How to Start Your Career in Tech Without a Technology Background
The technology world is currently where the market and money is. A highly challenging field with constant innovations and high rewards is attracting everyone. Know how you enter this field even if you are not from a technological background. Know how to learn the tricks of the technical trade and make a splash into this tech world.
There is a myth out there: unless you have been coding since you were 12, there is no way into tech. This is just a myth—it is not grounded on reality. There are plenty of options for those seeking to start a career in tech without a tech background, whether they are fresh out of school or working outside the sector.
This myth is keeping many people away from very lucrative and satisfying careers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average software engineer—a popular career in technology—earns $105,590 per year. The employment of software engineers is expected to grow by 21 percent between 2018 and 2028. In the same period, the employment of application developers will increase by 26 percent, while that of systems developers will do so by 10 percent.
With technology becoming a growing component of every major industry, the prospects for the sector can only improve. The healthcare, agriculture, and insurance industries are all leveraging the power of technology to boost efficiency. As enterprises embrace tech, more people are needed to keep up with technological changes and develop applications.
At the same time, an increasing number of products rely on software, such as consumer electronics and appliances. This means only one thing—demand for programmers is skyrocketing. Don't be fooled by any myths: a career in tech is very lucrative and within your reach!Getting Your Foot In The Door
Many believe you need to have impressive coding skills or be a math whiz to be employed in the tech sector, but that's just not true. Companies in the tech sector require the services of professionals from various industries and with skills from the entire job spectrum. These professionals can have very satisfying and lucrative careers aboard technology companies.
Comparably recently compiled results from more than 14,500 users to determine the most popular jobs in technology companies for people without a tech background. These people came from small, mid-size, and large companies, including Apple, Uber and Facebook. The study found plenty of roles that require little to no tech experience—some complete with hefty salaries and bonuses.
Tech companies, for example, need creative directors to shape their artistic vision and branding. According to Comparably, the base salary of a creative director is $130,515, with a bonus of $9,307. Copywriters are also needed to produce content for tech brands that can capture the imagination of potential customers. According to the study, the base salary of a copywriter working with a tech company is $65,976, with a bonus of $1,722.
Other professions in high demand in the sector are accountants ($60,249), customer service managers ($65,400), business analysts ($78,393), marketing managers ($81,095), account representatives ($71,233), recruiters ($85,599), human resources managers ($92,852), sales representatives ($70,030) and creative directors ($130,515).
The thing is that these positions can be the perfect entry point for a career as a technology professional. Many people have been hired by tech companies in a non-technical capacity to transition to a technical role eventually.
You may enter a tech company as a copywriter or social media manager. After a few months, you may want to find out more about all those technical terms you keep hearing and writing about. You try your luck with one of them, say learning CSS, and you find it pretty stimulating and fun. Bitten by the bug of coding, you start learning other programming languages and tools that interest you. Before you know it, you may have the skills you need to transition into an entirely technical role, such as a web designer, digital marketer or SEO expert.
In an article published in Skillcrush, author Scott Morries describes the journey of a copywriter turned Digital Marketing Manager at DNS Made Easy; a Twitter ghostwriter who is now the Chief Brand Officer at Pavemint; and a Fine Arts graduate who ended up as Senior Product Manager at The Penny Hoarder. All their journeys point to the same lesson: you don't need a background in technology to have a satisfying tech career.Get The Skills You Need
You may get your foot in the door with a non-technical job, but to get the rest of your body in, you will need certain skills and knowledge. From attending a four-year program at a university to cramming everything into a course lasting no more than a few weeks, there is an option for every person and situation.University Degree
This is the traditional method to get it done. Many people choose this route because they perceive it as a safer option. Indeed, many employers do prefer university graduates with computer science diplomas. Candidates holding a university degree are often perceived as being better-rounded professionals, as they have spent a lot of time learning the theory behind the technology. Some community colleges offer cheaper programs, but the average tuition is $20,000 per year. Coding Bootcamp
Increasingly the path of choice for many tech hopefuls, a coding bootcamp is a fast and efficient way of learning what you need to get your first job in tech. In less than 15 weeks of intense, practical training, you will learn the basics of your chosen profession and will be ready to start sending applications.
Bootcamps represent a much smaller time and money investment and are, therefore, considered the smarter alternative. Compare the average cost of a bootcamp—$13,500—to what a university degree could potentially cost. Earning a degree at some universities can cost as much as $70,000 per year, making the cost of a single semester exceed that of an entire coding bootcamp.
There are many additional advantages to attending a bootcamp. Several coding bootcamps have a job guarantee—if students do not get hired within a certain amount of time, the school refunds some or all of the tuition. Some bootcamps offer a partial refund if you aren't able to find a job; others provide a partial refund if you find a job but you earn below a certain amount.
As a nice bonus, many bootcamps offer comprehensive career support to students and graduates to ensure they land a good job. This support can take the form of career counseling, professional interview practice, and resume review services, among others.
There is no tech skill or application that you cannot learn in a bootcamp. You can attend a bootcamp for web design, data science, data analytics and cybersecurity, to name a few.Self-learning
Everything you need to learn to kickstart your career is freely available online. Many successful developers are self-taught, having developed their skills using online courses, books, and tutorials.
But harnessing these sources of knowledge requires dedication and discipline. If you have those qualities, studying on your own may be the right choice for you; at least in the beginning, while you are still getting the lay of the land and exploring your options. Later, once you feel more strongly about what you want to study, you can enter a coding bootcamp or a university program.
Also, keep in mind that teaching yourself means you earn no official accreditation or degree, which are useful credentials when looking for jobs. Although you may have the skills the job requires, pitching yourself to employers may be difficult without the backing of an institution. Potential Career Paths
There is a mind-boggling number of career tracks in the tech sector. If you have recently begun considering a career in tech, you may be intimidated by the sheer number of tech roles out there. Here are some of the ones with the best employability and salary prospects:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a technology that focuses on teaching machines to think like humans. Part of AI, machine learning is a technique used to create complex algorithms that learn based on experience and make accurate predictions.
AI and machine learning are becoming more and more pervasive in today's world, with applications across every industry and area of human endeavor. For example, in e-commerce and retail, machine learning is used to create targeted campaigns that attract more buyers. Marketers use machine learning to collect and parse vast amounts of data that allows them to create more effective ads. AI and machine learning engineers use big data to train models involved in natural language processing, economic forecasting, and image recognition.
These are among the best tech jobs for the future by most measures. The average base salary for an AI/Machine Learning Engineer is $146,085.Information Security Analyst
As companies move growing amounts of data online, the need for qualified Information Security Analysts is exploding. Information Security Analysts work on the front lines to protect information systems from cybersecurity threats. Their job is to ensure that hackers and criminals do not access user data and sensitive company information. The Information Security Analyst is also responsible for testing systems to identify any areas that need improvement.
An Information Security Analyst's responsibilities vary depending on the company, but generally speaking, they include monitoring security access, performing security audits on company infrastructure, analyzing security breaches to identify the cause, writing and updating disaster recovery plans, and verifying the security of third-party software.
The median salary for this profession is $98,350Data Analyst
In the digital age, data is king. More and more roles focus on data and how to use it, which has spawned a whole industry centered on collecting information and making sense of it. A Data Analyst is skilled at interpreting data, ensuring its accuracy, and finding the best ways to use it.
A Data Analyst translates data into plain English, whether sales figures, market research, logistics or transportation costs. Their ultimate goal is to help companies make better business decisions. Experts expect the number of job openings for Data Analyst positions to grow by 16 percent from 2018 to 2028.
In 2019, Data Analysts were earning, on average, $118,370 a year.Web Developer
Web Developers design, build, and maintain websites and web applications using different programming languages and frameworks. They are behind every website and web application you use, including the one where you are reading this.
Web Developer positions fall into three categories: Front End Developer, responsible for the part of the application that the user sees; Back End Developer, who specializes on what's happening behind the scenes; and Full Stack Developer, who deals with both ends of the application.
No matter what type of Web Developer you want to become, you can get started on your career by earning a computer science degree from a university or attending a coding bootcamp. Some even choose to teach themselves the trade by using the resources available for free on the web.
As long as we have the Internet, we will need qualified Web Developers. Demand for these professionals will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting a 13 percent rise in the number of openings for this profession from 2018 to 2028.
Web Developers, even entry-level positions, bring in handsome salaries. The median salary for a web developer in 2018 was $69,430.UX/UI Designer
People who design products are in high demand and command big salaries, which makes a career in UX/UI Design very attractive.
A User Experience (UX) Designer focuses on creating products that are as easy to use and intuitive as possible. They conduct research that exposes the potential challenges customers face with the product. Based on those findings, UX Designers make changes to optimize the user experience.
A User Interface (UI) Designer, on the other hand, is responsible for the overall design and look of a product. They choose the colors and font of a website as well as the style of its element. They also assess the accessibility of a particular design. UI Designers use the information provided by UX Designers to create beautiful and functional designs.
In short, breaking into a tech career is possible even if you don't have a background in technology. Many have been hired by tech startups in a non-tech role to then transition to a technical role. Others, lacking the technical skills the sector demands, managed to land their first job after completing a university degree or attending a coding bootcamp. Whichever the case, keep this in mind: a career in tech is well within your reach!
