It is 2022 and a lot of people are moving into tech whether they have a tech background or not. The tech community is beyond coding, it is an end-to-end process that involves building products, writing code, creating excellent user experience and amicable user interface that creates a welcoming feel for a new visitor. There are a lot of fields in the tech space that doesn’t even involve writing code.
Some of them include Growth Marketing, Product Marketing, Social media manager, Customer experience and other related auxiliary roles. An exciting array, yes? The challenge, however, is that a lot people in this role struggle to “stay afloat” in the tech space, especially at the entry-level. Sometimes, they get carried away by the buzzwords, sometimes, they are weighed down by the intensity. If you are a non-tech person in the tech space, below are a few tips that could be of help.
Let’s call it a non-tech in tech starter pack.
1. Accept that you don’t know: That’s the first thing. He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool, right?.
Accepting that you don’t know and not feeling overwhelmed about it would do your self-esteem some good. It would also make you realize that your last win was your best win, and you are in a new space to learn how to win, and to win.
2. Do a lot of research: It is always advisable to do a lot of research about the new community or company you are joining. Who are they? Who are the major players? The stakeholders? The disruptors? What drives the industry? etc.
That information would not just equip you to have a soft-landing, it would also boost your esteem and spice up your confidence when conversing with friends, colleagues peers and other co-workers
3. Learn the terminologies: This is a continuous process, but everyday, taking out your time to learn about the industry “jargons” helps a lot. What is pre-seed? What does Series A mean? What’s a Unicorn? What is a buyout? Who is a Venture Capitalist? What’s an Employee Share Option plan. Things like this would put you on a pedestal of successful conversations at work.
4. Join Communities: Joining deliberate communities helps a lot in solidifying your space, thickening your self-esteem and realising you are not alone. Whether it is a virtual community or a physical community, being part of communities helps you build up confidence, togetherness and the realization that you aren’t stuck alone in the new space. The communities could be industry-based or skills-based but trust me, you can’t do this 9-5 as a loner.
5. Attend gatherings: There is a lot of positive energy that radiates when you are with like minds in similar spaces. There are a whole lot of unquantifiable lessons you can learn when you attend gatherings of people in your industry. You are able to feel the vibe, share your mind, listen to people’s challenges and learn from their mistakes and lessons.
6. Stalk your favourite companies and people in similar roles: We all hope to work at Silicon Valley or Fortune 500 companies someday (or not), however, it is very important that you study people who work in similar roles at bigger companies. For instance, if you are a content marketer at an EdTech, you probably want to read about global ed-techs and how they have stayed relevant in the industry from a content perspective. This same principle applies to other fields.
7. Read a book/Watch a movie that aligns with your industry: Reading “One Indian Girl” by Chetan Bhagat and watching “Start up” (The Korean version) helped me a lot in understanding the fin-tech industry. One Indian Girl taught me a lot about Investment banking, distress debt, portfolio management, and other exciting fields in finance. “The start-up” exposed me to the daily nuances in any start-up, as well as the daily lingua franca. Guess what, you learn while relaxing, isn’t that an amazing way to kill two birds with one stone?
What other tips have helped you as a non-tech person in the tech space? Do share below.
