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Don’t wanna code? 9 + 1 other tech careers.

“Guy, how do you understand all this” said Lanre, my buddy as he saw me typing away at my code editor.

“I don’t know, I just know it noni, it’s not that hard, you fit learn am.”, I replied

“Omo guy I don try learn. No be for me”

 

This is a story most programmers are familiar with. Most people who are interested in tech usually get discouraged when they don’t seem to understand code and are usually unaware of the vast career options that exist in tech. Coding is just one pixel in the whole picture. Other equally important roles like marketing, sales, design, project managers work together with programmers to ensure the success of a product or company.

Although it would be cool if everybody in the world could speak code or maybe not. We all can’t, therefore here are viable and equally important career options in tech today:

  • Design: A designer is simply one who designs, in tech this includes product design, graphic design, UI / UX design. A designer’s job is simply to communicate a message visually to a viewer or consumer. The demand for good designers is on the rise as designers are needed in every industry. Logos, Minimie wrappers, applications, billboards, flyers, book covers, magazines, digital and physical products. Design is a big umbrella split into various forms such as UI/UX design, Product design, web design, graphic design and many more.
    How to get started: Design tutorials on YouTube.

 

  • UI / UX Design: The demand for UI / UX designers over the past years has increased due to the increase in the understanding that a good user experience may break or make a product no matter how good the underlying technology is. A UI / UX designer is responsible for carrying out research on how users interact with technology and use this knowledge in designing product interfaces and experiences that make it simple for users to use a product or service.
    How to get started: Design tutorials on YouTube.

 

  • Tech Journalism: Technology moves at light speed which brings about the need to connect users, tech companies and industry professional with breaking news and new technologies. Tech journalist are vital to the tech ecosystem as they share new advancements in technology, review and compare gadgets, report events and everything happen in tech using blogs, YouTube videos, magazines, and social media as platforms.How to get started: If you have a flair for writing, you can create a WordPress blog, or a Medium account and start writing your opinions about things you find interesting in tech, report tech events happening around you and build from there.

 

  • Project Management: A project manager is one who oversees the process of software development. This job requires extensive knowledge in software development cycles and more importantly people skills as the PM would be in charge of making sure developers have what they need to successfully develop a project.Requirements: Most PMs require a degree/diploma in project management of some sort.

 

  • Photography / Videography: Photographers are usually industry independent but like any other industry, there are several use cases for good pictures and videos. A photographer working in tech has various opportunities from taking stock photos, working with tech magazines, blogs, and editorials, covering tech events, keynotes and conferences, shoot adverts for products and so on.

 

  • Social Media Strategist: Everyone can use social media quite alright but a social media strategist does more than post food or slay pictures on social media. A social media strategist must have great communication, marketing, and branding skills, as he is responsible for managing the way a brand is perceived online which is no small task. A social media strategist is planned future posts, runs ads, and most importantly engages online customers of the organization he manages.The demand for good social media managers is solid as every needs an online presence to matter in this decade, even government institutions like EFCC have a strong presence online especially Twitter.

 

  • Digital Marketing: Digital marketers are responsible for marketing of products and services using digital tools and social media. They must have Search Engine Optimization skills that will enable them to optimize a site’s content to rank high on search engines. They sometimes perform the role of a social media manager.

 

  • Content Development: Content developers are responsible for creating, organizing and editing original content for websites such as writing technical documents, manuals, documentations, press releases, and tutorials about technologies.

 

  • Sales: The suits, as we techies call them, play a vital role in any organization as they are responsible for bringing in business that keeps the light on. They work hard, bringing in clients that actually use the software built.

 

  • Computer Hardware Engineering: If you have a knack for gutting out hardware and putting it back together, this is a perfect career line for you. In a country where the fix for a slow laptop is to install a new antivirus, computer engineers provide value in repairing, maintaining, and troubleshooting computer systems in an organization.

The opportunities in tech are vast and it multiplies every day as tech as an industry moves fast and there are many players involved. Jobs get obsolete and more jobs, get created as tech evolves, just think about it, 15 years ago there was no job called “Social Media Manager”, Facebook is just 13 years old. The key lies in finding places where your skills are applicable and can add value to someone, build those skills and market.

The sky is not the limit, just ask Elon Musk.

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