Tech is now a buzzword and one of the most progressive areas to work – for both career opportunities and working environment. It is a young and booming industry and where the future is headed. Tech is infiltrating every area of our lives – as we now have apps for everything sport, sleep, scheduling meetings, content streaming, and AI advertising that targets you. In whatever industry you want to work whether marketing, sales, product development, logistics, finance, or law you need to be open-minded and interested in developing your tech skills.
So what does it mean to be a techie? Strictly speaking, it means having a particular skill – such as being able to build a website, code software, deep-dive into data using computerized tools, design an app interface, or write a technical briefing for a team of developers. The things we used to consider out of our technical grasp, only fit for the most brilliant of mathematical and engineering minds, are rather easy to pick up. You necessarily don’t have to fully master these skills, you only need a basic understanding or a passing interest which you are willing to develop. On your way to being a techie, I thought to let you know these;
The price you have to pay is time
As you begin your tech career, you need to go over and beyond to read and consume materials more than is normally required, to get ahead professionally you have to make the time for it. You have to burn the midnight candle as that might be the quietest and most comfortable time you have. Whichever way you go, having a scheduled time, routine and a regular spot to consume materials and practice will make the process so much easier.
Figure out the most suitable learning platform for you
The most interesting thing about tech is the availability of numerous materials and great information online for free. I mean so many easy ways to get informed, so never feel you have to read every last article. Surf around and see what attracts you most and is most beneficial for what you intend to learn.
Hunt and follow people who write things that resonate with you in tech. As you also can put yourself out there by going beyond the standard and start making yourself stand out – you can create a blog and write regularly about your field of interest in tech and build your public profile. Aim for the consistency of content and style as this might serve as evidence of your growing interest in prospective employers.
Build your skill set and experiment
Learning to code would be a fabulous thing for everyone, whether you are interested in working in tech or not. This helps dispel the mystery cloaking this activity and you realize it’s not too dissimilar to learning maths or another language. Unless you want to be a career coder, starting with HTML and CSS is very fine, Java and Ruby are good too, especially the latter as it’s so easy to learn and used by loads of startups. You can join a community of aspiring developers, programmers, and designers in your city or university.
This is the most important tip of all “Whatever it is you learn, try it out yourself”. You can offer to build your friend or family member who runs a business a website. Start with online tutorials then once you set up the website, try online advertising for them using Google Adwords. (Google is your friend here). The more you do, the better a feel you will have for what areas of tech-related work interest and excite you.
