Degree Paths That Make You a More Attractive Candidate in Tech

Want to work in tech but don’t know where to even start? Plenty of people are in your boat recently, and that number will likely keep growing. There’s no denying the popularity of the sector at the moment, and things have gotten to a point where companies have been losing talent left and right as people leave to pursue careers in tech. Hardly anyone can blame those who go down that road, given the great opportunities provided by the technology industry right now. If this seems like an attractive development path for you, it’s important to remember that working in tech doesn’t necessarily mean working with tech. There are plenty of opportunities in the field that don’t require technical expertise.

Computer Science

It’s hard to make a list like that without addressing the elephant in the room, computer science. This is the “classic” degree path for many people working in tech, and it’s a broad field that covers quite a lot. You can specialize in various niches after going through your initial education, and a good computer science degree is invaluable if you want to pursue things like computer engineering or software development. Pay attention to your curriculum, though – these degrees can vary quite a lot from one institution to another, and you should know exactly what you’re going to get out of it.

Data Science

Data science is probably the hottest field in tech right now, and in many areas outside of it too. Big data is talked about all over the place, and many companies are racing to get involved in this part of the tech industry and brush up their own portfolios. This requires competent specialists, and good data science experts are in high demand. This will likely continue to be the case for quite some time, especially looking at fields like artificial intelligence and data mining, both of which are closely related to data science. Becoming a successful data scientist is quite the challenge though. It requires a good mix of technical aptitude and an understanding of statistics and mathematics in general. An online master of data science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute can provide you with the foundation you need to progress through the field and be taken seriously.

Marketing

Every company needs a good marketing team, and tech giants are no example. There’s a lot of work that goes into the typical marketing campaign that often gets unappreciated by the rest of the organization. This is unfortunate because this is often the main driving factor behind the company’s success in the market. Being a good marketer takes a particular set of skills and a good understanding of business operations in general. It’s not for everyone, but those with a knack for the field can see a lot of success in it.

Management

Management is another example of something that pretty much every company out there needs. Keep in mind that being a good tech manager requires an in-depth understanding of the tech stack your team is working with though. This is not one of the fields where you can get by without any technical knowledge, and you can’t really compensate with good management skills either. If you don’t have what it takes to be a good manager in a tech organization, it will be obvious immediately. This will also undermine your reputation in the future, and it’s hard to come back from that kind of problem once you’ve run into it. Bottom line, if you’re planning to move towards management work, make sure that you can back it up with a good understanding of your own product.

Finances

Someone has to help tech companies manage all that money they’re making, and financial experts are in heavy demand in the sector. Working in finances in tech is no different from doing the same job in other environments for the most part, and it doesn’t require any significant understanding of the technological side of things. It can certainly be helpful in your own work though, as you’ll be using various advanced solutions that leverage modern tech.

As you can see, there is no shortage of options for working in tech without a technological background. Whether you like modern tech or not, you can still find work in the sector, as long as you have good skills in another relevant area. But keep in mind that no matter what line of work you choose, having a good understanding of the actual technology you’re working with will still come in handy.