There’s nothing more appealing than a job with front runners like Apple and Google for technology lovers. You may have dreamt of carving your career as a software developer or systems analyst since you were young. Yet, you caved to pressure and signed up to study something like law or economics. And, you’ve been kicking yourself ever since.
The fact is that no matter how many promotions you get, you can’t stop thinking about tech. Still, you’ve resigned yourself to a career which comes second best because you assume it’s too late for tech and you. Or is it?
In reality, this idea that you need a tech-specific degree is one of the most dangerous assumptions about tech careers. Companies like Apple are all about breaking the mold, after all. And, part of that means looking at the individual, not the degree. In fact, according to Linkedin, around 50,000 of US tech sector workers studied degrees like (wait for it)…economics.
Instead of feeling sorry for yourself,then, it’s time to step up to the plate and learn how to stand out against the tech crowd regardless.
Take care of your learning
The largest tech companies look for forward thinkers. And, what better way to show yourself as one than by taking care of your learning? Anyone can sit in a lecture hall, but it takes a real techy to learn everything solo. Lucky for you, you can find near enough everything you need to know about tech from your computer. If you want to know how to develop systems, you can look it up online. If you’re wondering what that elusive ‘other’ bar is in Apple storage, you can see here. It doesn’t matter how small a piece of information might seem; you should read up on it. After all, Apple is sure to be more concerned with what you know than how you learned it.
Get real-world experience
Experience is always more important than education, especially with something like tech. Being able to say you’ve completed work in the industry could put you above even the highest qualified college leavers. Work experience is a fantastic option here but, if you don’t have time for that, resources like Fiverr offer called micro-experiences, which allow you to develop tech skills and get paid.
Learn the lingo
Your resume is more likely to impress if you learn tech lingo. A simple ‘I think I’m best for the job because I like computers’ isn’t going to secure anything. By comparison, ‘I think I’m best for the job because I can bring compelling insight generation and communicate findings to diverse audiences’ could see you soaring. Even better, you can find keywords like these by browsing the requirements of other tech listings. Bear in mind that you will need to understand terms before you use them, so make sure to look up each statement before you go banding it around. Then, sit back and look forward to going straight to the front of the recruitment queue.
