If you are interested in technology and its applications in business, there is no reason why you cannot turn it into a fulfilling career. In fact, technology experts are in extremely high demand at the current time. This is due to the digital transformation of most businesses and the coronavirus pandemic, which has led more companies to focus on online sources in order to do business. Here are the steps that you need to take in order to achieve the career of your dreams in technology.
Build Your Skill Set
The first step that you need to take in order to get a career in technology is to build up your skillset. Even if you believe that you know everything there is to know about technology, there is a huge difference between the skills that you need when tech is your hobby, and those you need to excel in on a professional level. Luckily, there are many opportunities that you can take in order to increase your skills. These include practicing coding, web design, and computer building at home, with there being a wide variety of digital software to get you started. You may also consider watching Youtube videos and online tutorials that can tell you everything that you need to know before you get started in the technology sector.
Take a Computer Science Degree
If you have basic technical knowledge and skills, this may not be enough to base your career upon. You may need to consider getting a computer science degree in order to increase your skill level. This is particularly important if you want to follow a specific career pathway. For instance, at Baylor University, they offer a Masters in Software Engineering online that can help you to progress and specialize in a certain job role. This can help you to meet the specifications of an assortment of job roles and can ensure that your resume is easily spotted by recruiters that are looking for candidates with your level of expertise.
Get Professional-Level Experience
You might have a lot of experience on an amateur level, such as fixing your friend’s computer, or even working in the technical side of your workplace. However, if you want technology to be more than a hobby to you, you should work on getting professional-level experience which can support your job-hunting. Professional-level experience can give you some insight into a real-world working environment. It can also give you the opportunity to hone your skills and expertise in a professional environment without having to secure an interview and to be accepted onto a job role first. There are many graduate schemes, internships, and short-term work experience placements available across the country which anyone can apply to.
Get Online and Stay Public
No matter what qualifications you have, most large companies are looking for experts, and one of the best ways to get noticed, and to showcase your expertise without having a degree, is to get online. For instance, you should consider starting up a public social media account on which you can share tips and tricks and make yourself known in the digital community. You should also consider writing a blog or creating an online portfolio filled with your work to support this. If you want to use the internet specifically to find work, you should consider joining business networking websites such as LinkedIn, which can help to meet potential employers in the tech world.
Research Emerging Tech-Based Professions
Rather than simply enter the job market completely blind, you should research emerging professions in the tech world before doing anything else. This will allow you to make sure that you are transferring your expertise in a meaningful way. You will also be able to get some idea of the most in-demand jobs in the industry, as well as those which will be popular both now and in ten years’ time. In many ways, it is best to train and prepare for jobs that don’t even exist yet. By researching the emerging technologies and the jobs that may be needed to implement these, you will be able to effortlessly set yourself up for the future.
Look for Jobs in Your Own Industry
However, getting into technology can be harder than you may have previously thought, and so, when you are starting out, you may choose to look for tech jobs within your own industry. For instance, you may consider asking your boss whether you can transfer to the IT department. If you want to look outside of your current company, most sectors now have emerging technologies that are influencing their future and the jobs that they are looking to fill. For instance, Edtech, such as online learning, and Medtech, such as electronic health records, are all technologies that will start to have an impact on the job market.
Reapply Your Past Experience
Although you might believe that you have no real experience in technology, this is not the case. Rather than looking to build up a new portfolio of work experience, why not try to reapply your past experience to new job roles? For instance, you may have used vital software and gadgets, led a tech project, or been involved in a digital transformation scheme at work. By isolating the transferrable skills that you honed through gaining this experience, you will be able to apply for the job roles that you want immediately.
Find a Dream Company
If you are turning your passion for tech into a career, however, there is no reason why you should settle for any old job in tech. Instead, you should consider the dream companies that you have always wanted to work for and contact them directly, asking whether they can add you to their employment database or newsletter. By doing this, you will have more chance of hearing about potential positions and being remembered by potential employers in some of the biggest and most innovative companies in the world.
