Careers in Technology

“The dominance of IT careers is due to numerous factors, including the rapid growth of the Internet and e-commerce, increased demand for information security specialists spurred by escalating cyber attacks, the advent of smarter applications enabling companies to analyze business data for unprecedented intelligence, cloud computing revolutionizing the way IT departments operate, and the proliferation of mobile devices,” according to ITCareerFinder. Due to these reasons, the technology industry provides a wealth of opportunities.

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.

Information Gathering

Read trade magazines, newsletters, and popular websites in your industry area. Places to start include ComputerWorld, TechCrunch+, and The Next Web. 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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Making Connections

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, Information Systems Security Association, and IEEE Computer Society. Or, you may join an association connected to the functional role of interest such as The Association of International Product Marketing and Management.  For women in tech, consider joining the groups, Society of Women Engineers and Women in Technology (a group located in the DMV area). 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.

Making Connections at Georgetown

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 (learn programming skills without a computer science major), GU Technology and Engineering Club, Hoya Hacks, HoyaAnalytics, Georgetown FinTech, ColorStack, and Disruptive Tech. 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.

Preparing Materials

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.

Applying

You may be required to solve technical problems in the interview. Use free practice sites, such as HackerRank, Codewars,and interviewing.io to prepare. 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, and Dice. For startups, check out Wellfound and Hacker News.

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