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Whats a good profession if you like talking to people and have tech background
#tech #suggestions #friendly #lovetalking #curious
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29 answers
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Bronwyn’s Answer
Tech Sales would be good for you or Customer Success. That way you have the interaction with clients or potential clients but will also have to use your knowledge of tech or whatever tech product or service a company is providing. When you call on a client it will often be someone at the CTO level or a step or two below, so you will need to know your stuff. Product Marketing as well for the same reasons.
Thank you very much.
Urvi
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John’s Answer
I work in B2B Tech Sales - a great career if you want to dig into customer business models, understand how tech is used to power businesses, and help customers solve complex problems. It's a team sport as well - you will work with others from your team and external partners to progress deals. Perfect for someone who has a tech background and also enjoys connecting with people.
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Quintessence’s Answer
When you mention that you like talking to people do you mean in groups (similar to what you may have experienced as a student in a college lecture) or do you mean that you like socializing in the sense of management? If it's the latter sense, I definitely want to second the advice about product management or even consulting (where engineers need to engage with clients).
To expand on all that though, if you like teaching about technology / speaking in groups you might want to look into Developer Relations (titles in this space are usually either Developer Advocate or Technical Evangelist, but there are others). A typical DevRel is employed by a technology company looking to build relationships with dev/ops people that use their products as a userbase / audience. Within that space, DevRels are expected to have relevant industry knowledge (e.g. a DevRel where I work might have a background in IT and incident management / response, but a DevRel working at a monitoring company would be expected to have a background in that space). DevRels typically create content around their area(s) of expertise, in the form of talks / presentations (in person or virtual), blog posts, webinars, etc.
To learn more about Developer Relations, check out this blog post by a leader in the space https://www.marythengvall.com/blog/2019/5/22/what-is-developer-relations-and-why-should-you-care
To expand on all that though, if you like teaching about technology / speaking in groups you might want to look into Developer Relations (titles in this space are usually either Developer Advocate or Technical Evangelist, but there are others). A typical DevRel is employed by a technology company looking to build relationships with dev/ops people that use their products as a userbase / audience. Within that space, DevRels are expected to have relevant industry knowledge (e.g. a DevRel where I work might have a background in IT and incident management / response, but a DevRel working at a monitoring company would be expected to have a background in that space). DevRels typically create content around their area(s) of expertise, in the form of talks / presentations (in person or virtual), blog posts, webinars, etc.
Quintessence recommends the following next steps:
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Irene’s Answer
Hi Urvi,
You may consider working as a Program Manager, Technical Program Manager or Product Manager in the Tech industry.
As a program manager you are in charge of delivering a product and driving a cross functional team to get there. You have to understand the technology side but also the people you are working with. You have to interact with tons of people and understand what are their motivations and goals, you have to be able to influence teams and present to leadership. At the end of the day you are responsible of getting the product out of the door but you leverage your large crossfunctional team. As a product manager you are more focused on the business side of the product. You also have to interact with many people but is more related to the business case than to the crossfunctional work to get the product done. I would say a Product Manager defines the what and a Program manager defines the how and executes on it. I am a program manager for IoT devices. I have a background in engineering but love working with people and learning new things all the time. Hope this helps!
Search for Program Manager open positions in companies you are interested in and read the job description
Search for Product Manager open positions in companies you are interested in and read the job description
Search on LinkedIn for people who have Program or Product manager jobs in companies you are interested in and send them an email explaining you are a student and would like to learn more about their journey, their day to day job, what they like most about their job and the challenges they face
You may consider working as a Program Manager, Technical Program Manager or Product Manager in the Tech industry.
As a program manager you are in charge of delivering a product and driving a cross functional team to get there. You have to understand the technology side but also the people you are working with. You have to interact with tons of people and understand what are their motivations and goals, you have to be able to influence teams and present to leadership. At the end of the day you are responsible of getting the product out of the door but you leverage your large crossfunctional team. As a product manager you are more focused on the business side of the product. You also have to interact with many people but is more related to the business case than to the crossfunctional work to get the product done. I would say a Product Manager defines the what and a Program manager defines the how and executes on it. I am a program manager for IoT devices. I have a background in engineering but love working with people and learning new things all the time. Hope this helps!
Irene recommends the following next steps:
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Bonnie’s Answer
Tech is almost all collaborative these days. Talking people and working in groups (virtually) to get things done. Visit Udacity.com and try their free online courses. Network and find out what connections they have have to getting job match for you. I got a Nanodegree their and I recommend their curriculums
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Alaina’s Answer
Technical recruiting is another good option! You get to hear people's stories, and access their technical skills. Plus, sourcing for engineers can be a fun exercise for technical folks.
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Jerry’s Answer
Hi Urvi,
I'll offer you a completely different option. You might want to consider working the IT industry analyst community either with an analyst firm, like Gartner, IDC, Forrester, of Frost & Sullivan, or with a vendor in an analyst relations role.
As an analyst you will conduct research by speaking with both IT end-users learning about how they use technology to support their business goal, enable employees to do their jobs, and deliver the best customer experiences to end-users. Also, depending on your level of knowledge and experience, you may also find yourself speaking with clients to advise them on how to apply IT to solve their business challenges.
With IT vendors, you can work as an analyst relations professional, typically a part of the corporate communications or product marketing teams, where you become the resident expert about industry analysts from whom you and your colleagues can learn about the markets in which the company competes and teach them about your company's role in those markets.
In either role, every day you are having conversations with colleagues/industry analysts about information technology and how it is used to address business goals and outcomes. Either way you become part of a global community of industry analysts which constitutes some of the most knowledgeable and intelligent thinkers about leading trends in the information technology industry.
Familiarize yourself with typical analyst reports to see what goes into researching and writing them - you can find them on IT vendor websites on the resource pages for download
Explore job openings with IT analyst firms in your area (for example, I know IDC has two analyst jobs listed right now in Dubai - see https://careers-idc.icims.com/jobs/search?ss=1&searchLocation=13701--Dubai
Search career sites of IT vendors based in your area that may have opening for an analyst relations position
I'll offer you a completely different option. You might want to consider working the IT industry analyst community either with an analyst firm, like Gartner, IDC, Forrester, of Frost & Sullivan, or with a vendor in an analyst relations role.
As an analyst you will conduct research by speaking with both IT end-users learning about how they use technology to support their business goal, enable employees to do their jobs, and deliver the best customer experiences to end-users. Also, depending on your level of knowledge and experience, you may also find yourself speaking with clients to advise them on how to apply IT to solve their business challenges.
With IT vendors, you can work as an analyst relations professional, typically a part of the corporate communications or product marketing teams, where you become the resident expert about industry analysts from whom you and your colleagues can learn about the markets in which the company competes and teach them about your company's role in those markets.
In either role, every day you are having conversations with colleagues/industry analysts about information technology and how it is used to address business goals and outcomes. Either way you become part of a global community of industry analysts which constitutes some of the most knowledgeable and intelligent thinkers about leading trends in the information technology industry.
Jerry recommends the following next steps:
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Doc’s Answer
Hi Urvi,
Possibly an IT help desk professional is in your future, helping people troubleshooting their tech sounds like your tools play nicely together.
Certainly, IT help desk personnel need to have technical knowledge and the ability to troubleshoot problems. However, assessing problems and identifying solutions for help desk customers goes well beyond the technical skills. For example, they also need to communicate effectively with the customer to understand the problem and communicate the solution. Also, some people are energized by problems and the challenge to solve them. In addition to helping the customer, they really enjoy the satisfaction of identifying solutions and solving problems.
Good Luck Urv
Possibly an IT help desk professional is in your future, helping people troubleshooting their tech sounds like your tools play nicely together.
Certainly, IT help desk personnel need to have technical knowledge and the ability to troubleshoot problems. However, assessing problems and identifying solutions for help desk customers goes well beyond the technical skills. For example, they also need to communicate effectively with the customer to understand the problem and communicate the solution. Also, some people are energized by problems and the challenge to solve them. In addition to helping the customer, they really enjoy the satisfaction of identifying solutions and solving problems.
Good Luck Urv
Spot on IMHO. It's a tough gig though - on call, holidays, etc. But great learnings to take forward.
Tine Amlie
Thank You, Tine. "You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late". – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Doc Frick
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Abhijit’s Answer
Sales Engineering!! It's a perfect blend of building Technical expertise and Sales. A career as a Sales Engineer is financially rewarding, comes with a fair amount of recognition when done well, and also keeps you at the cutting-edge of technologies that companies around the world are adopting.
So, what is Sales Engineering? Let me start with a bit of background. When you use Uber, you expect the app to work smoothly and quickly. If it doesn't, you would try Lyft. Uber doesn't want you to switch to Lyft, so behind-the-scenes they have implemented multiple technology tools (for security, reporting, customer support, etc.) to ensure the best customer experience. Now how did Uber make the decision to select the best tools for their specific technical requirements? Just like anything else, they have a lot of choices. Simply put, the sales teams for these different tools/vendors engaged with Uber as to why they should be chosen. Sales Engineers are at the forefront of this sales effort to ensure that there is a perfect technical match between their tool/solution and Uber's requirements.
What does a Sales Engineer do? A Sales Engineer is also known as a Solutions Engineer, Pre-Sales Consultant, Technical Sales Consultant, Systems Engineer (in Hardware-product companies), even a Technical Account Manager or simply an SE. No matter the designation, the primary function of a Sales Engineer is to partner with Sales reps/ Account Managers and facilitate transactions from a technical perspective. This involves presenting, implementing, assisting, and evangelizing the solution in a way that imposes a raving desire on the prospect (ex. Uber) to become a customer. They also communicate internally within the company with other teams like customer success, customer support, Product Management, Product marketing, and engineering teams to ensure that customer sentiment is at the forefront.
As you can notice, the job of the Sales Engineer resides at the intersection of the 3 main worlds: The world of technology, the world of sales, the world of People!
Explore a few SE positions at any technology company that interest you. The best way to get started is to dive in! https://bettsrecruiting.com/blog/what-exactly-is-a-tech-sales-engineer/
So, what is Sales Engineering? Let me start with a bit of background. When you use Uber, you expect the app to work smoothly and quickly. If it doesn't, you would try Lyft. Uber doesn't want you to switch to Lyft, so behind-the-scenes they have implemented multiple technology tools (for security, reporting, customer support, etc.) to ensure the best customer experience. Now how did Uber make the decision to select the best tools for their specific technical requirements? Just like anything else, they have a lot of choices. Simply put, the sales teams for these different tools/vendors engaged with Uber as to why they should be chosen. Sales Engineers are at the forefront of this sales effort to ensure that there is a perfect technical match between their tool/solution and Uber's requirements.
What does a Sales Engineer do? A Sales Engineer is also known as a Solutions Engineer, Pre-Sales Consultant, Technical Sales Consultant, Systems Engineer (in Hardware-product companies), even a Technical Account Manager or simply an SE. No matter the designation, the primary function of a Sales Engineer is to partner with Sales reps/ Account Managers and facilitate transactions from a technical perspective. This involves presenting, implementing, assisting, and evangelizing the solution in a way that imposes a raving desire on the prospect (ex. Uber) to become a customer. They also communicate internally within the company with other teams like customer success, customer support, Product Management, Product marketing, and engineering teams to ensure that customer sentiment is at the forefront.
As you can notice, the job of the Sales Engineer resides at the intersection of the 3 main worlds: The world of technology, the world of sales, the world of People!
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Gautam’s Answer
A lot of people think about building software as something that you do by yourself at a computer. Some of that perception used to be true, and some of that comes from how the entertainment industry portrays software engineers!
But more and more, building large software systems is a team sport. We work in groups, and even those groups need to talk to each other and coordinate work. And to become a leader in the software engineering field, communication skills - oral and written - are extremely important. Senior software engineers spend a lot of their time talking to people, and even giving talks to large audiences. And for people who are managing these teams, this is true as well. I spend probably 90% of my day talking to people all over the company!
If you have interest in technology, it's worth your time to at least explore software engineering. If the engineering side isn't interesting to you, there are lots of good suggestions here like Product Management, Developer Evangelist, etc. But if you find that you enjoy writing code, don't stop because you're worried that you won't get to talk to people!
But more and more, building large software systems is a team sport. We work in groups, and even those groups need to talk to each other and coordinate work. And to become a leader in the software engineering field, communication skills - oral and written - are extremely important. Senior software engineers spend a lot of their time talking to people, and even giving talks to large audiences. And for people who are managing these teams, this is true as well. I spend probably 90% of my day talking to people all over the company!
If you have interest in technology, it's worth your time to at least explore software engineering. If the engineering side isn't interesting to you, there are lots of good suggestions here like Product Management, Developer Evangelist, etc. But if you find that you enjoy writing code, don't stop because you're worried that you won't get to talk to people!
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Roma’s Answer
I was interested in a role where I mostly worked with people and how they work together related to building technology when I started my career out of school! I had a technical background and studied math/comp sci in school. After doing one internship coding, I realized it was important to me to have a role more focused on people than building the technology myself. The route that I was fortunate to take was trying a few different roles in product development to find what was right for me. If any of these interest you, I think you can start with any of them, see what you like and don't like, learn about how tech companies and organizations work and move around. The great thing about tech, is that you can move around different roles if you wish once you prove yourself in one.
For me, I started with Project Management which is a bit more of a traditional role and practice that spans many types of tech companies and non tech companies. In this role you work with teams and developers to help them plan, track, collaborate, execute and communicate their work. Most of the time you would be working with people internal to the company to help coordinate communication, collaboration and delivery. I enjoyed this but also found it a bit too rigorous a framework for such an innovative space. From there I moved into Product Management, in this role you are spending a lot of time working with customers to gather data and then internal teams such as, support, engineering, marketing and more to coordinate and build the best product. This role is more business and customer focused than it is internal people and process related. For me I preferred focusing on the people internal to my company and how to help them. Finally I found the role of a Scrum Master / Agile Coach which was the perfect balance for me. In this role I work with teams and leadership to coach them on how they can be most effective in their roles and teams. Focusing on collaboration and iterative development. This is a very people focused role.
Here is a link with a description of a Scrum Master role: https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/what-is-a-scrum-master-everything-you-need
This is a course you can take to learn more about becoming a Scrum Master: https://www.scrumalliance.org/get-certified/scrum-master-track/certified-scrummaster
There is tons of information out there, on all these roles google Scrum Master, Agile Coach Product Owner, Product Manager and Project Management to learn more if interested!
For me, I started with Project Management which is a bit more of a traditional role and practice that spans many types of tech companies and non tech companies. In this role you work with teams and developers to help them plan, track, collaborate, execute and communicate their work. Most of the time you would be working with people internal to the company to help coordinate communication, collaboration and delivery. I enjoyed this but also found it a bit too rigorous a framework for such an innovative space. From there I moved into Product Management, in this role you are spending a lot of time working with customers to gather data and then internal teams such as, support, engineering, marketing and more to coordinate and build the best product. This role is more business and customer focused than it is internal people and process related. For me I preferred focusing on the people internal to my company and how to help them. Finally I found the role of a Scrum Master / Agile Coach which was the perfect balance for me. In this role I work with teams and leadership to coach them on how they can be most effective in their roles and teams. Focusing on collaboration and iterative development. This is a very people focused role.
Roma recommends the following next steps:
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Duyen’s Answer
Hey Urvi,
The ability to work well with others and communicate effectively can be impact in any profession you choose. If you love building relationships and want to gain a broader skillset there, technical recruiting is a great choice! There's a different between in-house recruiting (where you work for the company directly that you recruit for) and agency recruiting (where it's a mix of sales and recruiting where you help other companies find great talent).
Although if you're passionate about tech and want that to be the main part of your day-to-day, go after the role that best aligns with your technical skillset and you can build a path to management where you'll also get to work with people on a daily basis.
The ability to work well with others and communicate effectively can be impact in any profession you choose. If you love building relationships and want to gain a broader skillset there, technical recruiting is a great choice! There's a different between in-house recruiting (where you work for the company directly that you recruit for) and agency recruiting (where it's a mix of sales and recruiting where you help other companies find great talent).
Although if you're passionate about tech and want that to be the main part of your day-to-day, go after the role that best aligns with your technical skillset and you can build a path to management where you'll also get to work with people on a daily basis.
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Steve’s Answer
technology sales (software or hardware, but I'm partial to software). Also roles called "sales engineer", "sales consultant", "solution consultant" and similar. There are also "post-sales" roles you might find very enjoyable in customer support, customer success and more.
in many tech companies you typically have a sales rep or "account executive" who drives the overall sales transaction with customers. They are paired with a solutions or sales consultant, who is technical person who helps customers with their requirements, doing demos and answering technical questions. Lots of talking :-) and very technical.
After the sale, then you have people helping them implement the technology or answering technical or support questions they may have.
Take a look at all of them
in many tech companies you typically have a sales rep or "account executive" who drives the overall sales transaction with customers. They are paired with a solutions or sales consultant, who is technical person who helps customers with their requirements, doing demos and answering technical questions. Lots of talking :-) and very technical.
After the sale, then you have people helping them implement the technology or answering technical or support questions they may have.
Take a look at all of them
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HanSon’s Answer
Strong communications is relevant in ALL fields. If you enjoy tech and are strong in presentation/relationship management, sales is a natural fit. However, the industry that you choose can be quite varied. While your skillset/interest is strong in those areas, focus then on the industries that get you excited. Once you figure that out, you can then just apply those skills there.
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Ivan’s Answer
Since most jobs today require some level of human interaction, most roles will give you that, but of course at different levels and with different types of interactions.
If you like to talk to people outside of the company you are working for, I think in general, good places to focus on are: Sales, Customer Sucess Management, Technical Account Management, Product Management, or Customer Support. At different levels, all of them require customer interactions and your tech background and interest would be helpful if you are working for a technology company.
If you want to focus more on 'non-customer facing' interactions, it can go from Corporate IT to Development. They will also require interactions but they will be more internal with your colleagues than with customers.
Hope this helps.
If you like to talk to people outside of the company you are working for, I think in general, good places to focus on are: Sales, Customer Sucess Management, Technical Account Management, Product Management, or Customer Support. At different levels, all of them require customer interactions and your tech background and interest would be helpful if you are working for a technology company.
If you want to focus more on 'non-customer facing' interactions, it can go from Corporate IT to Development. They will also require interactions but they will be more internal with your colleagues than with customers.
Hope this helps.
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Xavier’s Answer
Work for a phone company. Many different positions available in that area.
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