Choosing the right career path is a huge, pivotal decision that all new graduates will face at some point. Even if you do not land your dream graduate job straight after finishing your degree, you may well encounter the opportunity to pursue a new career path later in life.
As you progress through life, one influential factor that will likely undergo accelerated and seismic shifts is technology. Technology has delivered many possibilities and opened up numerous new avenues for businesses these days, not to mention that it permeates most aspects of our daily lives. Considering the permanence of technology and digital transformation, many young people are pondering ways they can pursue a profitable and rewarding career in this field.
This job market is evolving, much like the huge array of products, solutions and working models that are – ironically – influenced by technology. However, if recent trends are anything to go by, it’s worth noting that many businesses need technologically-gifted and analytically-minded individuals. That said, Hays reported that 95% of employers that seek tech talent encountered a huge skills shortage in 2022.
However, as this guide will outline, you don’t have to be particularly technical to get started in the industry. A further consideration is that it offers job security, a decent wage, long-term benefits and satisfaction. So let’s explore this path a little further.
Reasons to Pursue a Tech Career
There are many benefits of embarking on a career in tech, with positions offering plenty of tangible financial and work-life balance advantages.
- Remote working flexibility: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the growth of remote and hybrid working, with more companies and employees opting for this added flexibility. The nature of tech-focused jobs makes them – for the most part – easier to do remotely, meaning you can do many (if not all) of your responsibilities from the comfort of your own home.
- Decent salaries and benefits: Tech careers have the potential to offer individuals very generous take-home pay. Not only that, but many employers in the tech space offer impressive perks and benefits packages, including private healthcare, extended parental leave, dental cover, and many more. For those who want long-term financial security and enhanced quality of life, tech may be the perfect entry point.
- Jobs are in high demand: More companies are looking at ways to leverage tech to make their staff’s lives easier, as well as those of their clients. Many tech roles are, therefore, in such high demand that many employers are open to hiring candidates with no proven experience or degrees to their name, even accepting apprenticeships or internships. This allows workers to get paid a salary while they learn and work on real-world projects to add to their portfolios.
- Numerous career opportunities: Technology exists as a standalone field of work, however, many other industries incorporate technology, and therefore, offer very similar jobs. Whether this is in sectors like healthcare, finance, property, marketing, eCommerce, and many others, you can apply essential tech skills to various fields, meaning you have plenty of career options to choose from. This also allows you a better chance to explore a passion or fervent interest from the outset.
- The industry is booming: Technology is only growing in use and availability and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. The increasing interest and adoption of tools like cloud computing, software development, data analysis, vulnerability detection, digital forensics, and system penetration testing, not to mention the boom in artificial intelligence, means that more people will be needed to innovate and offer creative, strategic input.
Are there Any Drawbacks to Working in Tech?
In the interests of fairness, it’s worth noting that tech-dominated careers offer a handful of minor drawbacks. Therefore, if you are contemplating a career in this space, it’s worth bearing these in mind, to help you make an informed decision.
- Technology-based work is very fast-paced.
- You’ll be expected to work well under pressure.
- The job market is highly competitive.
- You’ll need to demonstrate that you can work well alone and in collaboration with others
- You need to show that you can adapt and be accepting of changes, which will come quite rapidly and unexpectedly.
- The industry carries a long-standing gender, ethnicity and racial bias towards white males. Whilst more is now actively being done to close the gender and diversity gap, it continues to be an area requiring more breakthrough action.
Despite having some inherent drawbacks and considerations, the benefits can often outweigh them when you get off on the right foot.
Types of career paths in Tech
The most in-demand and competitive tech positions can range from sector to sector, however, as a loose guide, the types of careers you can pursue that involve technology include the following.
- Software or web development
- Data science or analysis
- Systems or database administration
- Computer network architecture
- DevOps engineering
- Programming
- Information security analysis
- Quality assurance testing
- IoT solutions architecture
- Data storage
- UI/UX design
- Cybersecurity
- IT support
- Business intelligence
- Product Marketing
- Cloud or machine learning engineering
Required Skills for Tech Careers
There is no universal, best type of tech career to pursue; everyone will have unique preferences. The right job will depend on various factors like interests, prospects, goals, and skills.
Developing skills and competencies can help you get ahead of competing candidates for specific types of tech careers. As is expected, these will vary depending on the jobs you apply for. However, these skills are in high demand across a multitude of tech-based career paths, so it’s worth ensuring that you can demonstrate these in interviews and practical exercises.
- Problem-solving skills
- Time management
- Collaboration and teamwork
- Communication
- Diligence
- Decision-making
- Adaptability
- Flexibility
- Programming or coding
- Database management
- Customer service
- Creativity
- Mathematical knowledge
- Empathy
These soft and hard skills vary from role to role, and many tech professionals wrongly assume that they need to be proficient in all coding languages and competent in many leading tools. However, that is not always the case, as many roles will stipulate a minimum level of experience expected.
How to Start a Career in Technology
You don’t need to go back to university and pursue a computer science or web development degree.
While starting a career in technology sounds intimidating, the first few steps can be all you need to establish a firm foundation. From then, you can build and adapt as you see fit to find the perfect niche or sector you want to focus on.
As a loose guide, these steps should help you start a career in technology.
- Learn some essential coding skills. Even if development isn’t your end goal, learning programming and coding languages can be a crucial step in the right direction. At the very least, learn the basics of HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and from then, see which other languages are fitting, such as C#, Python, Java or PHP.
- Pursue accreditation. Industry certifications aren’t compulsory, but they can help you stand out to recruiters and prospective employers. Ultimately, certifications are going to help you learn valuable skills and abilities, so they’re a win-win!
- Practise and offer freelance work. The best way to learn and hone your skills is to practise as much as possible. An effective way to practise is to offer freelance assistance and start building a portfolio to show prospective clients or employers. You never know, you may find that freelance web development works conveniently for you.
- Consider an apprenticeship or internship. If you want to hit the ground running and learn while you work, consider taking up a tech apprenticeship programme. These can help you prepare for a tech career, allowing you to complete real projects and refine your skills with on-the-job training.
- Apply for tech positions. You’ll never know your true potential unless you apply. Even if you don’t end up getting a specific job, you can take feedback and use that to fine-tune how you approach interviews and tasks going forward. Often, interview day nerves get the best of candidates, but practice makes perfect. Before long, you’ll be able to approach tech job interviews with confidence.
Stay current, anticipate and shine
Technology keeps changing rapidly, and people must adapt to stay ahead of the curve. Tech professionals must keep expanding their knowledge and skill sets, and also stay clued into advances in automation and technology trends.
While many employers look for workers with degrees and certifications, some will take a chance on entry-level candidates with the right attitude and mindset.
Image by Christina Morillo from Pexels
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