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Your (apparently unrelated) degree can land you a job in tech

Alison Parkinson,  Employer Engagement Adviser, picked up some very positive messages from a recent event.

We had four fantastic speakers on campus recently – debunking the myth that you have to have studied a particular degree discipline to work in a tech role or for a tech company. Not so!

  • Emma Langmean is Digital Adoption Experience Manager with RBS, joining them after her History of Art degree
  • Laura Wilson studied International Business with French here and is now working as a Data Scientist at Skyscanner
  • Katie Barker-Ward, studied History and is now a Senior Transformation Consultant with Waterstons
  • Andy is UX Team Lead at FreeAgent and studied Music Performance and Technology

Their Top 10 tips:

  1. There is a massive range of roles in tech- not all about programming, at our recent Careers in Tech fair around half of the 50 + organisations who attended were recruiting students from any discipline.
  2. A history degree equips you for a role in tech as you learn how to evaluate loads of data sources, make sense of them and present your conclusions back to different audiences.
  3. Problem solving when composing a piece of music with others is a very similar process to creating software.
  4. Studying French seemed to help when learning Python
  5. Tech roles are team roles. You can’t make complex software by yourself – so any experience you have at university of making trade -offs, understanding others’ perspectives and collaborating to make something will stand you in good stead.
  6. Start making stuff. Acquire some coding skills via one of the numerous free online programmes- it doesn’t matter what language. What matters is your attitude. That you have shown a passion. You love this and want to learn more.
  7. Just by chatting to people you can find out about roles and what you might enjoy. Be curious and just go to events; something will spark your interest.
  8. And tech people are not locked in a room being geeky..…just the opposite. In a tech role you are constantly speaking to people from different backgrounds- not just other tech people. A great way to understand how a business works.
  9. Your degree is about learning how learn- it doesn’t matter what discipline. Being curious and loving learning are essential to keeping your skills current and valued.
  10. Research options on our occupational pages. And look for potential roles on MyCareerHub. Remember a non –tech role at a tech company is also a great option to consider.

So the message is loud and clear- apparently unrelated degrees are VERY relevant for a career in tech, so don’t rule yourself out.

 

Image: geralt on Pixabay

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