Tech career change examples

Now that we’ve outlined how to choose the right tech career, let’s go through two examples of the process.

Finance to corporate development

Alison is 25 and working in finance as a junior analyst.

She’s comfortable working with data and in her spare time she loves to keep up with the latest startup funding and acquisition news. After going through this guide and completing a self-assessment she decides she wants to work in corporate development, as she finds the roles interesting and believes she will be able to leverage her existing skills and experience from her time in finance.

Alison has learned that the nature of CorpDev work means most roles are found in larger tech companies rather than early-stage startups, so she knows she’ll need to target her future job search accordingly.

As Alison is already fairly tech-savvy, she’s decided to focus her attention on learning more about the intricacies of the software world and will prove her knowledge to future potential employers by creating a blog that explores the outcomes of previous startups acquisitions within the social media market.

Consulting to Program Management to…?

Simon is 40 and works as a consultant.

He spends most of his days managing projects for clients and would love to try something new, but he needs to maintain his current income level to cover his mortgage and the cost of preschool for his young children.

After going through this guide and doing further research into tech roles he decides he’s going to start by becoming a program manager at an established tech company. The role makes good use of his project management experience and the salaries are high enough to cover his living expenses.

Simon decides to look for a position at a B2B SaaS company, and starts researching this sector to put himself in a stronger position when it’s time to make the move.

Simon knows that a career in program management isn’t his long term goal, but once he gets his first tech job he’ll be able to start building up his industry experience, networking and eventually look to move to a role that he finds more interesting.

Next steps

Take some time to go through the self-evaluation and goal assessments so you can get a baseline of your current situation and preferences.

Start researching the job roles that are available in tech. You may also find it helpful to look through my guide to technology companies and startups so you have a better idea of how tech companies operate.

Create a shortlist of any roles that piques your interest. Look deeply into each role and decide which one you want to move forward with. Once you’ve made the decision, put your full focus and attention on that role.

If you have any questions about job roles or how to choose a career, feel free to contact me for advice.

Good luck!