How You Can Break Into Tech Sector, Even If You’re Not A Natural Geek

Not every entrepreneur is cut out for the tech sector. For some people, technology is an endless source of confusion. But unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of decades, you’ll have noticed something: all of the best opportunities are in the tech sector. 

The tech sector is now the largest industry listed on the US stock exchange. It’s bigger than oil and petrochemicals, comprising more than 26 percent of the total market value. What’s more, it’s tech more than anything else that is driving gains in the stock market. The old economy is chugging along, doing what it always does, but tech is different. It’s disrupting entire industries and generating enormous wealth in the process. 

As a savvy, career-minded or entrepreneurial person, you want to cash in on all this. But if you’re not a natural geek, that might seem impossible. You’d like to be involved in tech, but something tells you that you don’t have the aptitude for it. 

The great thing about the tech sector is that it’s diverse. There are a wide variety of roles for people of varying talents. You don’t need to be a coding whizz to get a job at a successful firm. You just need to find a way of offering value. 

The Reality Of Tech Jobs Is Not Coding In A Cubicle While Drinking Red Bull

When most people think about tech jobs, they imagine sitting in a cubicle, tapping on a keyboard for ten hours a day, sipping some branded energy drink for focus. But that’s not the reality of it at all. 

Okay, sure, some jobs are like that. But the vast majority are what you would expect to find in practically any industry. There’s nothing particularly unusual about them. 

Tech roles are primarily about bringing various systems together to solve difficult problems. You need a problem-solving mind, but you don’t necessarily have to have a decade of experience as a programmer. You can often solve many challenges you face by bringing the right team of people together, each contributing their skills. 

To give you an example, take game development. Video games are in the tech sector. You’re creating a product which involves a considerable amount of technical expertise and know-how. However, they also require a lot of artistic flair. You need writers capable of generating great scripts and artists who can create beautiful game worlds. Video games wouldn’t be what they are today without the creative spark. It’s not all about technical expertise. 

So, with that said, how can you break into the tech sector if you’re not a natural geek? Take a look at these ideas. 

Read About What’s In-Demand In The Industry

The first thing to do is to figure out what’s in demand in the industry right now. The University of Alabama Birmingham correctly points out that cybersecurity is currently an area in which there is a considerable shortfall. Businesses desperately need companies, products and people who can protect them from hackers. But the market isn’t providing them in the numbers required. 

There are all sorts of ways that you could capitalize on this situation. You could, for instance, charge higher fees for your cybersecurity services. Or you could assemble a team to develop software products that help companies avoid hiring in-house security experts. 

Find A Mentor 

Practically all of the most successful tech entrepreneurs in the world today have a mentor. A mentor isn’t somebody who tells you what to do, but a person who offers their support. The purpose of a mentor is to provide advice and non-judgemental analysis of your situation. A good mentor will tell you if you have the skills or not to pursue a particular business opportunity. 

It can be a little effort to find a good mentor, but once you have one, they can be a great North Star. 

Get An Education

Educating yourself in all matters related to tech is vital. You need to have an understanding of the types of qualifications you need to work in specific fields. 

One of the great things about the tech sector is that it isn’t dogged by unions and regulations preventing certain people from taking positions. If you have the skills, that’s all you need. 

There are all kinds of ways that you can get a tech education. You can go to university, or take an accredited course online. The choice is yours. 

Go To Meetups

Connecting with people in the tech industry is a vital step for getting well-paid work in the sector. But where can you find and build a network? 

If you live in a major city, you’re spoiled for choice. Major cities nearly always play host to a selection of networking hubs, allowing you to find like-minded people with interest in tech. Remember, you don’t need tech-specific skills to slot into the industry. All you need to do is convince the people around you that you offer something of value. 

Going back to the video game example, a studio might be looking for a third-party firm which can edit its scripts. The developer might not have the internal talent to understand the nuances of character development, but you do. The cool thing is that you can offer the services of your firm to the developer and get paid for doing something that has practically nothing to do with traditional tech at all. 

Market Yourself To The Tech Industry

Companies managers in the tech industry want simple solutions to their problems. And more importantly, they don’t want generic services which could apply equally in practically any quarter of the economy. 

If you can market yourself to appeal directly to tech firms, then you put yourself at a distinct advantage of winning their business. 

You can often get clients to sign up by making your services seem like fun. Offering free trials encourages people to sign up and test them out. If you provide value, then most businesses will continue using your services. You could make a lot of money.