It’s no secret: the tech industry is booming. A newly competitive but highly lucrative field, the tech industry offers tech-job hopefuls the opportunity to engage in a stimulating, rewarding, and well-paying career. It’s no wonder that those who haven’t established a career in the tech industry are still considering transitioning to the field. Whether you’re looking to take the leap because you’re ready for a change or intrigued by the promise of higher pay and better flexibility, transitioning to the tech industry is likely to pay off.
Luckily, the industry is an expansive field that requires workers with backgrounds in a multitude of areas, even including medicine, education, art, design, law, and more. Still, the industry’s competitive nature requires applicants to demonstrate competence and attractiveness. If you’re nervous about your lack of experience, worry not. Breaking into the industry isn’t impossible.
If you’re ready to switching career fields, check out these tips on how to break into the tech industry.
Earn a few certifications
If you’re nervous about heading into a tech industry job interview without much experience, you’ll need to find ways to advertise your skill sets and prove that you’ll be an asset to the team. The best way to break into the tech industry without prior experience is to prove you know your stuff by taking independent courses like ITIL 4 foundation training to hone your marketable skills. Involved but swift certification courses like these can offer attendees certifications that they can show prospective employers.
While your resume may not be chock-full of tech experience, you can obtain certifications through online training programs to more tangibly demonstrate your competence. Moreover, a tech-related certificate will help show off your desire to learn, helping you appear like a go-getter.
Expand your tech knowledge
The first step to expanding your knowledge is acknowledging where gaps may exist. If you haven’t spent much time working at a tech job, you might lack the technical expertise required to succeed in your upcoming endeavors. Make peace with the fact that you have a lot to learn, and prioritize soaking up as much information as possible before applying. Luckily, there are several options for getting a career education.
Take online courses
While not all online courses will offer you a certificate, suitable classes will provide you with invaluable information and knowledge to help expand your foundation of understanding. Courses will tend to focus on either a singular, specific aspect of a concept or a general overview of the topic. For example, you can find a course on Javascript or another course on inclusive website development. One will hone in on coding practices, while the other will expand your knowledge regarding development as a whole.
Online courses are available on several platforms, some of which will require a more significant financial investment than others. While YouTube has free options for classes created by YouTube users and presents helpful first-hand information, you’ll have to fact-check videos that aren’t produced from an accredited source.
Skillshare, Codecademy, and other online databases can rack up costs, but the websites offer various courses and curriculums that have been reviewed and fact-checked for accuracy and helpfulness. For example, Git and Github courses for online learning are great options for the ever-popular online file-sharing website Github. This website is one of the most well-known and commonly used applications in IT fields, so establishing familiarity will prove helpful.
Get to a boot camp
For many, boot camps are an excellent option for efficient and cost-effective tech learning, especially if a university degree isn’t your first choice. Boot camps are often shorter and faster than university degrees while still offering to teach students the same information. Even more appealing, they usually cost less than a two or four-year degree.
The ability to gain hard skills quickly without trudging through endless busy work is one of the most attractive features of boot camps. Since they focus on a singular subject, boot camps eliminate the need to take general education courses and allow students to hone their focus.
If there’s a skill that you feel you need to master before applying to your dream tech job, enrolling in a boot camp can get you there quickly. For example, a UX boot camp may be best for a graphic designer hoping to transition towards a UX/UI design career. Meanwhile, a Javascript or C++ boot camp may be best for hopeful software engineers.
Complete portfolio projects
Completing applicable projects to add to your portfolio will increase the likelihood that your future employers perceive you as having practical skills to benefit their company. After all, tangible manifestations of skills speak for themselves and can frequently make up for the lack of industry experience on a resume. Similarly, hirers for competitive tech positions may turn away those with plenty of work experience but an underwhelming portfolio.
Attractive portfolio projects can include apps, websites, digital design projects, research projects, etc. Projects should show off any skills you’ve fine-tuned from your current position, new courses, certifications, or boot camps that you’ve completed. For example, if you’ve taken an online course for data management, your project should showcase the data skills you’ve learned.
If you’d like to impress potential employers, condense your projects into one centralized portfolio. For best results, snag a custom domain to host your portfolio website to establish a brand identity for yourself.
Make sure your heart is in the switch
As is true for any transition in your career, ensuring that your interests, values, and goals align with your prospective industry is critical to your long-term happiness. Since the tech industry is ever-expanding, employees no longer have to limit themselves to suffering through a career they don’t feel passionate about.
For example, career options for gamers have expanded tremendously, offering video game junkies the opportunity to take on highly profitable careers in the entertainment arts industry by implementing their software engineering, data management, or UX/UI design skills to create engaging video games.
In conclusion
Transitioning to the tech field can feel like a daunting project, and, in some ways, it is. Both intellectual and emotional preparation is required, but if the switch is right for you, you’ll be spending years to come feeling glad you took the leap.
Also read: Development and High Popularity of Online Games: What is The Secret?
