When we think of any career within the STEM field (science, technology, engineering, and math), we’re usually inclined to consider roles that require degrees—or at least, we think they do anyway.
While traditionally, that may have been the case, employers are becoming more lenient with regards to entry requirements for these types of roles, as is the case with Big Tech employers such as Google, Meta, and IBM, who relaxed their degree requirements within the past few years.
More employers are recognizing active work experience, “soft” or power skills, the practical skills and knowledge obtained along the way, and “career certificates,”—online courses that teach in-demand technical skills for work in a fraction of the time it would take to study a degree—as sufficient evidence of a job candidate’s suitability for a role.
7 Tech Jobs That Do Not Require A Degree
Can you imagine a tech job that pays $100,000 or more and does not require you to hold a four-year degree?
They actually do exist. Let’s look at a few tech jobs that you can get without a degree, and what you’ll need to get through the door instead (salaries from Salary.com, Glassdoor, and Talent.com):
- Software developer—average salary range between $116,581 and $139,303
- Cybersecurity analyst—average salary range between $83,000 and $130,000
- Cloud solutions architect—average salary range between $115,564 and $142,412
- Technical product manager—average salary range between $113,298 and $139,938
- UX/UI designer—average salary range between $102,281 and $125,957
- Systems administrator—average salary range between $101,877 and $126,686
- Salesforce administrator—average salary range between $78,148 and $92,841 (top earners make as much as $123,662)
While of course, there’s no denying that it would be much easier to land a job in tech if you undertook a bachelor’s degree in computer science or information technology, there are still numerous evidences that abound across the internet where professionals pivoting careers, or at the start of their careers, have become software developers, product managers, and even UX/UI designers, without needing to go through the traditional college route.
This is precisely why bootcamps, online courses, and training platforms that specialize in coding and software development skills exist. You can learn the necessary skills by using platforms, courses, and learning resources such as:
- Codeacademy
- Coursera (which has hundreds of tech-related courses)
- Google career certificates (which has partnered with Coursera)
- YouTube
- Online bootcamps
- CompTIA certifications
- Cisco certifications
- PMI (Project Management Institute)
- Kaggle
- edX
- MIT OpenCourseWare
- And even ChatGPT itself can teach you to code.
One slight caveat: you will need to push harder to be taken seriously by employers, and you may need to approach your job search a little unconventionally to be recognized for the skills you have, rather than your lack of a four-year degree.
An important aspect of this is building your portfolio. Your portfolio of technical project that you’ve worked on and delivered serves as evidence of your skill set and technical knowledge, so you should always be working on learning something new, practicing it, and building something new every day.
Your portfolio could display a project for a friend, a personal app that you’ve always wanted to see developed for your own use, or it could even be as far as providing your technical services on a pro bono (volunteer) or discounted rate as a freelancer. Having this on the side keeps your skills fresh while you’re job hunting, encourages you to keep updated on the latest trends in technology, and demonstrates to employers that you are an eager learner. This portfolio of projects can be included as a link in your resume, and you may also display it on your LinkedIn profile.
Additionally, attend networking events, and join Slack channels, LinkedIn groups, and sub-reddits so that you are in the know about your industry and the job opportunities available. Strategically forming connections with the right people will help you get your foot in the door.
Get creative, be enthusiastic about keeping your technical knowledge fresh, and surround yourself with the experts so you can forge an exciting, high-paying career in tech.
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