Anyone work in tech
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@Jenn without detail. How is the pay and work life balance? I have a friend that does it but often has to work overtime for new releases, etc
Great question. For in-person roles starts at maybe 150-180k(in CA) and if you want to be remote maybe deduct 30k. Plus bonuses and annual raises. Work life balance really depends on your manager. Some are great and don't care hour worked as long as the work gets done..other have required 9-5 and occasion on-call or weekends. If you find a company that values your work and time, they will treat you with fairness. I.e. give you mornings or nights blocked on your calendar for personal items or work from home some days so long as you are performing at sustained metrics(tasks closed, money saved, etc )
Expect when you are new at a company to go to everything you can unless you mentioned it with your manager early on. Open communication is best but they also want a little bit of time to see how you perform. I usually avoid vacations, for example, my first 6 months.
@Jenn what did you need in order to get started in tech? What experience, degree or skills did you need? I’ve always heard it’s insanely competitive to break in to the industry
@Dory i hear this too!
I did have a degree and I started out low pay as an intern. However, I think my biggest advice is to learn a trade or a niche in something in high demand. I.e. earn a certification in Google Workspace or learn a cyber security trade, etc. imo a four year college degree is not worth it unless they have an awesome network for the internship. I learned most of my trade on the job or outside of work doing research or getting certs. My husband has no degree and is self taught through the internet. This might be the exception and not the rule.
My very favorite tech companies are the ones that allow you to fail. They sometimes require you to move fast and this can sometimes mean mistakes when you are new. They just want you to own up to them, share your learned lessons and move on.
I’m a mama in tech! 12 years of experience, happy to help answer questions for anyone that’s looking to pivot
I worked in tech for 10+ years but as of last month am taking a break. I can't get you referrals but let me know if you have any questions. Administrative assistants, project managers, help desk and tech writers are popular entry roles that I can think of.