You probably clicked on this because you wanted to know the basics involved in starting a career in the technology industry. I promise it’s not the cliché stuff you’ve been hearing and reading about.
I could promise you it is nothing you’d find on the first page of google search. Okay, these steps are practically how I begun my career in tech. Nothing superfluous, nothing you can’t do also. So, let’s dive in.
Approximately 3 years ago, I was writing an exam and I got bored. I was studying to get a degree in Physics Electronics and this was an exam in my 3rd year in school, I got bored and I turned my question paper over and began writing, and this is step one;
1. Write Out Things You Can Do Easily
I spent the next hour scribbling out all my skills, from the ones I though it was very excellent at to the ones I faired poorly at. I wrote them all out. Now, you’d have to be sincere with yourself at this juncture, because very few people would be able to help you evaluate this list.
You’d think the list is long because I was scribbling for an hour, but at the end of the exercise I could only pinpoint about 7 things I could do easily and talking and writing poetry where at the top of my list amongst other things.
How were these going to ever fit into the tech industry?
2. Evaluate Your List (You can get help)
I went over the list again, making sure I had a memory where I had put each skill to use more than once. Because at interviews, your employer is more interested in how you’ve been able to apply your skills, either technical or soft skills, to real life scenarios or live projects. And if you’re listing something as a skill, then you should have put it to use at least once.
You can get a trusted friend to help you evaluate your list and together you can put together another list to carefully outlines skills you have put to use either professionally or otherwise.
NB: The most unlikely things you can think of, can pass off as a skill, you’d need to know how to craft it contextually.
3. You Don’t Need To Know How To Code!!!
Okay, this one I think you might find on the internet, but it’s true. You don’t need to know how to code to work in the tech industry. There are numerous job roles in the tech industry that doesn’t need you to be a badass developer or something. If programming aligns with your passion and it is what you like to do, then by all means, get into it and become good at it. But, if like me, you can’t write a code to save yourself, please, don’t force it, you don’t need to know how to code to work in the tech industry.
Example: I don’t know how to code and I work full time in the tech industry.
4. Learn!!!
This can’t be overemphasized.
You need to learn and build up on the skills you have. You might get an opportunity to intern in a place that provides a platform for you to learn and get useful experience. However, if you don’t, then you can be part of communities or small circles in your location that provide you an avenue to get your hands dirty. Find them! They exist!
At least I know they exist on the internet and you need only a few hours with the internet to find communities like that. What keeps you relevant in those communities is when you really get your hands dirty and you’re involved. Don’t join a community and just hope you’d keep taking, put in some work.
5. Ask Questions!!!!!!!!
This is like the most important part in starting out in the tech industry, asking questions. It is essential that you do not get all your information from the internet, though it is good to do some basic research about what plays in the industry. But, learn to ask questions to people already in the industry. And don’t just ask one person, ask a handful of people, then filter contextually.
Keep asking questions.
There are some things google would provide an answer to, there are others that only people who are in the system can provide answers to. So a bonus point would be build valuable relationships.
This is an excerpt of how I got into the tech industry. As for a list of roles available in tech that do not require you to know how to write codes, I’d trust google to provide that answer for you. You can also check right here.
Let me know how it’s going.
Good luck.
