At every life juncture, “why” is a critical question to answer; if you are looking to transition to a tech job, your “why” is a critical driving factor for career success. According to a report, 89% of people who transitioned into the tech industry did it primarily to earn more, amongst other things.
While tech jobs have numerous perks, people take an average of 12 months to decide to officially make the leap — about two months longer than people who switch to other industries. The article aims to dissolve your fears and help you see solid reasons to get a tech job. If you want a more comprehensive discussion on transitioning to tech, head on over to our candidate services page!
1. Tech Welcomes Everyone
There are many myths surrounding the criteria for getting into tech, i.e., being great at math, competent in big tech, or being a computer geek. These assertions are false, and according to a recent CIO article, recruiting in the tech industry is rising. The sector needs technically skilled geniuses and a broad spectrum of talents just like you!
Moreso, tech is an integral part of every industry out there. If you have hobbies, interests, or experience in any industry that exists right now, then you have enough experience to break into tech. All you need to do is choose an area in tech where your interest lies and explore its intersection with tech.
2. Increasing Need for Technology
There is no better time to jump on the tech train than now. Whether or not you are on board, the globe is on a moving train towards a new generation of technology that will completely change how we live and interact with one another; this is popularly called “Web 3”.
As a result of this new wave, technical recruiting is on the rise for talents for Web 3 and in other areas of technology such as NFTs, blockchain, and cryptocurrency. You can lean into the most in-demand tech jobs to explore these opportunities.
3. Need for Diversity
The tech space is still lacking in diversity, not just in gender and ethnicity but also in educational background, age, personal experiences, and perspectives. In fact, Workforce Management estimates that companies are collectively spending billions on diversity and inclusion efforts on technical recruiting.
Yet, 68% of business leaders report a lack of diversity in their tech workforce—homogeneity is on the high side in the tech space, which needs to change. You can be part of this change, and you should consider breaking into tech. Diversity in the technology created would be more reflective of the diversity of people.
4. Competitive Compensation
Professionals in tech are well sought after due to competition for the best talents. Employers try to throw all kinds of perks at professionals in addition to basic salaries to entice and retain the best talents. This keeps a lot of entry-level professionals motivated in their tech job search.
Depending on the company you choose to work for, these include medicals, dental insurance, right-to-work schemes, paid maternity or paternity leave, and even free lunch! They can motivate you to be the best and give your best self on the job daily.
5. Flexibility and Freedom
A recent UK research by Capability Jane reveals the demand for flexible working is substantial. 80% of women and 52% of men want flexibility in their next role. Most employees have a viral desire for flexibility, which is feasible and obtainable with most tech roles.
As a tech professional, you can expand your career frontiers by taking up impactful international projects and roles with the right tech skills. The possibilities are simply endless, what you can do, where you can go, and create the lifestyle of your dreams.
6. Accessibility of Learning Programs
Research shows that while 75% outlined what they would need to do to succeed in a new sector, only 37% report being enrolled in a specific educational or training program. This reveals that many desire to transition to tech jobs.
However, this is not because there is a dearth of resources and platforms. Getting into tech is accessible. There are different pathways to break into the tech industry and countless ways to learn the skills necessary to build a career in technology.
There are a ton of resources and opportunities to learn online, through social media, for free or inexpensively, especially for women. You can start with online programs, remote boot camps, and courses, then progressively narrow down to specific skills and certifications.
7. Growing Industry
According to the 2021 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) from Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), the four fastest-growing industries globally are blockchain, advanced manufacturing and robotics, A.I. and big data, agric tech, and new food.
The report measured growth by tracking early-stage funding deals from 2014 to 2020 and other methods. It proves that the tech industry is growing three times faster than most industries, including finance. Tech is here to stay, don’t be afraid to take the leap.
8. Work-life Balance
According to Statista, one of the countries with the worst work-life balance is the United States. 11.1% of the country’s employees work long hours, above the OECD average of 11%.
The work-Life balance in this context is not the cliché 8-8-8 myth, 8 hours working, 8 hours sleeping, and 8 hours of recreational and social activities but one that considers your personal, professional, and social life.
Some top tech jobs can give you an optimal work-life balance despite Statista’s statistics. You can find the best IT jobs for work-life balance here.
9. Replete Opportunities for Different Personality Types
If you are the kind of person who likes to bring your career to life and solve problems, you should consider a career in tech. Whether you are creative, calculative, or both, you have a place.
A lot of creativity ingrained in tech is basically willing things into existence. It also fixes a ton of problems, and bugs, for example, which requires being analytical and some number crunching.
10. Easy transition; Zero chances of getting bored.
For 80% of career changers, the decision to leave impacted their families and friends. With 58% willing to take a pay cut to switch, the effect on others is apparent; this also proves career changers seek more than just higher-paying gigs.
There are many close-knit areas within your areas of interest to explore should you get bored. You can move from software engineering to machine learning to cloud computing and never get bored doing a task all your life. You also have the opportunity to switch.
11. Need To Do Meaningful Work
Closely following a search for more money is wanting more opportunities for advancement (81%); with the top five rounded out by people looking for more challenges in their role (75%), wanting more flexibility (75%); or not being happy in their role (70%). Further down the list of reasons others offered were looking for a less stressful job or feeling their job would be obsolete.
If you are tired of drudgery work and are looking for a suitable space to do meaningful work, you are in the right space. There aren’t many industries that shift the way the world functions as technology does.
The technology aims to make everything we do faster, better, and easier. If you like the idea of working for a company that’s transforming the world we live in on a rapid scale, you won’t find a better industry to specialize in.
And just for good measure, here’s an additional tip:
Tech Merge Across Industries
According to Udemy’s 2020 Workplace Learning Trends Report, workers across all industries, from marketing to sales to finance, are picking up more tech and data analytics skills to perform their jobs. These could be early indications of how technology skills will become more integrated across all types of work in the future.
There are so many things you stand to achieve and so much value that you have to give to the world, so don’t self-reject. Tech is not tough, tech needs you, and we have 11 reasons to prove that. Moreso, we can help you kickstart your tech journey; get started here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best tech jobs for the future?
Machine Learning Engineer: Machine learning engineers use big data to create complex algorithms to ultimately program a machine (such as a self-driving car or digital voice assistant) in order to perform and carry out tasks like a human. Economic forecasting, image recognition and natural language processing are implemented so that the machine can learn and improve without human interference.
UX Designer: With more and more businesses turning to digital platforms to promote and sell their products or services, it’s never been so important to ensure the user journey and experience is the best it can be.
Robotics Engineer: As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, robotics engineers are having to constantly analyze, reevaluate, configure, test and maintain the prototypes, robotic components, integrated softwares and machines they create for the manufacturing, mining and automotive service industries, among others. It is a highly technical job which requires patience and rational thinking.
Data Scientist: As businesses and organizations collect and use more data every day, the demand for skilled experts has skyrocketed. With opportunities to work in practically every sector and industry, from IT to entertainment, manufacturing to healthcare, it’s the responsibility of data scientists to compile, process, analyze and present data for an organization to make more informed decisions.
Cloud Engineer: the roles and responsibilities will vary, but the overall responsibility of a cloud engineer is to plan, monitor, and manage an organization’s cloud system, such as Google Cloud, Microsoft 365, and Slack, to name but a few.
What are the easiest (and highest paying) tech jobs to get with no experience?
Digital Strategist: They collaborate with other team members on the long-term goals and strategy of a brand. This also includes recommendations for the specific methods used to implement that strategy. It’s a great position for someone who’s innovative and enjoys collaborating with others. They often work very closely with the marketing team, as well as sales and product teams.
Data Analysts: They collect data and information to find insight on specific topics. Data is often collected through surveys, metrics, and other methods, and then analysts compile the data, interpret it, and present it in more user-friendly formats (like charts or infographics). It’s also their job to identify where improvements might be made to processes based on hard data, and to identify trends in data they collect.
What is the future of IT jobs?
There will be a rise in the demand and supply of IT professionals as more jobs.
Taking a look at the broader outlook for employment, particularly the 2016 report from the World Economic Forum, we see a prediction in the rise in in-demand tech jobs as well as loss of more than seven million jobs in mainly white-collar and administrative roles, the report also concluded more than two million new jobs could also be created. Significantly, the IT sector, Architectural and Engineering” and Computer and Mathematical categories were considered the areas of employment that will see tremendous growth.
