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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Problem solving when composing a piece of music with others is a very similar process to creating software.
- Studying French seemed to help when learning Python
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
