Every year, different global publications release a list of in-demand skills that job seekers and people can develop to build a thriving career. In Forbes’ list this year, they highlighted some skills which are predominantly tech skills – Generative AI, Data Skills, Cloud Computing Skills, Machine Learning Engineering and Cybersecurity Skills. Robertson College also released a list of the top jobs in Canada in 2024 and there are a few tech jobs in that list as well.
In a world where over 61 million people use LinkedIn to search for jobs each week, one of the commonest phrases that come up in that search is “tech jobs”. Tech jobs are the new career buzzword as many people seem to be transitioning from their traditional and regular roles to technical roles or working in tech companies. That’s why we decided to write this article to help you:
- Understand what a tech job is
- Understand what tech companies are
- See the reasons many people are transitioning to tech jobs
- Get started on your journey to building a tech career.
WHAT EXACTLY IS A TECH JOB?
Defining what a tech job is not a walk in the park as there are many things to consider. When most people hear tech jobs, they imagine a geek wearing glasses and hooding hunched over a computer or a lot of desktop screens, hiding away in a dark room, or doing nerdy things. Let’s try it out. Ask the person sitting right next to you what they think a tech job is and they’ll most probably describe coding. For us to define what a tech job is, we must define the three different categories of tech jobs:
- Company-based
- Role-based
- Product-based
COMPANY-BASED TECH JOB
If you work in a tech company, you have a tech job irrespective of what your role is or how you contribute your skills to the company. Tech companies usually use different technologies to improve, advance and automate the processes they use in serving their customers. Everyone in the company usually use some technical skills on their different roles.
Most of the non-technical roles in tech fall under this category.
If you work in a tech company in the following teams:
- People Operations and Talent Acquisition
- HR
- Marketing
- Sales
- Customer Experience and Satisfaction
- Content and Creative teams
- Project Management
- Business Analysis
You have a tech job.
ROLE-BASED TECH JOBS
This category is for the typical technical talents whether they are at a tech company or not. If an IT specialist or a Cybersecurity Analyst works at a supermarket (which is not a tech company), they have a tech job because more than 80% of their work requires hardcore technical skills. This category runs the backend and the engine running a lot of businesses and companies – they are managing databases, protecting sensitive information, building engineering patterns, and dealing with systems. These are the examples of jobs that fall into this category:
- Mobile Developer
- Software Engineer
- Programmer
- Cybersecurity Specialist
- Machine Learning
- Cloud-computing engineering
- IT support
- Data scientist
- QA/Software Testing
These are usually in high-demand across the world and they are usually renumerated heavily for their technical skills. These roles can be found both in tech and non-tech companies.
PRODUCT-BASED TECH JOBS
This category accounts for people who work side by side with people building software or hardware products. These roles only require essential technical skills, not an in-depth knowledge of technology like role-based tech jobs. They require a fundamental understanding of how tech works and how it impacts people’s lives so they can be able to build products that people can use. Examples of such roles are:
- Product Managers
- Product Designers
- UI/UX Designer
- UX Researcher
Contrary to popular opinion, one of the most successful things you need to build a successful tech career are soft skills that are in high demand from companies all over the world. People who succeed at their tech roles or in tech companies are people who have developed some of the following:
- Strong and Clear Communication Skills
- Collaboration Skills
- Time management Skills
- Adaptability Skills
You can read more about this here.
Technology is a broad concept and the field keeps expanding each year as new technologies and new startups are being founded.
We hope you’ve been able to change your perspective of what a tech job is and if you’re looking for which of these roles would be an ideal fit for you, check out our career quiz at career.co.quiz and you can get started on a new career path in tech.