Types of Roles in Tech

Getting a job in the tech industry isn't just about learning how to code. With tech embedded in every aspect of our lives, there are more and more options for people who want to get into tech. Understanding the types of roles is important to knowing what to expect and how to shape your career path.

Typically when people want to work in tech, they mean one of two paths:

• Technical function: A technical role at any company
• Technical domain: Any role at a company with a technical product or service

It's important to determine which path you are interested in pursuing, because this will determine which skills you should develop.

Technical Function

Most people, when thinking about roles in tech, think of a technical function.

These could include:

• Engineering
• Product
• UX
• Support
• DevOps/Infrastructure
• Security
• Quality
• Data Science

These roles tend to have more clear paths of what you should learn, and even certifications, or degrees that align with the role types. There are different specialties within each -- for example, Engineering could mean building software applications in C# or web development with a JavaScript framework -- but it is typically easier to find resources on career paths.

Technical Domain

However, you can also get a job at a tech company without actually having a technical role.

If you are looking for any role at a tech company, this could include:

• Customer success
• Markting
• Recruiting
• Sales

These roles are more nuanced, and could require a combination of skills and specialized knowledge depending on the company. Identifying opportunities and career paths here can be trickier. Reading job descriptions to understand requirements, reviewing career paths of others in these types of roles, and gaining knowledge in a particular industry can be helpful.

I also recommend talking to people in these roles to get a sense of their day-to-day activities and what skills they have found beneficial. Review their LinkedIn profiles to see what other experience they had before transitioning to tech, and consider how your own non-tech experience could be leveraged.

These types of roles can be a great way to break into tech if you are transitioning from another industry and don't necessarily want a technical role.

Technical Function and Domain

Of course, you can also do both -- find a technical role at a tech company. Some of these roles might be:

• Developer Experience for API Framework
• Implementation for Data Management Service
• Support at Cloud Service Provider
• Data Science at System Monitoring Platform

I personally have done all three types of roles, and the expectation and skills required for each of them was very different. If you're just starting to think about your transition into tech, understanding your options and deciding what type of role you'd like to pursue is an important first step.