You don’t have to jump straight into a new career. Here’s what you can do.
In the past few months, I had received requests from my connections in LinkedIn who wanted to know about my career journey into the tech space. When I asked them why they wanted to connect with me, most of them mentioned that they were intrigued by my profile.
My mentees ever told me that they seen a lot of tech profiles that typically come from computer science or technical background, whereas I was able to gain good standing in my career without having to go through that route. Most of them are pretty concerned if they are making the right choices so I thought I should share some of my conversations.
The common perception— What if I don’t like/make it?
From the people I spoke with, I noticed a common pattern. They often told me that they are unsure whether the investment in pursuing the tech career will pay off. In my case, I did went in with a huge investment(monetary and time). I strongly believed that it will eventually pay off (which it did!) as long I commit to be better in what I do.
Quite a number of my connections are experienced professionals who wants to make a career switch into the tech space. Most of their considerations were about money and time. I would agree that the inertia to make the change is real because you may feel that you are giving up your entire experience for something new or start from scratch.
It is quite a lot of risks for some to take but yet they are keen to pursue tech career. However, it does not mean moving to tech requires a giant leap of faith. There are some baby steps that you can take to move /towards your goals.
Research on the possible options
One of the fastest and heaviest investment in terms of time and money is enrolling into a masters program. The accreditation and reputation will definitely put you in good position in the eyes of the HR. Due to costs and time required, a lot of people are very hesitant on this path.
Bootcamps is another learning option to accelerate your learning in the area of tech. It is less expensive than a masters program and the time commitment is lesser as well. However, it is no easy feat as well because it can be very intensive as you have to learn a lot of coding and concepts during the short period of time.
Self-learning is the cheapest option and it requires the least commitment. However, this also means that you have to be highly motivated in order to produce or achieve something substantial. You need to create your own portfolios and practise consistently in order to see results in the long run.
Seek financial assistance/scholarship
Most of the time, my connections thought that they have to fork out the entire monetary investment to pursue a tech education. In Singapore, there are subsidies and credits that you can utilize to pursue your tech education regardless whether it is a masters or a bootcamp.
It is also possible to seek a sponsorship from your company for your masters program. There were some classmates in my cohort who were fully sponsored by their companies.
Lastly, there are scholarship options as well. In fact, some companies may offer you a position after you graduate as part of the scholarship program.
Rather than focusing on what you don’t have, you can always seek out these options to lessen your burden. This way, you will feel less stress and be able to pursue the tech education of your choice.
You can always choose the safer option
If you feel that it is too much work and commitment involved, it is always okay to take small steps! You don’t need to quickly enroll yourself into the online courses, masters program or bootcamps. You can always start off in watching free videos on youtube to understand how is it like to be in the tech space.
Once you feel comfortable and ready to take the plunge, go for it! Sometimes analysis paralysis will keep you pacing at the same spot. No matter where you are at, you are in your own race. Don’t feel pressured by your friends around you. As long you are making progress, that’s all it matters!
Discipline, discipline, discipline!
Regardless of which option you take, it is of utmost importance that you stick to your goals. It is very easy to fall off track because we tend to procrastinate. We are all humans and it is easy to feel de-motivated whenever you are hitting an obstacle.
My advice is to keep moving forward. Even when you are failing, fail forward. Learn from the mistakes, step up and continue the grind. It is not an easy journey and I have been there as well. It has always been a learning journey for me and I believe I will be facing more difficult obstacles along the way as I try to level up my career.
Do remember that as long you are doing your best and making progress, you deserve a pat on your back. Keep grinding!
If you need career advice/consultation, always feel free to connect with me on my linkedin or my email goingmeraki@gmail.com
