Are you interested in starting a career in the tech industry? Then this article was written just for you. One exciting thing about the tech industry is that it is versatile. There are several job opportunities in tech, and you might be lucky to earn cool money while working from the comfort of your home.
Many people want to enter the tech industry, but not many understand the requirements to start a career in it. However, to help make it easier for you in starting a career in the tech industry, here are some mistakes you should avoid.
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8 Mistakes People Make When Starting a Career in the Tech Industry
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Not knowing where to start
The truth about the tech industry is that there are lots of competitive roles in it. It can be pretty confusing to decide which one you want to go for. For example, you might be interested in cloud computing, realize that product management is another attractive role, and eventually get distracted again.
The key to avoiding making this type of mistake when starting a career in the tech industry is to know your ability. Find Your passion, Google up tech roles similar to what you love to do, and start learning the skills needed to carry out the role. Starting a career in the tech industry is much easier when you love what you do.
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Not Investing in Learning Skills
Another mistake people make when starting a career in the tech industry is not investing enough time and money in skill acquisition. One unique thing about working in the tech industry is that you can learn a skill without paying a dine and use that skill to earn lots of money in the industry. However, this does not always happen, and you should not be concerned about grabbing free courses online. Instead, learn to get paid courses online and take time to practice the skills you learned from those courses. Remember, when you invest a lot of time and money into something, you tend to take it more seriously.
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Thinking you start earning millions in your first year
This mistake has pushed many newbies into losing interest in starting a career in the tech industry. Yes, tech is good, and you get to earn cool money while working comfortably from wherever you are, but the truth is that it takes a lot of sacrifices to reach that stage. Also, the pay rate differs with skills and level. For instance, a junior front-end developer cannot be paid the same amount as a senior full-stack developer. This is because they are not on the same level career-wise. Just like in other industries, it takes time to earn money in the tech industry.
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Not networking
Another mistake you should avoid when starting a career in tech is trying to grow by yourself. It does not work that way; you must connect with like-minded people and learn from them. Get mentors and look up to them, join tech communities, boot camps, etc. Connecting with people who share the same interest as yours is an excellent way to get started in tech. Some tech communities you can join include; Forloop Africa, AI Saturdays, Figma Africa, Google Business School, Ingressive for Good, etc.
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Studying and not Practicing skills
It is good to have courses you are studying to help make your tech journey smooth. However, studying without practicing is not advisable when starting a career in the tech industry. In fact, you do more practice in the industry, so you have to learn to practice more to keep your skills up to date. An easy way to practice is to create projects and have people examine them for you. You can also join online tech bootcamps where you can be assigned group projects.
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Not applying for internships
It is easier for you to get into tech through internship programs than through direct recruitment. Not that direct recruitment doesn’t work in tech, but it works better when you have experience and projects you can show recruiters. But if you do not have any of the two, apply for internship programs. In addition, you can follow tech companies on social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn to get updates whenever their internship program is available.
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Believing your Course of Study doesn’t matter
This is another mistake you should avoid when starting a career in tech. You might have met with people who will tell you not to care about the course you studied or are studying because it does not matter in tech. Well, this does not apply in all situations. For example, a graduate of computer studies or data management can use the skills gotten from their course to work in the tech industry. In fact, lawyers, doctors, and pharmacists work in the tech industry. If you are a student looking to enter tech, do not be distracted; ensure you complete your education; not all tech companies will recruit you without proper educational qualifications.
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Not having a portfolio
Do not wait to get employed before you have a record of your projects. With your tech skills, you can create projects and have them saved in a file as your portfolio. Remember, your portfolio is proof that you can handle the role you want to go for. Ensure you have documentation of your works and also make it accessible to recruiters. Not having a portfolio is one mistake you should not attempt to make when starting a career in the tech industry.
Final thoughts
Mistakes are inevitable in life; to become a successful person, you have to make many mistakes and learn from them. This also applies to starting a career in the tech industry. Newbies make many mistakes in tech; some learn from them, and others fail to, jeopardizing their career. I have put together these eight mistakes to help you avoid getting distracted in your journey. I hope you learn from them in your tech career journey.