marketing Manager
Role description:
Marketing managers play a key role in helping businesses promote their product or services. You’ll be responsible for thinking of new ideas and creating engaging content and campaigns for different audiences. As well as conducting research to build user personas and analysing data to identify new opportunities. Depending on the size of the company, you may be working with the CEO or several other teams such as developers, PR, communications, and sales.
Good for those who:
- Are full of new and engaging ideas
- Are comfortable with data and understand the importance of it
- Enjoy working collaboratively with others
- are curious about tech and digital tools
Expert Advice from Serena Chana, Marketing Manager at 23 Code Street
“I love working in marketing as it’s a great way to combine creative and analytical skills in one job. Here are my top tips to get into marketing:
- Start learning and becoming interested
Don’t worry if you don’t have any professional qualifications in marketing — in my experience, most people don’t and have learnt on the job. I recommend completing an online free marketing course such as Google Digital Garage to learn the foundations and show employers you’re serious and committed.
2. Do something you love
All the content you create is going to be about a company’s specific product or service, so choose to work in a tech company that you’re actually interested in.
3. Don’t be afraid of tech — learn some technical skills!
Knowing how to code has made me a better marketer — I can actually work alongside developers and understand what they’re talking about, as well as build emails and websites. Having tech skills will make you stand out from the crowd and give you a competitive edge in the hiring process.”
Further Reading
Let us know what other jobs you think should be on our list by tweeting us. Have questions? Send an email to hello@23codestreet.com.
