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How to Break Into Tech and IT
Skills, steps and opportunities you should know about
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Whether you're chasing remote freedom, serious salary potential, or just a future-proof career, tech careers can offer all three—and then some.
But before you spiral into “I don’t know how to code” mode, stop right there! 🫵
Tech and IT jobs offer both technical and non-technical opportunities, and there are many ways to get started with or without a degree!
We created a Tech and IT Career Guide to help you choose the right tech path, grow the skills to break in, and position yourself to land the job regardless of your background or experience level. Let’s dive in!
Engineering and Development
When most people picture tech jobs, they think of coders in hoodies pulling all-nighters, but you’re probably missing a big chunk of the story. Not all engineers write code full-time. While some software engineers often know languages like Python, Java, or C, many spend their days focused on design, systems planning, or handling support and incident responses.
💸 Median salary: $130,160
📈 Highest $TS salary recorded: $450,000
🔍 Areas of Expertise to consider:
Systems Engineering
Hardware Engineering
Frontend Development
Backend Development
Full Stack Development
Website Development
Mobile App Development
Game Development
Operations and Infrastructure
Operations and infrastructure roles in tech focus on keeping systems stable, fast, and secure behind the scenes. These teams manage things like servers, networks, cloud systems, and app deployments. For example, a DevOps engineer might build automated pipelines that deploy code efficiently, while a site reliability engineer (SRE) ensures everything runs smoothly, fixing issues, preventing outages, and improving system reliability.
💸 Median salary: $117,450
📈 Highest $TS salary recorded: $115,000
🔍 Areas of Expertise to consider:
System Administration
Database Administration
Cloud Engineering & Infrastructure
Platform Engineering
IT Support and Helpdesk
Service Event Management
Technical Program Management
Project Management
Program Management
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Networking and Security
Networking and security teams handle everything surrounding a company’s digital infrastructure. They ensure that devices stay connected, data moves securely, and authorized users with access to sensitive systems and resources are monitored. While some roles lean more toward connectivity and others toward protection, the two areas are tightly linked, often sharing skills and responsibilities to keep everything running safely and smoothly.
💸 Median salary: $120,360
📈 Highest $TS salary recorded: $760,000
🔍 Area of Expertise to consider:
Network Engineering
Network Administration
Security Engineering
Cloud Network Engineering
Cybersecurity Defends
Cyber Incident Response
Identity & Access Management
Information Security Management
Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)
Want to learn more about different tech roles, salary ranges, must-have skills, and growth outlooks so you can confidently make your tech move? Keep reading the full list here →
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We also cover a new financial thread from Reddit, involving a fiancé dealing with his partner's hidden massive credit card debt. Should he call off the wedding? We shared our two cents!
It’s on us! Use this link to redeem a complimentary handcrafted beverage at Capital One Café, this episode’s sponsor.
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Which tech career is right for you? 🤔 Take our quiz to find out!
48 hours, 1 ‘vibe-coding’ class, and a working product. 👾 What one professional learned in riding the tech wave.
Have a question for us?❓Join us LIVE this Friday to ask us anything.
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Millennials are spiraling over retirement. 🌴The math just isn’t mathing.
Do you know someone curious about the career path of tech? Send this their way, it might be the boost they didn’t know they needed. 💚
See you next week for more career-boosting insights and salary data! 📩
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