Being a developer to me is one of the most rewarding career paths of choice.
There’s no question that learning tech skills can totally transform your career prospects. Tech skills are SUPER in-demand, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicted over 135,000 new software development jobs in the USA by 2024. And the tech industry is also known for its high salaries—that same report predicts those developers will have a median salary of $98K!
What’s better, you don’t have to put your life (and your bank account) on hold and go back to school to qualify for one of these jobs. The BLS projects that web developers have one the of the fastest growing and highest paying jobs that doesn’t require a bachelor’s degree.
On top of that? There are plenty of remote tech jobs and highly creative tech jobs in the industry, so you can do what you love…from anywhere.
But what is it REALLY like to work in tech? Does it mean being an IT professional at a major corporation, and helping other employees fix their computers and use software? Does it mean eating ramen out of a trough with 3 of your best college friends in an over-priced 1-bedroom in Silicon Valley?
That’s the thing with tech—most of us imagine it looks like just one thing, but there is actually a huge variety of jobs in the industry. For example, you could work as a web developer, a software developer, a visual designer, a digital marketer, a web designer, a full stack developer…and a lot more.
But chances are, when you think of “working in tech,” you’re imagining the life of a web developer who builds the sites and apps that you love, like a Ruby developer building the bones of the Airbnb website, or a WordPress developer keeping the New York Times in business.