Is the technology industry really suitable for me?
Making an informed decision before the start of this journey
“Oh, you must study about technology. Then you will be able to get a good job and have a bright future ahead of you!” so said a parent of one of my students.
Let’s face it… this is the era of technology and giants. Tech jobs are in high demand, talents are scouted when they are still in school and promised lucrative salaries after they graduate.
Cramped, white fluorescent office cubicles are now replaced by designer workspaces. Good food, sports and entertainment are all part of the tech work culture nowadays. Things that were in the realm of science fiction just a decade ago have become reality.
It is no wonder that so many people are clamoring to join the tech industry either fresh out of school, or they are changing to an IT career after years in another industry.
The Stories Nobody Tell
For every success story in the media, there are a hundred more failed ones that are not talked about or even remotely mentioned…
You do not hear of the college student who had to drop out halfway through her IT degree simply because it was too difficult for her to understand. And this is not because she was slow in her learning, just that programming and logical concepts were just not suited for her creative mind.
Or the struggling father trying his best to switch careers into technology and all he could get was an entry level job with the most basic of salaries, all the time wondering if it was a mistake leaving his previous well paying job to move into an industry that he was totally unfamiliar with.
In all my classes, while I have students that perform really well in the tech courses, I also have an equal number of students at the other end of the spectrum that struggle with understanding code, logic and design thinking. And this applies to both college students and adult learners.
Regardless of how glitzy it is made out to be, technology is still part of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) discipline. And this area of study and work, unfortunately, is not for everyone.
Is it for you?
Make an Informed Decision
Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
Whether you are a student who has yet to enter the workforce, or a mid career professional who is considering a switch to the tech industry, it is wise to be well informed and prepared before making the move:-
Find a mentor. Or speak to someone who has been in the tech industry long enough. Unlike flashy recruitment campaigns, these are the people that will be able to share with you what it is really like to work in a tech company without sugarcoating the pains and the problems that you will face every day every hour.
Learn to code. Yes that’s right! Learn to code on your own before anything else! As long as you are in the tech industry, you will not be able to avoid looking at and understanding code. All you need at this point is a grasp on the basic concepts used in programming (i.e. variables, data types, conditional statements, loops, functions etc.) and how everything works together. The Python language could be a good start.
Know your options. The tech industry is a really large place… it used to only encompass smaller areas like software engineering or web design; but in this current age, technology can be anything from cybersecurity to fintech to web development to blockchain to machine learning to cloud computing… and the list goes on. Research on the different areas of tech, find out what is expected in each discipline before deciding to move in that direction.
Know your role. We can generally separate tech jobs into two distinct roles: the general expert and the specialist. The general expert will have knowledge in many fields, for example, in web design and coding, in building databases, in setting up web servers (what we term a “stack” developer); whereas a specialist focuses on only a single, in-depth area in technology (think of a cybersecurity engineer or a database administrator). Both roles have their own advantages and disadvantages. Both are valued. Smaller companies will usually hire general experts given their limited hiring budget; larger or more focused companies will have bigger tech teams and will more likely have a greater need for specialist roles.
Plan your finances and your time. Certain jobs in the tech industry (e.g. cybersecurity) require in-depth learning and certifications. Before you can even qualify and apply for these job roles, you might need to complete numerous courses and get heavily certified. Such courses are usually not cheap and will also take up a considerable amount of your time. Chart your learning map in advance and plan your finances before embarking on this journey.
Start small. Experience counts for a lot. Be prepared to start out in smaller roles when you first begin. It is one thing to know about technology in the academic sense because you have attended some online course; it is another to REALLY know about technology because you have spent countless hours being “hammered” by it. Oh, you know… when your codes don’t work, when your servers get hacked, when your database crashes and a million other things that an online course will not teach you. This daily grind is the forge that shapes your experience day by day, one swing at a time.
What Really Matters
In the end, the decision to enter the tech industry is wholly yours. Do not be swayed by hearsay or other peoples’ opinions or advice, no matter how well intentioned they may be. Listen to everyone, do your own research, chart out your plans and finances, try out coding for fun, build a website. After all, a decision such as this should not be taken lightly.
Know yourself. Are you excited when your first Hello World code works? Or are you put off by a computer screen filled with random letters and numbers that make no sense to you whatsoever?
Then, the answer to the question on whether the technology industry is suitable for you, can probably be found there.
