Breaking into the tech industry is not that difficult, but it is never easy as well.
As we all know, the job competition in this industry is high and almost everyone can now learn skills like coding and programming through online classes.
So even though jobs in tech have been steadily rising over the past few years, you still have to fight through the smoke and stand out among the sea of applicants.
If you are a recent graduate or have been planning to shift your career towards a tech-related position, then you should understand the know-how of this industry as well as be equipped with the right skillset to catch up with the times.
Once you have all these, then landing a role or gig in tech should not be that hard.
To give you a better idea of how you can make it in the tech industry, we have listed a few tips to help you.
Keep up with the Times
Working in tech is not just polishing and mastering one craft or skill. It is all about upskilling, building, and stacking on your current knowledge to learn a new one.
Despite the fact that there are tons of niche or specific roles in tech, everyone is still expected to at least know a bit of background or even surface knowledge about other departments or industries.
Companies and businesses from different industries are now moving digital
to scale. That being said, breaking into the tech industry means breaking into different industries as well. Aside from working in tech, you now need to know or at least have a bit of background in digital health, online marketing, e-commerce, and many more. So this just goes without saying that being a master in one skill would not guarantee you a spot in a tech-related role.
To keep up with the times, you need to upskill, venture outside the traditional way of learning a new skill set, and start exploring other industries where you can apply all your knowledge and skills related to tech.
Get Comfortable with Being a Beginner
As we have said before, the tech and digital landscape will progress and continue to grow. So you should always be open to the possibilities of learning something new. This means that even though you are an expert or in a high position now, there will still be times when you have to be a beginner and even experience failure once again in your life.
Keep in mind that everyone in the tech industry is also learning and acquiring these new skills as they go along.
That being said, being a beginner is not a bad thing or something to feel embarrassed about. Find the best way to learn these new things even if it means going back to the basics and fundamentals.
For example, you can learn the popular coding language like Lua by playing games like Roblox or if you want to switch your career in gaming then you can enroll in coding for kids programs to get a gist of what kids like today.
You do not always have to take the difficult road or enroll in a master’s program just to upskill and acquire new knowledge. Thanks to the internet, there are lots of fun and easy ways to learn new skills.
Re-evaluate Your Skills
Now that you have finally kept up with the times and acquired the latest skillset, it’s time to re-evaluate and polish up the current skills and knowledge that you have.
Keep in mind that handling a successful one-time project does not automatically make you an expert. Everyone in the tech industry knows that your first project is just the beginning of the long journey towards mastery.
So in order to stay ahead and make yourself competitive in the job market, try to reevaluate your skills and look at your previous project from time to time. Doing this would give you a better idea of how you can further improve your execution as well as spot and avoid errors from happening again. This way, when a new but same type of project comes along, you can simply finish it with ease and confidence.
Reevaluating your skill set would also provide you with better direction. If you know where your strong and weak spots lie, then you can easily highlight your strengths and overcorrect your weaknesses. It is a great practice because you would be able to apply for job roles that perfectly match your strengths and enroll in online courses or programs to improve on your weaknesses.
Get Certified and Create a Portfolio
There’s nothing more that proves you’re good at something than a certificate. Even though you can get certified for almost everything these days, certifications are still important in proving your competence and knowledge in a certain area or niche. On top of that, it also gives your resume or CV some sense of legitimacy and authority. Without a good reference or certification, you’re just listing a bunch of skills in your resume without further proof that you are actually good at it.
As we have previously mentioned, you can learn a bunch of skills in tech for free on the internet. However, the downside to these types of programs or classes is that there is no certification afterward. So in order to remedy this, you can create a portfolio instead. Even though you do not have a certification, you can still provide legitimacy and prove that everything in your resume is true.
Nowadays, making it in tech does not always mean having a master’s degree in computer science. There are other skills needed in tech that you can learn even outside the university. You just need to prove that you are actually good at it and you have the enthusiasm to learn more.
Be More Easygoing
Contrary to the pop media stereotype of people who work in tech, being more easy-going is one of the characteristics of every successful professional in tech. Those who communicate better are far more likely to succeed in this industry.
Again, going back to what we have said before, tech is present in almost all types of industries. So even if you have mastered the technical side of your job, it would be hard for you to adapt and work with your colleagues if you do not know how to properly communicate and converse with them.
Keep in mind that nowadays, tech is at the heart of everything we do at work. Despite being excellent at your job, the entire system or project is bound to collapse if you do not communicate well or provide proper support to the other department or your colleagues.
Conclusion
With all that said, breaking into the tech industry is not just about having an excellent skill set and being great at your job. It is about having the enthusiasm to learn new things and being able to effectively communicate your work to other people. Without these things, it would be much harder for you to keep up and stand out among the sea of applicants.
Remember that you are not the only one interested in working in the tech industry. Every year, there are thousands of fresh out of college kids who have more updated skill sets than you. So you should always keep up with the times and try to learn new things as much as possible.
