How to thrive as a woman in tech

Is programming the only way to get yourself on the right path for a career in tech? Or is it wrong to assume that working in tech means you have to have highly technical skills such as coding? WomeninTech.co.uk have looked into the different career paths and options for women to thrive in a career in the technology industry, and perhaps surprisingly to some, it’s not always essential to be a traditional programmer.

One way Women in Tech has gathered information on different pathways for women into technology is by conducting interviews with over 100 women already working in the technology industry to gather their thoughts and experiences and more specifically to compare different routes into their jobs. From Data Science Leads to Product Managers, the women we interviewed all had very different routes into where they are today. For example, we interviewed a woman who is currently working as a Senior Business Analyst, having obtained a degree in Occupational and Business Psychology. She is thriving in her career as a woman in technology despite not having come from an IT background.

As technology is influencing almost every part of modern daily life from the minute we wake up to the minute we fall asleep, the talent pool in the tech industry is expanding. There is an ever-growing demand for new skills and new jobs, such as growth hacking which involves determining a marketing growth strategy using data analysis. New opportunities are continuously appearing in the sector for people who want to work in tech, but not specifically in coding.

The demand for more diverse skills in the tech industry

From Travel Tech to FinTech, the success of technology companies relies on more than coding skills. There is also high demand for analytical skills, project management, technical account management, data analytics, growth marketing, games testing and technical writing, to name a few. If coding isn’t necessarily for you, but you love and want to work with technology, the benefit of the tech industry being so varied is that you can build a rewarding career despite not being a programmer.

The tech industry really is huge and expanding further still. According to Tech Nation, there’s over 2.1 million people working in tech in the UK. That’s a million more than other big industries such as construction and financial services. You only have to visit tech job sites to realise the diversity of skills and job titles emerging within the tech sector.

Realising your potential as a woman in tech

One way to thrive as a woman in technology is to utilise the myriad of great opportunities out there specifically aimed at women in tech such as mentoring, networking, women in tech events and training programmes. Not only are they opportunities for connecting with other women and sharing career advice, but engaging with networking and attending events in particular are ways to meet potential employers and to hear about potential job vacancies before they’re advertised which could lead to a new job. Many companies are actively trying to hire for more gender diversity and another advantage of being a woman in tech are the opportunities on niche job boards from employers seeking out women to join their organisations.

The value of a growth mindset

Technology is a fast-moving and ever changing industry. In order to not only keep up, but to thrive professionally, it’s important to always be learning and absorbing new information driving the industry. This will help you to overcome any inherent natural perceptions that perhaps tech is a male-dominated industry that favours men in senior roles because the more you learn the more valuable you are. There is a skills shortage affecting the tech industry and the one major solution to resolving it is to retrain more women returning to work, build on their existing skills and to place women in senior roles in tech.

The bottom line is, coding is an essential skill to have in many tech roles. However, there’s so much variety in the tech industry that non-coding skills are becoming equally as essential for businesses and organisations to keep up with the pace of technology.

*This article is written by Women in Tech. To read more about being a woman in tech visit Womenintech.co.uk for helpful articles and guides on how to get started or progress as a woman in the tech industry.

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