How to Make it in TechA Wealth of Career Opportunities

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Introduction More movies, books and artifacts of pop culture are glorifying highly technical professions as glamorous and sometimes even full of intrigue (see “The Social Network”).

Combine this growing cultural enchantment with the world of tech and the growing demand for job candidates with technical skills, and you’ve got the perfect storm for more

ambitious professionals to pursue careers in technology.

But deciding you’re interested in a tech career is merely the first step in your journey. Let’s first examine a little background about the field and the current job landscape to provide you with some idea as to why the industry is so appealing at the moment.

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04Working in Tech

28Moving Forward

22Preparing for a Career in Tech

19Getting the SkillsYou Need

10Opportunitiesin Tech

Contents

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Working in Tech:The Status Quo

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Working in Tech: The Status QuoThere’s no arguing that the tech scene is one of the hot industries to work in currently. According to a 2016 report from the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) report, titled “Digital Talent: Road to 2020 and Beyond,” more economies are booming thanks to tech.

“…the world economy has witnessed unprecedented growth as young economies emerged, trade expanded, and education continued to bridge the social and economic divide. This growth has largely been the result of technological advances — a critical enabler behind any modern economy.”

-ICTC report.

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Supply & Demand

While the demand for highly skilled tech workers is high and only anticipated to keep growing as we move into the next decade, the supply of workers to fill these positions is abysmally low, says the research.

“Canada is experiencing a shortage of skilled talent, especially as the application of new technologies to traditional industries creates specialized roles that merge technical and business domains,” says the ICTC report.

The same is true in the U.S. Data from Code.org says that computer science is the top-paying college degree in the country, and the number of programming positions is growing at twice the national average. At that current pace, that will leave the U.S. with a surplus of 1 million tech-related jobs by 2020, and not enough qualified candidates to fill them.

Computer science is a top paying college degree and computer programming jobs are growing at 2x the national average.

Chart: Code.org

1 400 000

1 200 000

1 000 000

800 000

600 000

400 000

200 000

2011 2016 2020

Job Growth Projections inComputer Science-Related Fields

1.4 millioncomputing jobs

400 000 computerscience students

$500 billionopportunity

WORKING IN TECH: THE STATUS QUO

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Supply & Demand

One salient point the research raises is that even traditionally non-technical sectors such as education or government are taking on a high-tech flavour as more workplaces adopt digital technologies to improve productivity and streamline workflows. Tech is no longer a highly specialized field — it’s slowly being integrated into workplaces everywhere. But

such systems require knowledgeable experts to implement and maintain — and that’s part of the reason the skills gap is widening at a quickening pace.

These unfilled positions represent a major challenge for employers, job seekers, and the economy as a whole.

“If Canada does not address the talent and skills gap, it could cost

the economy billions of dollars in lost productivity, tax revenues, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is imperative that this challenge is tackled, especially if Canada wants to secure its place as a competitive leader in the global economy,” says the ICTC report.

143 600

27 6000.8%

3.4%

Canada ICT jobs Canada ICT jobs

Jobs Created Employment Growth

Job growth in Canada, Feb. 2015 to Jan. 2016. IT jobs grew more than four times as quickly as other jobs. (Chart: ICTC)

WORKING IN TECH: THE STATUS QUO

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Higher Demand, Higher SalariesPartly because of the increasing demand and number of unfilled positions, salaries across the tech sector are rising year over year.

According to a recent salary report from Toronto-area recruiting firm Lannick Group of Companies, increased competition for high-demand jobs will continue to drive up salaries across much of the tech sector, with junior and intermediate positions and roles at the technical staff level benefiting from some of the most dramatic pay hikes.

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The most in-demand, high-paying positions may not be the sexiest — while more folks are flocking to industries like gaming and animation, the higher salaries are actually in big data and business intelligence.

The ICTC research shows that some of the most in-demand positions include Application Developer, Business Analyst, Front-End Developer, and Product Manager.

From ticketing systems to HTML5 and CSS3 to jQuery and JavaScript, job candidates who are up-to-date on these essential skills will be ahead of the pack. And additional user experience and digital marketing skills like wireframing, Photoshop fundamentals, experience mapping, and SEO all can make candidates extremely competitive in the industry.

Annual Average Salary Comparison by Position (Greater Toronto Area):

Job Title 2013 2014 Low High

Social Media Coordinator 57 690 58 890 45 500 65 000

Project Coordinator 62 500 62 500 50 000 75 000

.NET Developer 64 845 68 750 55 000 95 000

Business Analyst 70 255 72 500 55 000 90 000

PHP Developer 71 500 73 500 55 000 92 000

Network Administrator 72 090 74 000 58 000 85 000

Java/J2EE Developer 72 000 76 000 50 000 102 000

Quality Assurance Analyst 80 000 79 000 65 000 82 100

Database Administrator 82 430 79 000 75 000 95 000

Service Desk Manager 85 835 80 000 70 000 95 000

Technical Writer 88 085 82 000 65 000 90 000

Front-End Web Developer 77 000 82 500 70 000 95 000

IT Auditor 85 000 84 000 80 000 97 000

BCP/DRP Analyst 87 000 86 000 78 000 103 000

App Developer 80 000 87 750 70 000 105 500

Project Manager 85 085 92 000 80 000 120 000

IT Security Analyst 91 000 93 100 85 000 125 000

WORKING IN TECH: THE STATUS QUO

Chart: ICTC

Opportunitiesin Tech

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Opportunities in TechWhen it comes to the technology sector, many employers follow the same digital lifecycle — which means there are a number of varied job options available for those set on a position in this growing field.

Digital Lifecycle: Technical Roles for Skilled Employees

While every organization is a bit different, many tech employers structure their teams in similar ways. Generally, there are a handful of paths you can pursue during your tech career, each with innumerable deviations and specializations. However, these can serve as a guideline as you cultivate interest in a new tech role.

12OPPORTUNITIES IN TECH

Web DevelopersAverage Salary: $65,000Source: Glassdoor

Web developers are crucial members of most tech teams. These are the professionals responsible for writing the code that makes a website actually work.

Developers often start out working on the front end of websites, which means they generally build out what users see

when they type a URL into a browser. Then they may move onto back-end development to work on the guts of a website to ensure everything functions smoothly behind the scenes.

Once a web developer masters both the front-end and back-end skillsets, they are considered a “full stack”

developer, meaning they can build all the components of a website from start to finish. These individuals tend to be highly technical and are often well versed in multiple languages (like JavaScript and PHP).

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Brian MaGraduate of BrainStation’s Full-time Web Development program

“My favourite part of the course was being presented so much information in such a sequential and logical manner. Many web development fundamentals can be learned online but what these resources lack is a clear picture of how everything comes together. BrainStation’s curriculum guides your learning process, teaching you how to build a web app from beginning to end.”

Student Spotlight

OPPORTUNITIES IN TECH

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Product ManagersAverage Salary: $80,000Source: Glassdoor

Product managers are essentially the wranglers of a tech team, and are often confused with project managers.

They work with cross-functional team members, including designers, developers, and UX experts to keep the product creation and maintenance of

products on track. You’ll distill market insights into an implementable strategy and deliver on it by leading a product team to bring it to life.

As a product manager, it’s your job to be the liaison for the product you’re responsible for at that moment.

You work hard to define the product and the potential outcomes. PdMs build a roadmap for a product to create requirements and keep the performance on track in the marketplace.

OPPORTUNITIES IN TECH

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Keith DellGraduate of BrainStation’s Product Management part-time course

“BrainStation’s appeal is the hands-on, collaborative and real-world approach to learning. The instructors encouraged us to develop a product idea and make mistakes along the way. This helped me land my dream job as a Product Manager at a hyper growth startup!”

Student Spotlight

OPPORTUNITIES IN TECH

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UX DesignersAverage Salary: $88,000Source: Glassdoor

UX Designers specialize in visual design that analyses and improves the way users interact with websites, apps, software, or hardware like mobile devices.

Essentially, UX Designers work hard to anticipate the needs of users.

They look to identify opportunities, reduce friction users may encounter with a product, and help make sure the product meets the users’ goals.

UX Designers use a combination of UX research, graphic design skills and information architecture to draft up

and build products to meet those needs. And to do so, they’ll need to use the tools of trade, including Photoshop, Axure or Sketch, UXPin and Invision, just to name a few.

OPPORTUNITIES IN TECH

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“What I enjoyed most about the UXI design course was the hands-on approach. We were constantly given opportunities to practice the skills we were learning in class through design challenges and our final project. By the end of the course, I was able to put together a full portfolio of works from class that I was proud of.”

Student Spotlight

Mary WongGraduate of BrainStation’s Full-time UX Design program

OPPORTUNITIES IN TECH

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Non-Technical Roles in Tech

If a traditional technical position doesn’t suit your personality or desires, there’s a wealth of non-technical roles that apply to virtually every industry. After all, when engineers toil away to create a new app or product, they need team members to promote, sell, and provide support for that product.

So, you don’t necessarily need to learn how to code or program to break into the tech world. As you can see in the numbers below, there a numerous roles that support and push the work that technical workers in a company work to create.

26,487Arts & Design roles

20,483Consulting roles

14,141Product Management roles

Education roles

9,36110,464Finance roles

90,337Entrepreneurship roles

37,978Marketing roles

44,312Sales roles

OPPORTUNITIES IN TECH

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Getting the Skills You Need

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Getting the Skills You NeedNow that you have a solid idea of the career options you have available in the tech field, it’s time to examine the education choices at your disposal.

Tech Education: The Growing Gap

To keep pace with the number of new jobs the industry is creating annually, Canada’s education system needs to churn out almost 200,000 qualified graduates over the next 4-5 years (Source: IT Labour Market Report, Digcompass). And that seems to be a tall order for the traditional college and university system, in spite of the high salaries and wealth of jobs available.

21GETTING THE SKILLS YOU NEED

Here’s an at-a-glance view of the different education options available, their cost and the length of time to complete each program (Source: StatsCan, Canada Universities):

As a savvy student-to-be, the next step in your quest to become a tech employee is to complete your program and begin preparing yourself for the transition to tech. What are the next steps to move forward?

Multiple Education Options = A Wealth of Opportunities

In recent years, a number of technology-centric, bootcamp-style programs have formed in order to fill this growing gap between tech talent and jobs. The education industry has evolved; prospective students no longer need to contend with four-year programs and Ivory Towers to land a great job after graduation. Part-time evening/weekend courses and one-off professional development workshops have sprung up as well. These programs help fill the gap and accommodate students who want to work full-time while learning new skills to evolve within their organization.

In comparison, coding and tech-focused bootcamps are far less expensive while still helping graduates become competitive job candidates.

Type of Education

Undergraduate Degree Approx. 4 years $24 764

Time to Complete Cost (Average)

MBA 1-2 years $22 000

Bootcamp Coding Course 10 weeks $10 000

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4Preparing for aCareer in Tech

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Preparing for a Career in TechOnce you’ve decided on an education option that’s right for you and are enrolled, you can start considering your next steps. While learning new skillsets is a great first step, to snag one of those coveted tech positions, you’ll likely need to complete a few more tasks before moving forward.

To be competitive, follow these steps to make yourself a highly marketable job candidate:

1 Work Samples

2 Rebrand Yourself

3 Never Stop Learning

4 Be Proactive

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1 Work Samples

During the course of your education, you’ll work on assignments and campaigns meant to prepare you for the kind of work you’d do in the real world. Whether that’s building and coding a conceptual app, designing a website from scratch, or planning out and executing a digital marketing campaign, you should collect the best work samples you’ve created. Then, compile them into a portfolio that highlights your skills and abilities.

Build a website (even a WordPress site will work) to host your work samples. It can be a simple 3-page website that includes links to your sites, campaigns or other work, an “About Me” page that includes a brief bio and a resume, and a “Contact” page so people can get in touch.

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PREPARING FOR A CAREER IN TECH

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2 Rebrand Yourself

Moving into a career in tech could be your first full-time job, or a second career for you. Regardless, it’s necessary to brand yourself as a qualified candidate for a position in the industry.

Some things you should examine when branding yourself:

Audit your social media presence

Revampyour resume

Optimize your LinkedIn profile

Update your blog(or start one)

PREPARING FOR A CAREER IN TECH

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3 Never Stop Learning

As you’re likely well aware, technology is a field that is always changing. Technology is constantly evolving — and as a result, you need to keep learning. In this sector, you’ll have to regularly evolve to keep pace, so be prepared to never rest on your laurels.

PREPARING FOR A CAREER IN TECH

While that may seem a bit overwhelming at first, there are numerous ways you can keep up with industry trends, new technologies, and get a sense of where your field is headed.

A few ways to do so are:

• Industry conferences • Local meetups • Continuing education

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4 Be Proactive

Even after getting the education you need and rebranding yourself, that doesn’t necessarily mean a job will fall into your lap.

To get the tech job of your dreams, be proactive:

• Use LinkedIn as a tool to start looking for gigs

• Reach out to tech recruiters or LinkedIn contacts at specific companies that interest you

• Target industry-specific sites e.g. Techvibes job board, AngelList, StartUpNorth

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5Moving Forward

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MovingForwardWhile this may seem like an overwhelming process to get a toehold in the tech sector, there’s a tangible benefit to all your hard work: a dream job in a well-paid, in-demand industry.

If you’re ready to take your first steps toward a technology career, here’s a handy checklist to follow to help you get there:

Do your homework

Get educated

Rebrand yourself

Never stop learning

Be proactive

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BrainStation offers a digital education that’s anything but traditional. The experts at BrainStation work hard to empower the next generation of creators with the skills they need to be successful.

Future tech pros get the in-person attention they need with: a digital community that helps inspire

students, hands-on learning, and relevant courses taught by top industry leaders.

Prepare for a career in technology in just 10 weeks with a BrainStation Full-Time Course. These 400-hour programs provide an immersive experience for students to learn advanced topics of business, design

and technology with both practical elements and theoretical approaches to become job-ready.

For those who need to keep their 9-to-5 gig while learning new skills, BrainStation also offers part-time courses as well as evening and weekend workshops for those who’d like to get a taste before taking the leap.

MOVING FORWARD

How to Get Started With Your Tech Education Today

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Ready for your New Career?Get started at www.brainstation.io

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