🚀Entering Tech #007: Five myths about working in tech

Some trivia before we begin. Answers are at the bottom of this newsletter. 

Everybody wants to work in tech, but can everybody do what it takes to succeed? 🤔

In last week’s edition, we wrote about the soft skills you need to succeed in any tech job. But you need more than skills to go from newbie to MVP; or maybe the triple-monitor techie with a huge following on Twitter. 

This week’s edition is loaded with hard truths about working in tech. Think of them as our unsolicited FAQ guide—our gift to you. Also, we are not doing this just because Timi forgot to interview someone for this edition of #EnteringTech🚀.

1.“There are easy tech jobs” 🚫

If you’ve ever believed this, then this meme is for you:

There’s no such thing as an “easy” or a “simple” tech job.

Whether it’s UI/UX design, no-code development, backend development, or even technical writing, working in tech involves solving hard problems.

Tech is about innovation and solving hard problems. Can you use websites, apps and services to make people’s lives easier? How can your social media marketing help “bank the unbanked?” 

Whether you’re designing a website, writing social media copy or coding APIs, tech involves hard work that can sometimes make you want to tear your hair out.

The only shortcut to wealth is 419 or blood rituals (if you believe in that kind of thing). Not even crypto will bring you quick and easy money.

When we go online, our social feeds are inundated with career wins and milestones like these two ex-Unilag students earning thousands of pounds at Goldman Sachs, or this designer who x23-timed their salary.

And yes, sometimes we want to block them because they’re tensioning us, but most times, we also want to be them. What is it like to x23 your salary within 3 years? When will I work at Google? When will I start earning in dollars?

If you could speak to any of these people, they’d tell you all it takes is time and hard work. Many vocal tech influencers started out with internships, and slowly grew to the roles they have today.

Daniel Abayomi, the product designer who x23 his salary and is now working at Meta, for example, has been designing interfaces since 2018 and he received over 200 rejection letters in 2020.

3. “All you need are courses” 🚫

So you’ve taken all the courses recommended by #EnteringTech🚀, and your LinkedIn page now has some semblance of the phrase “Google/Meta-certified [insert sector] hacker”. 

Is that enough to land you a job in tech? No, it’s not enough. You have to do more.

It’s not enough to only have head knowledge; you have to know how to apply theoretical knowledge in real life scenarios on the job. . Can you actually build websites and products? Do you know how to write great copy? Can you use Python, Ruby on Rails or whatever backend language you’re learning efficiently?

You can get ahead by practising some of the things you learn in courses. Build or imitate existing apps, design and websites; create social media campaigns for different sectors; imagine products and create product requirement documents (PRDs) for product launches.

Tech employers are like math teachers; they want you to show your work.

4. “Tech jobs = remote jobs”

Yes, remote work has become the norm for many organisations since the 2020 lockdown, but many employers and workplaces—especially in Africa—are not fully-equipped to handle remote employees.

Not all tech companies offer remote work structures. Before you accept a job offer, you will want to be clear on whether the company supports fully-remote or hybrid work environments. 

5. “There are dollar-paying roles waiting for me”

You and me both.😭

This isn’t a complete myth it’s just that you have to work hard before you get to a point where foreign organisations with FX-denominated salaries will invite you to join their teams.

If you’re looking to start getting paid in a foreign currency right after you complete your courses, you may want to rethink your expectations. 

More foreign companies are indeed coming to invest in talent on the continent, but they’ll only go for talent with exceptional promise and talent a.k.a people who have track records of success.

The good news is that while you may not get dollar paying jobs right off the bat, there are many companies in your country hiring tech talents and you can start building from there.

These hard truths might have been tough to swallow, but we have to be honest about the realities of working your first tech job.

We’re not trying to dampen your spirits, we’re just making sure you’re not shocked each time you experience these open secrets. 

Brace up, working in tech takes time and effort and if you put both in, you’re sure to get something in return. 

We’ll end with these wise words from veteran Nollywood actress Oge Okoye: