Here at Netpremacy, we help global companies such as Just Eat Takeaway, Monzo and Morrisons, transform and energise their business with Google products, and being a Google Cloud Premier Partner, we work alongside one of the most recognised tech companies in the world. However, we know that we wouldn’t be the company we are today without our talented people. From our Data Engineers to our Change Management & Training Consultants. We love that everyone brings different skills to the table.
In this industry, there are always opportunities to learn. Whether you are just starting in tech, have a few years under your belt, or want more confidence talking with your peers, then here are some helpful things to consider.
You don’t have to be technical to work in tech.
Often one of the biggest barriers is thinking that you must already have experience in the industry before applying for a job. This is not always the case. A great example of this is Fraja’s journey at Netpremacy. Now a Product Manager, Fraja has been with us for over five years. Fresh out of university, she had no prior technical experience or qualifications – she even studied modern languages.
Starting in Change Management, Fraja’s first step into the industry wasn’t in a technical capacity. After getting an appetite to learn more, she progressed to Customer Success as a Programme Manager. Here she had lots more technical exposure working alongside Tech stakeholders, IT admins and CISOs. Wanting to further enhance her technical knowledge, with encouragement from her peers and support from Netpremacy, Fraja went on multiple courses and is now Google Cloud certified. This is a fantastic achievement coming from a non-technical background. Fraja’s top tip for those looking to start in tech is “don’t be put off going for roles, just because it’s in tech.” There are plenty of roles that don’t require you to be technical: Training, Change Management, Project Management, Marketing and Sales, to name a few. Take the first step and apply for a role in a tech company.
Tech can be taught.
Whilst experience is something to be admired, it’s not everything within the tech industry. If you have the passion and drive to learn, technical knowledge can most definitely be taught. There are so many free resources on the internet and events you can attend to unlock jargon and understand what everything means. Even if you already have basic technical knowledge, use what you have available to cement your knowledge and give you the confidence to get involved in more technical conversations. Daisie, our Google Cloud Infrastructure Engineer, constantly uses resources like this to help develop her skill set. She joined Netpremacy as a Support Engineer, and because of her commitment to learning, she has now progressed into a more technical role.
Here are Daisie’s top resources:
- Learning pathways, codelabs, topics of interest, and more: https://developers.google.com
- Guided tutorials for hands-on coding experience: https://codelabs.developers.google.com
- Google Developer Groups and community events: https://developers.google.com/community/gdg
- Lots of insightful content and curated around women empowerment: https://www.womentechmakers.com/
- Interactive, hands-on labs. Real-world scenarios in a temporary but live environment: https://www.qwiklabs.com/
- Free skills challenge to earn a digital Google Cloud skills badge: https://inthecloud.withgoogle.com/google-cloud-skills/register.html
- Code challenges and hackathons: Kick start, code jam, hash code: https://codingcompetitions.withgoogle.com/
Podcasts:
- Cloud Security Podcast by Google (hosted by Anton Chuvakin, Head of Solutions Strategy, and Timothy Peacock, Product Manager, both at Google Cloud)
- Google Cloud Platform podcast
- Kubernetes podcast from Google
If you want to become technical, work for a tech company.
It may seem obvious, but in a tech company, you are surrounded by knowledge and expertise – it’s all at your fingertips. So if you want to become more technical or follow a technical career path, what better way than to immerse yourself in it, plus all the resources you could need are in your peers. As good as courses and events are, having people spend time explaining things to you in a way that you understand is invaluable. Get first-hand experience of working with tech stakeholders, IT admins, and CISOs. The more technical exposure you get, the easier it will be to follow and understand.
The tech industry is forever changing and evolving. Even the most experienced techies are still expanding their knowledge daily. If you are just starting you won’t be alone in learning, upskilling and putting yourself out of your comfort zone.
Ready to take your first or next step in the industry?
Linkedin
Twitter
Facebook
