Trending Opportunities in the Tech World
It can be daunting, breaking into the world of tech jobs, especially when coming from a non-technical background. The first impression comes usually in the form of a screen filled with lines upon lines of incomprehensible code, but fortunately, like any large industry, the technology industry doesn’t comprise of just tech — in fact, most employees aren’t even engineers or developers. So if you’re trying to break into your first tech job, you may have a lot more options than you think.
Skillsets
Before we go into those options, let’s talk about your skills. When you’re moving from a non-technical background into a tech field, an employer is looking at the two types of skills you’re bringing to the table: your technical skills, and your transferable skills. Let’s break these down.
Technical
For most people, this refers to programming. For others, this might be more along the lines of database management, networking, technical project management — the list could go on.
If it’s development you want to get into, spend some time learning a couple of languages. Choose one based on the kind of development you’re interested in. Is it desktop, web, gaming, or something like VR? A second, and more advanced step would be to learn the basic practices of software development. This is key; learn about design patterns, algorithms, database management, and version control.
Getting a grasp on some of the basics can help you get your foot in the door, especially if you’re gearing up for applying for a more technical role. Like any other job, you can hone and improve your skills once you cross that milestone, and learn along the way.
Transferable
Transferable skills refer to those you’re bringing from your past work. These are traditionally softer skills (although not always), and in most cases, you can apply skills from any job you’ve had previously to a tech job.
These are skills like communication, project management, time management — even creative or artistic pursuits can be useful when we consider a transition into a UI/UX job. There’s a trick to this: emphasize your work experience, not your job title. Focus on the day-to-day or long term tasks you handled, and break down each of your prior jobs to the bare basics, with an emphasis on the soft skills you gained from those experiences. Here’s a great article on just how to do that.
Hot Areas in Tech
Now that we’ve gone over the two basic skillsets you need to think about, let’s focus on the kinds of fields you can get into. Tech doesn’t just mean software developer or programmer. The tech industry is like any massive industry — there’s a lot of opportunity to work in tech, without being a technical person. Careers built around fields like HR, Sales and Marketing can also land you in a tech company. However, if you’re keen on digging your feet into a technical role, here are a few options that may help you get started.
Social Media and Marketing is incredibly hot right now. Facebook alone boasts over 2 billion users, so everything from small businesses to large corporations are eager to capitalize on the advertising and marketing potential of social media. You’d need to know a few things like analytics, marketing and growth strategies, as well as a couple of basic tech languages, like HTML and CSS — don’t worry! They’re super easy to learn.
If you want to get more creative, try going for a UI/UX Developer position. These combine developmental skills with the ability to create fantastic user interfaces and workflows.
A more technical developmental role points to Developers. These are the programmers who build everything from mobile or desktop apps, to the embedded technology that powers our phones and our smart watches. You’d need more in-depth coding skills for this, but there are a number of great resources available online to help you get your toes wet.
If you’re the data-driven type, there’s a few options here as well. Business Intelligence Analysts use data to determine market and business trends, helping companies increase profits and reduce costs. A more technical route would be to become a Database Developer, who develops and maintains the information storage and processing behind the scenes, or a Data Scientist, who processes large quantities of data in order to extract meaningful analysis.
By no means was this an exhaustive list, but hopefully you now have a point from which to start exploring. Looking for more? Skillcrush has a far more comprehensive list of jobs in tech.
At Chic Geek, our goal is to build a supportive, welcoming community where you can gain the resources and skills you need to help you leverage technology in order to grow in your business or career.
If you’re looking to gain some of those new skills, try out our MeetnTech events! They’re our evening events, coupling short tech talks with dedicated networking time. Or if you’re searching for something more immersive, take a look at our Mentorship Program, where we match you with a mentor able to guide you through your technical journey.
Wherever that journey takes you, we hope this article inspired you to think outside of the box, and if you haven’t already, take that first leap into tech.
