6 Essential Tips for Starting a Tech Career When You Are 30 Plus
Technology moves at such a fast and innovative pace, and what’s available in five years can’t even be comprehended at this point. For this reason, and the fact the media and film industry has painted Silicon Valley as a load of 20-somethings in hoodies and yoga pants tapping away at their laptops, the older generations tend to avoid starting a career in the tech industry.
However, this doesn’t have to be the case, and even if you’re 30+, there’s still plenty of opportunities for you to get involved in the tech industry, and you can also make a career out of it! If you’ve got a passion for tech and you want to get your career started, here are the six tips you need to know.
#1 – Start by Taking Small Steps
The first thing you’re going to want to do is to make sure you’re starting small in the tech industry and realize that creating a career in this industry is going to take time. Even if you’ve got the skills and qualifications to start programming apps or designing products, you need the experience to get to the top.
This means you’re starting your search off small and taking things one step at a time. If you aim to big too early, and you fail to get there, this can be disheartening and may put you off the idea altogether. Instead, edge your way up the mountain, and you’ll make a lot more progress over a longer period.
#2 – Start Networking
In a lot of cases in the tech industry, it’s not what you know; it’s who you know. You need to make sure you’re getting yourself out there and exploring who’s who and who you need to know. The more people you know, the more opportunities you’ll have, and you’ll never know where this is going to lead.
The best way to do this is to get on social media and attend networking events. Meet people from the area of the tech industry you want to get involved in.
#3 – Develop an Online Presence
When working with technology, it’s safe to say that the internet is a big part of it, so make sure you’re developing an online presence. This, in some ways, can act as a portfolio, whereas it will also help you to network with others in the industry, and stay up to date with the latest trends.
#4 – Optimise Your Resume/Cover Letter
It’s so important to make sure you’re building a quality resume and cover letter when applying for your preferred job in the tech industry. This means you need to include all the information the employer needs to know and relates to the job description the company has written out.
You also need to make sure you’re writing a new resume for every job you’re applying for because sending the same one to each application will be too generic. You’ll also need to make sure there are no mistakes, so the document remains professional.
Even if you’re not a professional writer, here are some online tools you can use to produce the best cover letter/resume possible.
Academadvisor / Studydemic – Use these online writing guides to follow when writing your cover letter and resume to get the best results. Academized – As here by Best British Essays, this is an online editing tool to help you structure and format your application documents.
My Writing Way – Use this tool as an online grammar checker, and to help you improve your overall ability to use grammar correctly.
Paper Fellows / Ox Essays – These are the leading online proofreading tools to help you highlight and correct any errors in your content, as well as helping you maintain a keen eye for detail.
Via Writing – Use this tool to help you generate catchy titles, relevant keywords, and attention-grabbing headlines and subheadings for your documents.
Big Assignments / Australian Help – Use these professional online formatting tools to layout the content of your documents professionally and understandably.
#5 – Get Your Qualifications
While you might already be qualified and have the skills you need to get the job, and if you do that’s great. If you don’t however, you need to make sure you’re researching what qualifications you’re going to need, and then start taking steps to help you acquire these accomplishments.
#6 – Don’t Let Age Hold You Back
“Perhaps the most important point on this list, make sure you’re forgetting how old you are, and not listening or paying attention to the stereotypes in your head.
In most cases, these simply aren’t true. If you’ve got the determination and skills for the job, you’ll go far. Focus on what you can do” shares Jason Turner, a tech recruiter for State of Writing and Elite Assignment Help.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are several things to consider when it comes to starting a tech career when you’re 30 or older. It’s important to make sure you forget about your age and don’t let it become something that holds you back. Instead, be proactive in doing what you want to do.
Nora Mork is a tech journalist and Ukwritings and Boomessays. She shares her experience with writings articles to online magazines and blogs, such as Essayroo.