Here are even more tech careers to pivot to in 2023

#Issue 016

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#Issue 016

Five careers in tech to explore

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Hello, ET readers 🖖🏾

Hello and welcome to another edition of Entering Tech. Salary day is just around the corner; our deepest sympathies to those who have to wait till the 31st of January for their first paycheck of 2023. Ouch. 

In today’s edition of Entering Tech, we are sharing even more roles for anyone who wants to break into the tech industry. This list features technical and non-technical roles because balance is key and we believe in the power of diversity. 

Speaking of diversity, what do a DevOps Engineer and Operations Manager have in common? They are both responsible for overseeing and managing day-to-day operations in their different departments. While one role requires technical expertise, the other is better suited for non-technical but operationally-included individuals who want to work in local or global technology startups. 

Curious to learn more about tech roles you should consider this year? Let’s dive right in. 

by Koromone Koroye, Caleb Nnamani & Timi Odueso.

Tech Trivia Questions

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

  1. What was the first social media site ever, and when did it get launched?
  2. How many programming languages do we have in the world?

5 more tech careers you can explore

1. Scrum Master: Teamwork makes the dream work, and this is what scrum masters are all about. Scrum masters are experts at getting things done fast…or getting projects/products launched quickly.

💡 Scrum is a management framework that focuses on teamwork, and quick iteration for well-defined goals. Think of it as a continuous moving engine that fixes everything on the go. 🚀

If you’re interested in helping different people and teams work together, this might be the perfect no-code job for you. You don’t need to learn how to code here, but you will need to work with those who do. 

  • Skills needed: Communication, leadership and decision-making, teamwork.
  • Salary range: ₦310,000 – ₦480,000 per month || KSH75,000 – KSH200,000 per month.
2. DevOps Engineering: Contrary to their very cool role name, DevOps engineers aren’t actually from outer space. DevOps is a combination of the words “development” and “operations”, which is what these engineers oversee. 

Unlike all the other roles listed here, DevOps engineers do write code. They oversee the creation, development, and updates of software created or used by any company. Simply put, DevOps engineers are the product managers of the engineering team.

  • Skills needed: Tenacity, teamwork, research.
  • Salary range: ₦250,000 – ₦406,000 per month || KSH128,000 – KSH350,000 per month.
3. Animation: If you enjoy anime or asking why Abuela from Encanto and Tui from Moana were hypocrites, you may enjoy animation.

Animators bring coloured pictures—or drawings, for the simple folks—to life. Animators don’t just create cartoons that people enjoy, they also help create ads and other marketing assets that help companies tell their stories. 

  • Skills needed: Imagination, storytelling, creativity.
  • Salary range: ₦100,000 – ₦238,000 per month || KSH45,000 – KSH50,000 per month.
4. Social media management:You know how every company, brand or celebrity these days has a Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or even TikTok account?

It’s all social media managers. They’re the brains and fingers behind the screen. Social media managers present brands to people using content creation to endear them to different products. They are the digital voices and community builders that amplify the work of businesses and individuals. 

They go by other names too, such as digital marketer, brand manager, audience engagement manager, and community manager.

🌟The good news? Social media management is one of the few tech roles you can learn and do with just your mobile phone. Here’s a complete Entering Tech edition on a how to become a social media manager.

  • Skills needed: Content creation, simple design skills, copywriting, and storytelling.
  • Salary range: ₦85,000 – ₦420,000 per month || GH₵700 – GH₵3,000 per month || KSH25,000–KSH351,000 per month.
5. Customer Succes Management: If you’ve ever said the words “I’m a people person”, then you should explore customer success management. People pleasers can also put their social anxieties to good use here.

Customer success involves forecasting hurdles a customer might come across or questions they might ask while using your product, and constantly finding solutions to these problems and answers to the questions. 

The goal of this is to keep your customers happy, and if you can achieve this, you’ll be able to retain most of them and also boost customer loyalty.

  • Skills needed: Patience, conflict resolution, time management, foresight.
  • Salary range: Nigeria: ₦58,000 — ₦175,000 per month || KSH115,000 — KSH150,000 per month.

You can be a techie too

If you’re interested in kicking off your career in any of the careers we’ve mentioned in this newsletter, here’s a list of resources you can use to kick-start your tech career. 

Udemy’s Mastering Agile & Scrum
  • Price: $9.91
  • Duration: 4 hours
  • Tools Needed: Internet + phone
  • Level: Beginner
Get Course
Udemy’s Inroduction to Animation
  • Price: $7.71
  • Duration: 12 hours
  • Tools Needed: Internet + Phone
  • Level: Beginner
Get Course
edX’s Basic 3D Animation
  • Price: Free
  • Duration: 12 weeks
  • Tools Needed: Internet + Phone
  • Level: Beginner
Get Course
Pluralsight’s DevOps Foundations
  • Price: Free
  • Duration: 12 hours
  • Tools Needed: Internet + Phone
  • Level: Intermediate
Get Course
FreeCodeCamp’s Devops Engineering Course
  • Price: Free
  • Duration: 5 hours
  • Tools Needed: Internet + phone or laptop
  • Level: Internet + phone or laptop
Get Course
Social Media Marketing Course: Get Certified in Social Media Strategy by Hubspot
  • Price: Free (for one week)
  • Duration: 4.05 hours
  • Tools Needed: Internet + laptop
  • Level: Beginner
Get Course
Social Media Management & Marketing by Skillshare
  • Price: $19/Month
  • Duration: 4 hours
  • Tools Needed: Internet + phone or laptop
  • Level: Beginner and Intermediate
Get Course
Content Marketing Course: Get Certified in Content Marketing by Hubspot
  • Price: Free
  • Duration: 7.24 hours
  • Tools Needed: Internet + phone or laptop
  • Level: Intermediate and Advanced
Get Course
Social Media Management Course (Meta Platforms) by Coursera
  • Price: $49/Month
  • Duration: 13 hours
  • Tools Needed: Internet + phone or laptop
  • Level: Intermediate and Advanced
Get Course
Understanding Social Media Promotion by HubSpot
  • Price: Free
  • Duration: 45 minutes
  • Tools Needed: Internet + phone or laptop
  • Level: Beginner
Get Course

Ask a techie

Q: After taking a course, what is the next advisable step?

A: Taking courses is only the first step to entering tech, and first steps are barely enough. If you’ve completed a tech course and are wondering what’s next, here are a few tested and trusted steps you can take. 

  • Join a community. There are several online communities that help like-minded tech enthusiasts grow in their roles and find new jobs. Communities will show you the next steps to take, and give you opportunities to showcase what you learnt in your courses. Some include ContechAfrica for content creators in tech, ASA Coterie for designers, and DataFestAfrica for data analysts. 
  • Volunteer. There are several NGOs and small organisations that need volunteers. Volunteering may not be lucrative but it will help you build experience in your role. 
  • Practice….makes perfect. As tech recruiter Joseph Gichuhi said in this edition of Entering Tech, newbies should practice what they learn. If you’re learning graphic design, for example, then recreate your favourite designs. 
  • Showcase. Practising is pointless unless you show the world. You should also build online portfolios and show your work online. You can use sites like Github or Reddit, but social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram will help more people discover your work.

What are you curious about this year? Have a question about working or breaking into tech? Ask here and we’ll respond in next week’s edition!

Ask a question

Tech Trivia Answers

  1. It’s not MySpace or Facebook. The first social networking site was launched in 1997 and it was called Six Degrees. It amassed over 1 million users within 3 years and was shut down in 2000.

  2. No one knows the precise number, but many studies estimate between 250–2,500 coding languages exist today, but fewer than 150 of these are being used. 

Jobs

Disclaimer: TechCabal is not affiliated with or associated with jobs and opportunities listed on all its job boards and newsletters. All applicants bear the responsibility of researching about the roles and companies they apply to.

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Timi Odueso Senior Editor, Newsletters
Caleb Nnamani Reporter

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