Want to break into the wonderful world of tech but don’t know where to start? Well, having worked in tech for many years now, and having helped plenty of others get their dream role, I’m here to help you find the right tech career for you with my tech career quiz.
It’s worth noting that there are tons of different careers within the tech industry and not all of them involve coding or being IT savvy. There are a whole host of creative roles like design and marketing or more managerial and organizational roles like project management. So, let’s just debunk the myth that you have to be a tech nerd to work in tech. You don’t.
So, with that in mind let’s find out which tech career is right for you!
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Choosing the Right Career
Let’s be honest, choosing the right career can be super daunting. It’s something you’re going to spend the majority of your adult life doing and you’re probably going to have to commit at least a few years of training or upskilling to reach your ultimate tech career goal.
So, here are a few questions that you’ll need to ask yourself to figure it out. This short tech career quiz is designed to guide you toward your ideal job role or criteria so that you don’t end up wildly searching for tech jobs in X city. No one wants that!
The questions are:
- What are you interested in?
- What’s your personality?
- How can you use your existing skills?
- What environment is right for you?
- What are your constraints?
- What are your options?
- How can you improve your skills?
- Can you get some work experience or an internship to try it out?
These eight questions might seem broad, but we’ll go through each one in order, and by answering all of them honestly, you should end up with a pretty clear idea of what’s going to work for you and what next steps you need to take to get that dream tech career.
Let’s dive and find out more.
What Are You Interested In?
This is a huge question but an important one. Rather than saying that you like art or you like how things work, you can use something called the Holland Occupational Themes, which narrows down interests into six key categories.
- Realistic (Doers)
- Investigative (Thinkers)
- Artistic (Creators)
- Social (Helpers)
- Enterprising (Persuaders)
- Conventional (Organizers)
More likely than not, you’ll fit into one category. If you fit into more than one, then you’ll be more one than the other, so choose your more dominant interest. For example, if you’re social and want to help people, being an isolated coder probably isn’t going to interest you very much.
Likewise, if you’re realistic and want to actually fix problems, you’re not going to want to be in a more abstract field like design or sales. These are traits that are common within tech and no matter which interest field you fall into, there is going to be a corresponding tech career for you.
What’s Your Personality?
The next trait you’ll want to check out is your personality trait. Now, Myers-Brigg is probably the most famous personality trait indicator, but it’s not always super accurate. It can give you a ballpark of whether you’re more introverted or extroverted when it comes to working, or whether you’re more analytical or creative.
However, a lot of these Myers-Brigg personality traits you’ll probably know about yourself anyway. You’ll know if you prefer to work with people or on your own.
You’ll also know if you thrive under pressure or prefer to go at your own pace and set your own boundaries and timelines. Knowing these things about yourself is going to help you figure out which tech careers are going to work for you.
For example, introverts are probably best placed for roles that don’t rely on a lot of socializing, collaboration, or meetings. So coding, analytical work, accounting, and IT, all of these fields lend themselves to introverted personalities.
On the other hand, if you’re an extrovert and a people person, you might want to be a project manager, a sales manager, a marketing professional, or part of the creative design team.
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How Can You Use Your Existing Skills?
So, in the world of job hunting, you’ve probably heard of the phrase “transferable skills”. This normally refers to “soft skills” that are applicable to a wide range of job roles and career types. These include things like teamwork, time management, budgeting, people management, negotiation, pitching, and things like that. You can use these skills in so many job roles.
On the other hand, you’ll also have what is known as “hard skills”. These are role-specific. So, it might be that you know a specific coding language or that you have experience with different content management systems (CMSs). While these might not be transferable, if you already have these skills, you can leverage them to help you get the tech career that you want.
Find roles that need your particular hard skillset to give yourself the edge. You can also get your foot in the door of a tech company that you want to work for in a role that you know well but don’t really want to stay in. Companies often prefer to hire internally to reduce recruitment costs and training lead times, so working your way up on the inside is always a good idea.
What Environment is Right for You?
Okay, so something that a lot of people have worked out post-pandemic is that the working environment matters a lot more than we previously thought, and it’s something you have to factor in when choosing a tech career.
Environmental factors at work include:
- Remote working, hybrid, or fully in-office roles
- Types of people you’re working with
- Structure of the organization
- Flexibility
- Perks beyond pay
- Travel requirements
- The actual physical working environment.
All of these aspects have a huge impact on our productivity and overall job satisfaction and happiness, so it’s well worth taking stock of your preferences.
For example, if remote working and flexibility are at the top of your list, being in a collaborative team that has to come into the office for meetings and workshops is not going to work for you. On the flip side, if you struggled to work remotely during the pandemic and like to be in a structured office environment on a standard 9-5, being a coder might not be for you.
The structure of the organization is also very important. Maybe you like the freedom of startups and don’t mind working on multiple different things, maybe you want to work for someone more established and secure, or maybe you want to work for a multinational with travel opportunities. These are all things to consider.
What Are Your Constraints?
Unfortunately, we have to be realistic when it comes to finding a dream tech career, so that means looking at your constraints and limitations. Some of these you might be willing to change for your dream role and some you might not want to or be able to.
Common constraints include things like:
- Financial requirements
- Education level
- Job-specific skills and experience
- Location
- Hours
- Existing responsibilities i.e family.
As you can see, some of these of changeable. You can always take a course to learn a new skill or try and get work experience.
If you’re open to moving for work or can work flexibly, that might not be a permanent issue. However, things like financial requirements and existing family responsibilities are unlikely to change and need to be factored in.
Maybe you need to make a set amount each month to cover rent, bills, school loans, and things like that. It probably means you need something bigger and better than an entry-level gig at a startup. It’s going to affect where you can apply and the roles you can go for.
What Are Your Options?
There’s no substitute for real-world research. Hit up LinkedIn and ask existing professionals in the job you want how they got there and what it’s actually like. See if the idea matches the reality. Most people are open to sharing their experiences, but some won’t so you might need to try a few times.
You can also go to tech professional events or industry mixers to see what the people are like and get their advice on how to break into the industry in your specific area. You never know, you might end up with some great contacts along the way.
Of course, checking local job boards is also a must. Can you get the job you want in your area? Are they hiring for that role a lot or is it a rare position? Are there similar roles where you can get more experience along the way? These are all worthwhile things to do to figure out which tech career is right for you.
How Can You Improve Your Skills?
The wonderful world of tech is only getting more competitive, so it’s best to be as upskilled as you can be before you start applying. Look at previous job listings and descriptions to find out where the gaps in your skillsets are and get to work fixing it!
There are plenty of online platforms like Udemy that allow you to learn new skills and get a certificate at the end proving what you’ve learned. You might also be able to find classes at local community colleges and centers if it’s a more hands-on or official course that you’re looking for.
You’ll find tons of software and coding-related bootcamps online and some of them also offer job-finding support at the end of the course. If this is an area of tech that works for you, then joining one of these bootcamps might be just the boost you need to break into the tech industry!
Can You Get Some Work Experience or an Internship to Try it Out?
Finally, if you’re still not 100% sure about your chosen tech career, why don’t you try it out before you commit to the endless hours of applying for jobs? Many tech organizations offer work experience or internships, so while you might not get to work in the exact role that you’re looking for, you will see how these kinds of companies work, get a feel for the industry, and gain some experience along the way.
It’s worth mentioning that this will nearly always be unpaid, so make sure you’re financially able to work for free for anywhere from a week to a couple of months depending on the place. If you’re just trying out the role, a week should be enough to know if this is the kind of tech career that you want to pursue or not.
Common Tech Careers
Okay, let’s round out this tech career quiz with a few common tech careers that you might be interested in. Using the questions above you should be able to determine in any of the following tech careers are likely to work for you or if you’re going to enjoy them in the long run.
- App Developer
- Coder
- Data Analyst
- Data Scientist
- Digital Marketer
- Front-End Developer
- Full-Stack Developer
- Operations Analyst
- Product Designer
- Product Manager
- Software Developer
- Software Engineer
- UX Designer
- UX Researcher
- Web Designer
- Web Developer
These are just a handful of popular tech careers, and of course, there are always support staff roles that are necessary in pretty much every kind of business.
- HR
- Finance
- Legal
- IT
- Procurement
- Sales
- Marketing
- Customer Service
- Account Management
So, with that in mind, there’s bound to be a tech career that is right for you. The challenge is nailing down which one is right for you and picking out the skills and experiences that are going to help you land that dream tech role. Give this tech career quiz a go and let me know how you get on in the comments below!
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Vanessa Wachtmeister is a travel tech professional and the creator of the wealth & wanderlust platform, Wander Onwards. Vanessa is originally from Los Angeles, California, she is a proud Chicana, and she has been living abroad for the last 9 years. Today, she helps people pursue financial and location independence through her ‘Move Abroad’ Master Class, financial literacy digital products, and career workshops.