Elon Musk doesn’t care about college degrees, and neither do thousands of hiring managers worldwide. Time and again, leading entrepreneurs and inventors have reminded us that a degree does not guarantee achievements. That brings us to the question: what matters the most for a successful career? As cliche as it may sound, skills are more important than educational qualifications.
Are you trying to build a tech career without a tech degree? It is not impossible. Instead, it is easier than ever to get into the tech industry without a tech degree. Here’s how and why.
Building a Tech Career without a Tech Degree: Numbers Don’t Lie!
Before we delve into the specifics, here are a few stats to convince you:
First, an estimated 26% of the IT workforce in the United States does not have a college degree.
This 26% might not seem like a huge number, but 26% of 3 million is a lot of people. If all these people could build a tech career without a tech degree, so why can’t you?
Second, around 49% of IT job listings do not have a college degree as eligibility criteria.
Third, according to the CompTIA Post Exam Survey, nearly 50% of hiring managers do not care about college degrees. That shows how not having a college degree in tech is not the end of the world.
And finally, the average annual salary of tech positions that do not need a tech degree is $83,000 in the US.
Contrary to popular belief, people without college degrees do not end up in low-paying manual jobs.
Things to Keep In Mind When Building a Tech Career Without a Tech Degree
Let’s take coding as an example. Anyone today can learn coding from their homes, and the people teaching you do not care whether you have a Ph.D. in mathematics or are a liberal arts major.
CodeQuotient, Coursera, Udemy, EDX are a few among the many platforms that teach coding to absolute beginners, age and experience being no bar.
If you have a laptop and an internet connection, you can also learn coding from the pool of resources available online.
1. Upskill. It’s non-negotiable
If you want to build a tech career without a tech degree, learning and upskilling are non-negotiable. No matter what you want to learn — UX design, web development, cybersecurity, or anything else — chances of not finding quality resources online are very slim. So make the most of it and learn all you can as the first step.
2. Go for internships and bootcamps
Let’s assume you have your foundation right from online courses and resources. The next step is to put them in.
Internships let you test the waters without bearing all the responsibilities that come with a full-time position. While money won’t be great at this stage, internships will set you up for a career in the tech industry.
Bootcamps, on the other hand, teach you how to work in a fast-paced environment. Both internships and bootcamps introduce you to the reality of working in the tech industry. Getting through these will give you the confidence to approach full-time positions.
3. Know your interests and limitations
Not everyone is great with numbers, and not everyone is great with people. Fortunately, the tech industry does not want single-minded skills and competence.
For example, a UX researcher primarily understands human behaviour and analyses feedback. You do not need to be an expert in programming languages to be a great UX researcher.
Similarly, many roles in tech companies demand a diverse set of skills apart from coding and programming. Identify the ones you can do and want to do, and go after them.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Keep a note of all the tech positions with openings in all major job portals.
- Make a list of the roles that interest you.
- Identify whether you have the necessary skillset for that role.
- List the roles that do not match your skills separately for future reference.
- Now you have a list of open positions that match your interests and skills.
- Use it to filter internships/job openings and apply for these positions.
Don’t be afraid of rejection at this stage since it takes some time to figure out the things you need to tweak in your interview strategy, application, and resume.
4. Remember, a non-technical background is an advantage
No matter the background, every person brings something unique to an environment that demands rapid problem-solving.
Technology cannot grow without all these inputs. So when entering the tech industry as a fresher, be confident of your abilities and what you can offer to the company.
Many people squash their dreams of becoming a techie because they do not have the correct roadmap. However, with hard work and guidance, anyone can build a tech career with any educational background.
Head over to the CodeQuotient blog for more resources on the IT industry, job market, industry trends, and more. CodeQuotient also helps students become job-ready in 3 months with their SuperCoders program. It is a free, comprehensive course for people from non-tech backgrounds to break into the tech industry. Contact us today to learn more on how you can join the next techie in the making.
