Is Technology a Good Career Path?

Technology is a rapidly growing industry. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts an employment growth rate well above the national average between 2022 and 2032 [1]. It’s an exciting, challenging field that’s constantly evolving and influencing how we live our lives, making it a popular career choice for many.

With the expansive technology sector, you’ll have many career options, depending on your skills and interests. In this article, we highlight the benefits of working in tech, detail some popular subsectors and roles, and explore some of the top employers in the tech industry. Follow our tips on the education, skills, and experience you need to start a technology career.

Is technology a good career path?

Tech careers often include several benefits, contributing to the industry’s popularity. Such a thriving, developing industry brings good salaries and opportunities for career progression, and the nature of the work offers flexibility.

Growing industry

As a growing industry, the tech world can be an exciting place to be—it puts you at the forefront of shaping society’s future. With new jobs and companies being created, you’ll have frequent opportunities to learn new things.

This also means you’ll have a range of options depending on your skills, experience, and interests. There isn’t a set route into all technology careers, as multiple fields and specialties are available. As a result, you can enter the industry with different levels of education, unique expertise, and various skills.

Flexibility

The tech industry has become known for its flexible work culture. Companies like Google have led the way in promoting a work environment that prioritizes work-life balance and flexibility, which has become a popular model. Technology has brought flexibility into the workplace through video conferencing and cloud solutions, and many tech employees are now requesting it. Remote work, also known as ‘telework’ and ‘work from home’ (WFH), has become common in careers where all that’s needed is often only a computer and an internet connection.

Career progression

With so many available opportunities, the technology industry offers a plethora of options for career advancements and pivots as well as skill development. Since the industry is ever-evolving, numerous learning opportunities are open to you, allowing you to develop new skills to enhance your career prospects.

High salaries and job outlook

The tech sector is famous for offering high salaries. People with particular tech skills can be sought after and are paid accordingly. Some of the world's biggest companies are tech companies, and while their openings are competitive, they often offer excellent salaries and bonuses.

According to the BLS, the median annual salary for IT and computer professionals as a collective group is $100,530 [1]. Your salary will depend on your position, experience, location, and employer. The BLS also states that, in May 2022, the highest 10 percent of computer and information research scientists earned more than $232,010 annually [2].

Popular technology companies you could work for

The number of tech companies worldwide is extensive, offering a variety of opportunities. However, some are particularly popular. These companies are generally known for their admired work culture, generous pay, and exciting developments. At the time of writing, these are some of the top tech companies to work for, according to Glassdoor [3]:

• Google: A Big Five multinational tech company

• Microsoft: The world’s leading and largest software manufacturer

• IBM: One of the world’s largest IT companies and computer manufacturers 

• Amazon: The world’s largest online retailer and part of the “Big Five,” a group of the top tech companies worldwide (Meta, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Alphabet) and a leader in cloud services, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence (AI)

• Tata Consultancy Services: A world leader in IT, business solutions, and consultancy

Examples of technology careers

To help you explore which tech careers might be suitable for you, read the following examples along with their average annual salaries.

* Average annual base salary data is retrieved from Glassdoor as of January 2024.

Data science

Data scientists work with data to answer questions by understanding patterns, finding meaning in complex numbers, creating algorithms, and using programs to capture data. Some data science job roles are:

• Data scientist: $129,519

• Data engineer: $106,556

• Data analyst: $76,933

• Data architect: $127,584

Analytics

Analysts gather data from diverse sources to clean, structure, and use it to derive conclusions across multiple specialties. Here are several types of analyst jobs and their average annual salaries:

• Information security analyst: $113,559

• Computer systems analyst: $116,324

• Network analyst: $83,373

• Business analyst: $87,659

Programming

Computer programmers write, build, and test code and scripts using programming languages to create and run software. Programmers use a variety of languages, often specializing or incorporating programming skills into other roles. Some positions that require programming skills are:

• Web developer: $84,496

• Software developer: $105,866

• Computer programmer: $114,253

• Mobile app developer: $89,529

Support

Support specialists provide technical support to organizations, businesses, and technology users. They may work remotely and in person to troubleshoot, fix, and maintain networks and computer systems. Some support roles include:

• Help desk analyst: $54,650

• Computer technician: $50,298

• Network engineer: $100,867

• IT support technician: $53,934

Non-tech roles

Working in tech doesn’t always mean you have to be technical. Even technical roles need people with workplace communication and customer service skills. You may find plenty of positions that utilize these and many other skills, such as marketing, finance, and recruitment roles. Some examples include:

• Account manager: $65,894

• Technical recruiter: $66,768

• Product manager: $125,628

• Customer service representative: $39,490

How to work in tech

Working in tech doesn’t have a specific entry requirement, as roles vary, and different companies look for different qualifications in their employees. It isn’t even required to be tech-savvy for some roles. When entering the tech industry, define what you want to do and explore what recruiters require for that specific role.

Skills

An important factor in landing a competitive role is demonstrating an innate interest in the technology you want to work with. This is essential even if you are not going for a technical role. You can do this by joining networks, using technology in your daily life, and working on relevant personal or professional projects that you can add to a portfolio. This helps you build valuable tech skills and gives you a way to demonstrate them. 

In addition, you can hone a variety of workplace skills that are useful for any position in tech, including:

• Communication

• Problem-solving

• Teamwork and collaboration

• Self-motivation

• Organization

• Time management 

• Attention to detail

• Creativity

• Adaptability

Education

The level of education needed for a tech career depends on the role and the employer. Some employers and positions require minimal education and rely heavily on skills, while others call for advanced degrees. Generally, a bachelor’s degree is the minimum requirement, and it’s usually recommended to align your major with the job role you want to pursue.

Experience

Experience is important in the tech industry. This doesn’t necessarily have to focus on paid work if you’re just starting your career, but you typically need to show employers some evidence that you have the necessary skills. This might be through your portfolio, which may include personal projects, or through a college degree, certifications, online courses, certificates, internships, or other positions you’ve held.

Getting started with Coursera

Are you excited about starting a career in tech? Building your skills is a key factor in making yourself stand out. Online courses and Guided Projects on Coursera are great ways to learn new skills and gain qualifications to add to your resume. IBM offers the Key Technologies For Business Specialization, and AWS offers a course on AWS Cloud Technical Essentials. You may also consider a Professional Certificate, such as the Google IT Support Professional Certificate or the Google Advanced Data Analytics Professional Certificate, all available on Coursera.

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