Switching to a career in tech is a common theme among individuals looking to change careers. This might be due to the allure of the tech industry, the freedom to work from anywhere tech provides, the substantial remunerations and perks, or even the office aesthetics of most tech companies as seen in Silicon Valley videos.
Regardless of the reason you’re considering switching to tech, a tech career is possible and rewarding. In this post, we’ll outline the top 10 things you should know about switching to a career in tech today.
Top 10 Facts About Switching to a Tech Career
1. You Don’t Need a Computer Science Degree
A common misconception people have about tech careers is that you need a computer science or engineering degree, but this is not correct. While having a tech degree is beneficial and can give its holders an edge with recruiters, it is not compulsory. Most roles are open to non-computer science or engineering degree holders.
Many tech companies value skill and practical experience over formal education. If there’s a tie between someone with a computer science degree with little to no practical experience/portfolio and Person B with practical experience and a rich portfolio, most tech companies will choose Person B over Person A.
Don’t let not possessing a computer science, engineering, or even any degree at all hold you back. Instead, focus on getting hands-on training from organizations like evolvewith.tech, online courses, bootcamps, etc., and building a standout portfolio.
The story of Angela Taylor switching from HR to software engineer at Google is one of many thousands of professionals who have successfully made the switch without a computer science degree.
2. The Tech Field is Incredibly Broad
When most non-tech individuals hear about the tech industry, they immediately think about coding and software engineering. The image of a geek or genius coder clicking away on a computer immediately comes to mind, but the tech industry is extremely broad, from core engineering roles to non-technical roles like project management, product management, etc. There are crossovers between tech roles and other industries, such as legal and compliance in tech, finance & accounting, etc. This broad nature of the tech industry means you’re not boxed into a corner, and there are options to explore.
We recommend doing an analysis of your current skills and finding the roles with the most overlap in tech, starting from that role and gradually transitioning to the best-fit role. Taking a very expensive bootcamp or course before knowing for certain you’re a best-fit for that role is a risk, hence, low-cost, beginner-focused courses like the evolvewithtech program are essential as they help you figure out the best-fit role.
3. Age Is Less of a Barrier Than in Other Industries
A chunk of the questions we get asked from individuals looking to switch to a career in tech are age-related, e.g., “Can I still switch to a tech career by 30, 40, 50? Would I still be able to get an entry-level job by 35?” The answer is YES. Tech roles are less focused on age compared to other industries; your age matters less, competence and skill are the priority. It’s not strange to have a 25-year-old and a 45-year-old collaborating on a project as peers.
There are a plethora of examples of people who switched to tech roles at an advanced age. If anything, the skills gained from other roles can be an added advantage if you can prove how they make you better suited for a role. For example, a health tech company looking to hire an entry-level project manager might prefer a former nurse due to the in-depth medical knowledge.
Tech companies also recognize older professionals are more likely to have soft skills and in some cases are preferred for non-core tech roles like project management & customer experience.
4. The Learning Curve Never Flattens
Tech is a very fast-paced industry. According to Moore’s law, computational power doubles averagely every 2 years, and so also does tech advancement. Hence, there’s no point of comfort where you no longer need to keep learning. The tools, languages, methodologies you use today can become obsolete tomorrow, necessitating continuous learning. Beyond tools becoming obsolete, there are also external factors such as your organization deciding to change tech stack, tools, etc.
The need for continuous learning is pertinent. Tech companies curate programs specifically for learning; an example is the “G2G” (Googler-to-Googler) program at Google. Hence, switching to a tech role is a commitment to lifelong learning—it’s a marathon, not a sprint. But note, don’t succumb to the impostor syndrome a lot of career switchers face, where you think you need to finish learning everything about the field before you get a job. Instead, adopt the mentality of knowing the minimum acceptable and commit to continue learning on the job.
5. Soft Skills Are Highly Valued
A popular misconception people have about the tech industry due to its technical tilt, the relative age of techies, and popular tech & founder documentaries is that soft skills like effective communication, teamwork & collaboration are not valued, but that’s not correct. These soft skills are given almost the same priority as core tech/engineering skills in established tech firms.
Tech teams often need to communicate highly technical and complex issues to non-tech stakeholders and often require teams of anywhere from 10-100+ people working on products across months. Hence, soft skills like the ability to communicate effectively and collaborate with other team members are highly valued by tech recruiters. As a career switcher, you might have an edge with these soft skills—if so, highlight these skills and instances where you excelled at these soft skills on your resume and in interviews.
6. Community and Open Source Participation Matters
While networking and community participation is important in every industry vertical, it is extremely important in the tech industry. You should prioritize networking, building community, and participation in open source projects related to your specialization. This shows passion, collaboration & involvement. It signals to recruiters that you are a team player and care about tech advancement beyond the financial remuneration.
Collaboration and participation in open source projects also shows practical application of skills in an open and collaborative environment that closely mirrors the job position beyond theoretical knowledge and closed portfolio where you’re in charge of every aspect of the project. These open-source contributions also serve as a portfolio and are particularly important for career switchers, potentially substituting for the lack of prior experience.
Networking and community events such as hackathons, meetups & open source projects are also opportunities to meet senior and more experienced tech professionals that can provide mentorship and even in some cases refer you for roles. Hence as a career switcher, you should prioritize these community events and open source projects—they offer much greater returns beyond financial remuneration.
7. Be Prepared for Entry-Level Pay (At First)
The financial returns of the tech industry are a motivating factor for most career switchers, but while it’s true tech pays higher than most other industries, entry-level pay can be quite low, especially for individuals with no prior experience. This is understandable as the company is taking a risk on you and would also need to invest in training and mentorship programs. Therefore, switching to a tech role can see you earning less than your last role, especially if you were already at mid to senior level.
But while entry-level payment can be low, the salary increases exponentially, and there’s strong growth potential as you gain more experience. For example, an entry-level junior data analyst earning $50k could become a mid to senior-level data analyst in 5 years, earning six figures.
It’s pertinent to prepare for this temporary pay cut—see it as an investment rather than a setback. You could save towards covering up the financial gaps and also consider picking up freelance gigs to supplement the pay drop.
8. Portfolios are Very Important
Unlike other industries where your experience, pedigree of the school attended, and companies previously worked at take the highest priority in the recruitment process, in the tech industry, your portfolio is much more important than any other detail. Only after the recruiter is convinced by your portfolio does he begin to consider all the other factors.
As a career switcher, it’s expected that you have little to no practical experience; recruiters will still ask for your portfolio. Note that your portfolio projects don’t necessarily have to be live projects or projects you were commissioned to develop by a client. They could be you remaking an existing website, app, UI, etc.—any work you’ve done that showcases your skill. They could even be projects you completed while learning.
At evolvewithtech, we understand the need for a portfolio, hence, all our programs have a capstone project as part of the completion process. When you sign up for any of our programs, you’ll get the opportunity to complete a live project that’ll impress recruiters, under the supervision and guidance of a seasoned industry professional.
9. Remote Work Is More Common and Accessible
Remote work is more accessible in tech roles; therefore, location is not a barrier to the jobs you can apply for and get. With some tech jobs fully remote, career switchers that previously worked in roles that required 9-5 availability in the office might need to relearn and adjust to remote work, where tasks are more project and result-based, not time-based.
Remote work requires new disciplines, such as setting up a home office and establishing rules around the home about work time and space.
10. Switching to a Tech Career is 100% Possible
Switching to a career in tech can seem daunting, but it’s 100% possible with the right mindset and approach. The numerous stories of people who have made the career change from a non-tech role to tech roles and even core tech roles like software development prove that switching is possible.
With dedication and hard work, anyone can acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive in the tech industry. The potential for rapid career growth, a seat at the front line of innovation, and the rising demand for tech professionals are ample motivations to keep working towards this switch to a tech role.
Conclusion
In this post, we outlined the top 10 things everyone considering or already in the process of switching to a career in tech today should know. Ultimately, making a successful transition to a tech career requires a combination of realistic optimism, hard work, and resilience. It’s essential to acknowledge the potential obstacles and challenges, but also to believe in your ability to overcome them.
A key factor in determining if you’ll make a successful transition to tech or abandon the process like most do is the entry-level training you get. Getting entry-level training from the wrong program can give you the wrong notions such as “Tech is Hard, It’s not worth it”—which can lead to you throwing in the towel. Our evolve with tech entry-level focused training is designed to help career switchers like yourself make a seamless entry into tech. Register your interest today to get started.
