When you hear the word “Tech”, what comes to mind? the fastest scheme to make money legally probably popped up. I bet non-coding tech roles didn’t come to mind. Even though it looks like you can get rich quickly by just acquiring a tech skill, it requires a certain level of discipline, consistency and dedication. Words on the street have it that Tech money is similar to “Blood” money, figuratively, it is so, as there are days you would feel tired, sad, angry, but you would have to put in the work anyways. This is why some people are quick to run when they hear what they have to put in, especially people who think Tech is all about coding and coding alone. Good news! There are so many opportunities in tech that requires little to no coding. Some of these roles require you to have soft skills that would launch you on the path. Skills like negotiation, flexibility, teamwork, time management, critical thinking, communication, problem solving, etc.
Non-coding Tech Roles
- UI/UX Specialists: UI means User Interface while UX means User Experience. It could have been easier to use the term “UI/UX Designing” as commonly used which people equate to designing colourful interfaces, when in fact, it is just one of the processes. In it we have, UI/UX Designing, UX researching, UX writing and Information Architecture. All are interdependent, although, someone can be good in one of them and below par in the others, as there are numerous examples of good UI but Bad UX or good UX but not too good UI. One person can be good in all the parts but some companies split the roles and hire professionals into each role, they all work as a team though, to produce User-Centered products.
- Brand Designer: Someone who knows nothing about it might not be able to differentiate this role and that of a Graphic designer. A Brand designer does just what the name says, they are in charge of how a brand is perceived by the target audience.
- Graphic Designer: They communicate ideas through graphics. Coding knowledge isn’t needed but adequate knowledge of design principles, colours, typography is needed. Creativity and versatility are important skills needed to become one. So, if you are the creative type and can think out of the box, then you might want to consider this one.
- Social media manager: More than creativity is needed for this role, getting the attention of a brand’s target audience on social media is important. This involves creating compelling content through images, pictures or words and curation of social media pages to fit the brand.
- Technical writer: Work ranges from content writing to writing microcopies, technical reports, instruction manuals and how-to guides. As a technical writer, you should be able to simplify complex tech terms so people with non-technical background would easily understand.
- Product manager: This involves overseeing the processes involved in the creation of a product, the goal for them is to turn an idea into a reality. They help customers identify their needs and they work with project managers of the different projects which make up the processes of a product creation.
- Project manager: This role is similar to product management but the workload is much smaller. Project Managers oversee the entire process involved in executing a specific project from start to finish. They are in charge of the team carrying out the project.
- Business Analyst: Business Analysts are like the middlemen between clients and developers. They are in direct contact with the clients and help relay the clients’ requirements to the developers.
- Marketing and Sales: This is like the body that encompasses different sides of marketing in Tech. It is divided into three parts;
- Search Engine Optimization/ Search Engine Marketing
- Content marketing
- Social media marketing
As earlier stated in the introduction, most of these roles need soft skills which are not only needed for the job but in our everyday life. Apart from the fact that these jobs are lucrative, skills learnt on one job can be applied in another. This further proves that no knowledge is a waste in Tech.
