What comes to mind when you think of a ‘tech’ job?
For many of us, it's coders hunched over computers, typing feverishly away at their keyboard, or hackers breaking into a firewall. Sometimes, we may imagine knowledge and skills that seem out-of-reach or specialized. While certain skills may be critical for a career in tech, the truth is there are a variety of opportunities in the industry that do not include endless lines of code. Many skills that you already have can be easily transferred to the tech industry. And, for developing those key skills that are common throughout the field, training is available to bring you up to speed.
Benefits
Tech jobs come with a ton of benefits, including:
- Higher salary
- Increased career fulfillment
- Better work culture, including many work from home options
- Space to grow in a company or in the industry at large
If you consider yourself “non-technical,” don’t let that hold you back from a rapidly growing industry with many resources and opportunities available.
Where do you start?
Getting started may just be the hardest part. Start small. Begin with the basics and reflect on what you both know and don’t know. Be sure to ask questions and seek help when needed. You don’t need to achieve this transition on your own.
Skill and Values Alignment
The first step is figuring out if a tech job is right for you, but even further: which tech job is right for you. Determining which of your existing skills is valuable to a specific role in tech can help guide you toward a successful, fulfilling career.
Many of these questions require self-reflection. Listing out the skills that you have and looking for crossover with job postings is a great way to get started. Be sure to consider all of your skills -- especially soft skills such as leadership, listening, independence, and collaboration. Increasingly, companies in every field, including tech, are valuing soft skills and deeming everything else ‘teachable.’ If you are resourceful and focused, that is exactly what a tech company needs on its team. Most importantly, you cannot be afraid to put yourself out there. Entering an unfamiliar environment will always be uncomfortable at first, but committing to a new lifestyle and career can totally transform your life.
Since the technology industry is not just coders, what else is out there?
With every industry coming to rely on tech in some way, the opportunities in the field are endless. For the more creative types, careers in marketing including social media or digital communication are constantly growing. If you have more of a persuasive personality, a sales role may just be right for you. Beyond that, business analysis, tech support, project analysis, software testing, and administrative liaison roles are becoming increasingly more tech-oriented and are rapidly growing in demand.
Today’s world requires adaptation and getting ahead of the curve may equate to success down the road.
Filling in the Gaps
For what you may be missing, training programs are available to you. Learning a new skill takes time, but you do not have to do it alone. Plus, you can finish some programs in as little as six months!
With a variety of programs, NuPaths offers various areas of focus that will help you to develop skills for whatever tech job you would like to pursue. By connecting you with working professionals as instructors and ensuring that you are getting a realistic, modern perspective on what it means to work in tech, NuPaths is committed to a high level of education.
NuPaths focuses on providing students with real-world job skills, preparing them for the industry certifications that employers urgently need, along with fine-tuning the soft skills needed to land their first job.
