Transitioning into the tech industry can be a daunting task if your facts are not checked, and you do not have good advice or resources to get you started. The aim of this article is to highlight some required skills and experience needed to join the industry. This article is particularly aimed at readers under these three categories.
- Readers with a technical qualification from either college or a bootcamp or self-taught skills would like to secure their first role in the industry
- Readers with a different background but would like to switch to the technical industry.
- Readers who are still trying to make their decision about transitioning into tech.
One thing these target readers have in common is no experience in the industry. Now the question is, can you still transition into the tech industry with no industry experience? The answer is yes! The reason is, when looking to switch into the tech industry, you would most likely be targeting entry level roles- roles that focus on transferable skills you have derived from college or work you did in a different industry.
However, let’s get the facts right on the skills you need to make this possible. I’ll be writing on specific skills based on areas of interest.
Technical Skills Required
1a. Skilled in Fundamental Language/Software/Framework
When applying for a technical role, recruiters are always keen to know that you have a great understanding of the core languages/software or similar that the company uses to build their applications. Once you can showcase this in an impressive way, it automatically proves your existing skill competence and makes you extremely hireable. Showcasing this, depending on your background, can come from your final result from college, certificates from a bootcamp or course, displaying a project you built online or showing a project you collaborated on if you are self-taught. Now let’s look at some in-demand technical roles in 2021 and some technical skills required for entry level.
Some in demand technical roles in 2021 include:
- Software Development: This could be web, mobile, system application or game development. Some in-demand language skills required for this role include JavaScript, Python, Go and Java etc.
- Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning: An area that’s gone up in demand by 74% according to LinkedIn 2020 Emerging Jobs Report. Some skills required for this include Python, R, TensorFlow, Java etc.
- Cloud Computing: Ever heard the phrase “Everything is moving to the cloud?”, it’s true! And the job market reflects the demand for skilled engineers in this field. Some certificates/skills to secure for this role include AWS Certificate, Microsoft Azure, Docker etc.
Most technical skills are things you can pick up and get better at as you progress in your career, so do not be afraid to start applying as soon as you feel competent enough. You do not have to be an expert to start applying for entry level roles.
1b. Skilled in other technical requirements
Not all tech roles not require coding; there are also some non-technical roles that you might have the skills for. My advice for this is make sure you understand what the technical requirements for these types of roles are and build on them or if you already have these skills, learn how to sell them.
Examples of non-technical roles and their skill requirement:
UI/UX Design: This role involves making sure that the look and usability of an application is effective to its audience. Skill requirements range from having a good design background, or skills in a specific software used for the design. There are many more non-technical roles, but their focus is more on the non-technical skills’ requirement which we’ll look at in the next section.
A good way to start your research on this is to see what jobs are currently being listed for tech/non-technical roles, and start reading through their requirements.
Non-Technical Skills Required
Communication
During an interview I was asked specific questions about how I managed conflict, if I was able to influence on important issues and strategies, if yes how? I was asked to describe a time when my communication failed and how I was able to resolve it? All these questions are very relevant to assessing your communication skills, and putting yourself in situations where you can exercise your communication muscle would help you for not just describing the situations in your interview but during the job. Effective communication is important because it saves time and money.
Collaboration
Everyone likes a keen team player. How well do you work with a team? With the increase in demand for a more diverse workplace and the adoption of remote work, it means people on the team might come from different languages and cultural backgrounds. How well are you able to collaborate with people from different backgrounds to get the job done? Have you got any good examples of how you have done this?
Problem-solving
If you are considering a technical role, it’s important to understand that writing code is just the tool used to solve a problem. So the core skills recruiters look for are problem-solving skills. If you have ever been to an interview where you were asked to solve a certain problem, the recruiters may check to see your approach to solving that problem. You might not get it right at first, but what was your approach like? Building problem-solving skills is an essential part to your career in tech. You can start doing this by breaking out of the tutorial cycle and start building something that solves a problem around you.
Avid Learner
The world of tech is always moving fast. This requires you to have a lot of curiosity and a learning habit. Learning is not only about absorbing knowledge, its also about how you showcase what you have learnt. This might be through sharing your knowledge, building personal projects, giving talks about what you are learning to increase general knowledge on the subject area. These skills show recruiters how keen you are about technology.
Networking
Finally, networking. I can’t stress how important it is to network with people in the industry. You need networking skills to potentially land your next tech role, gain a tech mentor, or even just for creating a relationship with a company you aspire to work for, so that when you are ready to start applying to them, you most likely stand out. Go to online events, research the companies, ask relevant questions and try to stand out.
Landing a role in tech is not an impossible task, I know people who have started from different backgrounds and found their way into the industry. With a lot of effort and time I believe you can too!
If you have any questions about your journey into tech and where and how to start you can always reach out to me on any of my platforms:
AUTHOR: Omtola Shogunle – SheCanCode Blog Squad
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