How to Decode Your Tech Career Options and Find the Right Job

By: Deanne Zettler, vice president, application development at Discover

Technology is ubiquitous, yet somehow, there’s still a perception that all the good tech jobs are in Silicon Valley. But they aren’t — there are tech opportunities around the country, including in Chicago. If you want to work in tech, you have many options on where to live, what company to work for, where to specialize and which industry to join — it’s all up to you.

What I find really exciting about sharing my experiences in technology is that I get to demystify what it’s like to work in tech in financial services. Companies in industries outside of traditional big tech, such as financial institutions, have bolstered their IT departments to adapt to a digital-driven world. Although U.S. tech workers have flocked toward these jobs over the years, the demand for talent continues to grow. At Discover we’re helping talented candidates find the right fit based on their experience and/or career interests.

We’re looking to hire bright and motivated employees who can use their tech skills to make our customer experiences as secure, efficient and user-friendly as possible. Specifically, we’re seeking digitally-driven project managers, software developers, cybersecurity analysts, data scientists, data analysts and data engineers to ensure Discover is at the forefront of tech innovation to solve consumer pain points.

Multiple opportunities for a career in technology is a good position to be in, but can present a dilemma if you don’t know how to align your options with your priorities. That’s why we’ve taken a more thoughtful approach to help match your job interests with our open roles. We created a quick and fun “Make-a-Match” game that you can find at our career booths at Society of Women Engineers, Society of Hispanic Engineers and the Grace Hopper Celebration, starting next week. Are you a tech translator, rock-star coder, data boss or digital disruptor? Step up to our “Make-a-Match” booth to gain a better understanding of which career in technology best aligns with you.

While the “Make-a-Match” game prompts you to answer questions about yourself, it’s equally important for you to pose questions to employers, recruiters and hiring managers to gain insights into a specific role or company. Not sure where to start? You can begin with these, and see how much more confident you’ll feel in choosing the right company fit:

• How do you determine if a project has been successful or failed? What performance metrics do you use?
• Does your company provide trainings (lectures, workshops, etc.) for engineers?
• Does your company have a job rotation program?
• Does your company reserve time for experiments (new library, new programming language, etc.)? Open source projects?
• How much responsibility is given to new employees when they start?

Fast forward to the future and even after landing that first dream job, it’s important to never lose that curiosity you brought to the interview process. New employees have tremendous abilities to be open-minded — make sure you internalize that in light of your own career and seek ways to grow personally and professionally.

Don’t be afraid to identify your weaknesses and improve on them. Take risks, and volunteer for important projects. Focus on delivering results but also make meaningful connections with people you admire. With their guidance, you will learn valuable lessons that will serve you throughout your career.

The tech field is vast and growing, with more options popping up every day. And while choosing the right job out of college can be challenging, it can also be exciting. Just remember to network when you can, stay curious and most importantly, be yourself — and the right job will find you. In fact, the right job could very well be right here with us, at Discover.