Careers in Technology

Technology profoundly shapes every aspect of our lives, revolutionizing how we learn, communicate, and plan for the future. As Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates stated, “The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don’t really even notice it.” With areas of technology like artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, biotechnology, financial automation, cybersecurity, personalized healthcare, and robotics, the technology industry offers a wide array of exciting and innovative career paths.

There are two main categories for careers in technology: 1) technology companies and the wider industry, and 2) technology roles. Technology roles can be found in various organizations, not just limited to the technology industry. For example, a person could work as a web developer for a federal government agency, where the job is a technology role, but the industry is government. Alternatively, a person could work for a technology company in a role that doesn’t require advanced technical skills, such as marketing or business development. It’s worth noting that a significant portion of technology industry jobs are non-technical, and programming skills are not always necessary. To learn more about non-technical roles in tech, read 12 Hot Non-Technical Tech Jobs, Non-Tech Roles in FAANG Companies, and The Best Tech Jobs With No Experience Required (And How To Get Them).

If you are interested in pursuing roles that require technology skills, there is a wide range of career paths available. The most common job titles for post-graduates from Georgetown are Software Engineer, Software Developer, and Software Development Engineer. However, other titles include Network Security Engineer, Cybersecurity Analyst, Database Analyst, Machine Learning Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Program Manager, Full Stack Developer, and Product Engineer. To discover more about the different career paths that are available to individuals with technical skills, visit ITCareerFinder and CompTIA.

Read trade magazines, newsletters, and popular websites in your industry area. Places to start include Techmeme, TechCrunch, and Hacker News. To keep up with startup and venture capital news, read Crunchbase and Accelerated. Subscribe to blogs and newsletters, join relevant email lists, follow industry insiders via social media, and research the types of positions that are available in those fields. Stackify shares Websites Every Developer Should Visit: Programming News, Tutorials & More. Company websites, O*NET, and the Occupational Outlook Handbook are equally helpful resources. You must show not only an interest, but also knowledge about the industry.

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Learn Coding Skills & Gain Project Experience

If you are interested in using technology to create social change, you will want to get connected with public interest technology (PIT) or technologists for good. All Tech is Human is the go-to hub for resources, including this article featuring videos and advice on how to secure an entry-level job in responsible tech, a comprehensive guide profiling careers in responsible tech, and a job board. Identify organizations in this field via Tech Jobs for Good, and the 300+ organizations listed with All Tech is Human. Coding it Forward has an established fellowship program and Stanford has a PIT job board. To understand tech careers in the government and learn about the application process, view the Crash Course on Tech Work in Government, read govtech, use the GoGovernment Internship Finder, and search postings on usajobs.gov. Lastly, join the professional association, Technologists for the Public Good.

Attend employer information sessions, industry events — on and off campus, and connect with popular professional organizations regionally and nationally. Most relevant professional associations for those with technical skills include Association for Computing Machinery, CompTIA, and IEEE Computer Society. Or, you may join an association connected to the functional role of interest, such as Product Development and Management Association or American Marketing Association. For women in tech, consider joining the groups, Society of Women Engineers and Women in Technology (a group located in the DMV area), Tech Ladies, and Rewriting the Code. Professional associations host a variety of professional development, educational, and networking events. Last, be sure to join the ADPList where you can get career answers from a mentor community.

Develop a LinkedIn profile that communicates your personal and professional brand. Joining groups on LinkedIn related to your industry is a great way to meet new people, find mentors, contacts, and ask questions. Also, reach out to alumni through Hoya Gateway and Georgetown’s alumni page on LinkedIn. Our website provides helpful guidelines on networking and informational interviewing.

Georgetown offers a number of opportunities for Hoyas to get involved. Joining a school club is an excellent way to learn more about the industry, develop your skills, and get hands-on experience. Some technology-related clubs include GU Women Coders, Hoya Hacks, HoyaAnalytics, Hoya Developers, Product Space, and Georgetown FinTech. If you are interested in tech policy and ethics, connect with the Center for Digital Ethics and Georgetown Initiative on Technology & Society. You can also participate in a group based on a personal interest and develop your professional skills. For example, if you are interested in web design, build a website for a student group that interests you. For more student club information, visit Campus Groups. On and off-campus jobs are another excellent way to build skills valued by employers.

To better understand what skills you need to highlight on your resume, check out internships, fellowships, and entry-level positions in the technical industry. Your technical skills make you a valuable commodity, so be sure to list those on the resume with proficiency level. You may also want to add technical projects to your resume. Learn how to list projects on a resume as well as general advice for writing a software engineer resume. See our resume and cover letter pages for more tips and advice.

You may be required to solve technical problems in the interview. If you’re new to technical interviews, you may want to look at this breakdown of top mistakes, and how to approach problems, test, and optimize. Use free practice sites, such as HackerRank, Codewars, and interviewing.io to prepare. Grind 75 has a comprehensive Tech Interview Guide, as well as a self-paced LeedCode study plan based on your needs. This article, Level Up Your Coding Skills: Top 11 Websites for Interview Prep, shares additional sites to explore. Katie Thomas, a self-taught Software Engineer at Google, shares advice on how to ace a technical interview. Google offers many helpful resources for technical interviewing prep. Check out the book, Cracking the Coding Interview, by Gayle Laakmann McDowell. For listings beyond our campus recruiting platform, Handshake, visit Built In, Simplify, Tech:NYC , and Dice. For startups, check out Wellfound and Hacker News. Lastly, GitHub curates a list of technical internship openings, and Floorilla is a job posting site specifically for coders and builders.

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