More people are expected to enter the tech industry in the coming years. This predicted migration will be followed by uncertainty about what path to take in the space. The confusion will be fed by the varying options, advertised opportunities, and little or no knowledge about the tech space. Choosing a career in tech is a foundational challenge that should be solved before entrance into the industry. If this challenge is not solved, decided, or accepted, one finds that there are so many distractions and attractions fighting for attention.
The tech space is an emerging one, and starting off in the wrong direction will lead to frustration in future. This is just one of the reasons why attention should be given to what you want to do in tech.
The good news is that there are ways to determine the best option for you in the tech sphere. The bad news is that if you are not prepared, these ways won’t offer so much help. So, before sharing ways you can figure out what path to travel in tech, here are three things you should know.
3 Things to Note Before Choosing a Career in Tech
Like every journey, your career path has stages and sections. If you are thinking of switching to tech, then you are about to move to another stage or section. One interesting thing to note is that the previous stages and sections are supposed to serve as steps elevating you to the next level. This leads us to the first thing to note.
- You should note your relevance in your present industry and job. If you know what you offer at your present job, you can see the tech equivalent, and know what to learn or improve on. For example, if you are a salesperson, you might consider going into tech sales. Though the transition would require that you learn and unlearn some things, you’d have a direction.
- It is not all about the money. Many people join tech industries for relevance in the future of work, some others do it for money. There is the belief that all the money in the world is found in tech. While there is money in tech, especially if you’ve attained mastery in a field, choosing a career just for mone gains is potentially dangerous. For instance, going into data analytics just because you got a whiff that it pays well is going to feel different when you have to deal with the numbers and create visualizations of data. This focus on money continues in the third point.
- Tech is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Some learning platforms promise potential students that they would be experts in a tech field in a few weeks. Lies like these are what sow the seed that one can earn millions just weeks after migrating to tech. The money in tech only comes quickly if you have established mastery of a skill.
Next, you can now discover your path.
3 Ways You Can Decide On a Career in Tech
Now, armed with the above notes, you can start choosing a career in tech. There are three ways that give you a deeper insight on the the path to journey, and though listed in no particular other, some are more productive than others. You just have to figure out which one gives you the best result
- Have a mental and written picture of where you want to be and how you want to be relevant in the future of work. This picture provides you with a destination-like path you want to be on in the future. Having this ‘Why’, you can decide your ‘How’ which is what tech path to choose. Although this might change as industries evolve, you can always re-imagine and travel accordingly.
- Choose a path based on what you enjoy. Although not the case for everyone, passion can be a strong enough motivation in making a life decision like a career path. if you are lucky to be firmly passionate about a subject, it would be a dream come true for you to work in such a capacity. This way, you’d feel relevant and also make an impact in that field.
- Take a quiz. There are many quizzes that give you a push in one direction or another, depending on the answers you give to certain questions. Choosing a quiz can be taxing, as there is no proof of its effectiveness. A google search will produce many such quizzes. Take one (or 10) and get a deeper insight into your options.
This list is not exhaustive, but it is a great place to start in finding a desired path in tech.
Concusion
In conclusion, bear in mind that in choosing a tech career, you should get one that has a potential for good pay, provides growth opportunities, and keeps you active. Also, you do not have to make a clean change of careers. Many careers have tech sections, starting from the tech section of your present job and get acquainted with digital tools are ways you can become a tech bro or tech sis before making a complete change of careers.
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