The truth is the tech world is not only limited to the programming domain — it is something much extensive than that! I always tell tech newbies that programming isn’t for everyone and you don’t necessarily have to write yourself off. There is room for everyone regardless of their background within the tech industry.
Over the past 5 years of active software development, a few questions never fail to come up from tech newbies:
– “Which language should I learn next?”,
– “How can I prepare for technical interviews?”,
– “Are you hiring in your company?”,
– ”What’s the average pay for a software engineer in Nigeria?”
But one question that threw me off recently was, “What if I don’t want to be a software developer?”. Some folks have repeatedly made an attempt to learn how to code, and along the line, they almost gave up on the whole tech thingy.
In this article, I will share the 8 tech careers you can start in 2021
Here we go!
1. Business Analyst
According to Wikipedia, a business analyst (BA) is someone who analyzes an organization or business domain (real or hypothetical) and documents its business or processes or systems, assessing the business model or its integration with technology. Business Analyst helps in guiding businesses in improving processes, products, services, and software through data analysis.
Business analysts engage in 4 main types of analysis:
- Strategic planning — identifying the changing needs of a company
- Business model analysis — defining policies and market approaches
- Process design — standardizing workflows
- Systems analysis — interpretation of requirements for the IT department
Business Analysts might deliver many different types of solutions, including new business plans, data models, flowcharts, or strategic plans.
Average Pay Range — ₦200–400k/month
Skills required: communication, Business knowledge, critical thinking, and Technical, Analytical skills, Problem-solving skills
2. Technical Recruiter
According to JobHero, a Technical Recruiter is a position that falls under the umbrella of Human Resource specialists, they specialize in finding candidates to fill technical jobs, such as jobs in information technology and engineering. Technical Recruiters are a unique breed of HR. In addition to all of the skills and traits of a regular recruiter, a Technical Recruiter has to have an in-depth knowledge of their industry.
The role of Technical Recruiter is an entry-level position with minimal barriers to entry. While a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management or a related field is preferred by some employers, it is possible to get a Technical Recruiter position with a high school degree. Technical Recruiters can work in-house as direct employees of a company within the technical niche. Another option is to work for a Recruiting firm that specializes in Technical Recruiting. The final option for a Technical Recruiter is to work as a self-employed entrepreneur.
Average Pay Range — ₦200–450k/month
Skills required:
– Technical knowledge to be able to talk to job prospects and understand qualifications.
– Strong social aptitude and ability to build relationships.
– Excellent interpersonal communication skills
– Negotiation skills
3. Product Manager
According to Wikipedia, a product manager is a professional role that is responsible for the development of products for an organization, known as the practice of product management. Product managers own the business strategy behind a product (both physical and digital products), specify its functional requirements, and generally manage the launch of features. They coordinate work done by many other functions (like software engineers, data scientists, and product designers) and are ultimately responsible for the business success of the product.
Average Pay Range — ₦ 543,537 -₦ 850,000/month
Skills required:
– Experience with Web site development
– Ability to operate in a high-energy, high-intensity, and rapidly evolving environment
– Project/change management experience implementing new ways of working
– Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills
4. Project Manager
A Project Manager is responsible for planning, overseeing, and leading projects from ideation through to completion. This is a senior role at an organization and requires interaction with a range of internal and external stakeholders, most often managing several moving project parts simultaneously.
Average Pay Range — ₦ 269,000-₦ 400,000/month
Skills required:
– Engineering
– IT or Computer Science
– Business or Business Administration
– Management
5. Quality Assurance Tester
According to Business News Daily, software testers play a critical role in application development. They are quality assurance experts who put applications through the wringer to root out bugs, poor performance, and funky interface issues. To do this, they run all kinds of tests — stress, performance, functional, scalability, user acceptance — at different stages of the software life cycle. Because software testing is so important to the quality and usability of the final product, testers are typically brought in at the planning and design stage, and often remain involved throughout post-release support.
Average Pay Range — ₦ 200,000 – ₦ 350,000/month
Skills required:
– Experience in project management and QA methodology
– Ability to document and troubleshoot errors
– Working knowledge of test management software (e.g. qTest, Zephyr) and SQL
– Attention to detail
– Analytical mind and problem-solving aptitude
6. User Experience(UX) Design
User experience design is a concept that has many dimensions, and it includes a bunch of different disciplines — such as interaction design, information architecture, visual design, usability, and human-computer interaction.
Average Pay Range — ₦ 350k- ₦ 750k/month
Skills required:
– Proven experience as a UX Designer, UI Designer, or similar role
– Strong portfolio of design projects
– Background in project management and research
– Familiarity with interaction design and information architecture
– Excellent communication skills
7. User Interface(UI) Designer
UI designers are responsible for designing how a user interacts with a computer, in fact, they’re obsessed with human-computer interaction! Whether it’s a dashboard computer in a car, a mobile app, a video game, a website, or a virtual reality interface, UI designers are the ones that make these interactions possible.
Average Pay Range — ₦ 350k- ₦ 750k/month
Skills required:
– Knowledge of wireframe tools (e.g. Figma, Wireframe.cc, and InVision)
– Portfolio of design projects
– Up-to-date knowledge of design software like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
– Team spirit; strong communication skills to collaborate with various stakeholders
8. Data Analyst
A data analyst is someone who scrutinizes information using data analysis tools. The meaningful results they pull from the raw data help their employers or clients make important decisions by identifying various facts and trends.
Typical duties include:
- using advanced computerized models to extract the data needed
- removing corrupted data
- performing initial analysis to assess the quality of the data
- performing further analysis to determine the meaning of the data
- performing final analysis to provide additional data screening
- preparing reports based on analysis and presenting to management
Average Pay Range — ₦ 431,550/month
Skills required:
– Ability to work with stakeholders to assess potential risks
– Work experience as a data analyst or in a related field.
– Ability to analyze existing tools and databases and provide software solution recommendations
– Demonstrated experience in handling large data sets and relational databases
– High-level written and verbal communication skills.
Should you need my help getting started with any of the careers above? do not hesitate to reach out to me on LinkedIn. I’d be glad to guide you.
And If you feel like you want to go ahead with starting a career in software development, I highly recommend CodeNest, a coding Bootcamp that can help you quickly get started.
All the best!
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