7 Things to Know About Working in Tech
Before working in tech there were a lot of things I DIDN'T understand about the industry but it appeared as an expanse of opportunity. Here's 7 things I wish I knew before starting my journey…
📝 Getting into tech is still highly competitive but proficiency is rewarded:
Whilst the tech industry is great because people from any background who learn the necessary skills stand a chance (unlike other professions like being a doctor where without a degree you’re automatically disqualified) one doesn’t just walk into a 6 figure tech job with all the shiny perks we hear about. Tech is competitive. There’s a lot of very competent people already in the market. However competency and proficiency are rewarded. If you’re willing to put the work in you can grow here.
🍱 Not every job will offer pretty offices, free meals and ping pong tables:
Often the content that goes viral in the tech space are of those working in grand offices, with free meals and ping pong tables. Most of the time working in tech doesn't look like that… and thats okay. Whilst there are places that offer that you may opt to work for a company without that but that meets your needs in other ways. Perhaps remote work options, more PTO or larger training budgets.
🏥 Tech is a part of every business and industry:
You’d be surprised at how many companies have an engineering and tech department. Tech isn’t just your Microsoft, Apple, AWS. Its banks, nonprofits, health care. This means you can align your interest in working in tech with other passions and values.
💸 The money is good, the expectations are high:
Tech salaries are some of the best in the world but the expectations often matches that. Deadlines, bugs and incidents aren’t always pretty. You are paid to use your skills and expertise to solve problems that are challenging at times.
👩🏾💻 You don’t have to know how to code to work in tech:
I had no idea how many people worked closely with the engineering teams without knowing how to code before I landed my first tech job. I had never heard of agile coaches or delivery managers. There are many jobs in the tech ecosystem that don’t require coding knowledge but lean on other skillsets.
✨ There are a lot of interesting roles beyond software developer:
I never knew what an SRE was until I became one lol. When you’re on the outside you typically hear about roles like software developer. There are many roles in engineering that aren’t that. DevOps Engineer, Cloud Engineers, Security Engineers… Theres literally something for everyone.
🥳 People in tech like to share, celebrate and network
After the last year of attending tech events and conferences it's clear to me that many people in tech love to come together to share ideas and developments, network and celebrate achievements. We're not all in our basements coding 24/7.
