However, I had this gut feeling there was something more rewarding and fulfilling out there.

To try and decide which industry would be the right fit for me, I realised I wanted a career in a growing industry. One that was future-proof, had fast-paced development, created cutting-edge innovative solutions making a real impact on society while also being lucrative — that’s when I discovered the world of tech.

Some of the most exciting companies that I know of to work for are almost entirely off the radar for recent grads (unless perhaps you are graduating from Computer Science).

When we think of Tech companies we often think of the likes of Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Apple. However, ‘tech’ includes tons of trailblazing companies like Revolut, Babylon and Deliveroo. Or instead of working for giants, you can work on creating them. The opportunities available to you in tech almost feel endless.

I honestly think that, as a grad, if you really want to find (or create) your dream job, look at tech, and here is why:

Millennials and Gen Z are known for wanting to really shape the world around us for the better. It is expected that technology could solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges such as climate emergency, education equality and eradicating disease, to name a few. It is fascinating to think about the solutions technology offers. In the last decade, the companies that have made the largest impact are tech companies.

The tech industry is all about coming up with new ideas and figuring out how to turn those ideas into reality. I can think of very few industries that transform the way the world works and serves to improve the quality of human life in the way that tech does. The passion and motivation behind the tech industry are infectious, as Richard NG, Programme Lead at Academy says:

“I’ve found Tech to be such an empowering world. I’m determined to pass on that agency to as many others as I can.”

Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis shows that around 1.5 million jobs in England are at high risk of some of their duties and tasks being automated in the future. Experts are anticipating that a new, fourth Industrial Revolution is just around the corner — Industrial 4.0.

This will have products such as virtual reality, 3D printing, self-driving cars and devices to track almost everything you can think of. Now is the time to be future-proofing your career by staying tech-savvy, developing your competencies and entering a career where you will be disrupting instead of being disrupted.

The proof was in the pudding in 2020, one of the toughest years we’ve faced, when UK Tech showed how robust it was, increasing job openings by 50% between July and December (Tech Nation, 2020).

This compounds an exciting period of growth for UK Tech. Britain is now the ‘Unicorn’ capital of Europe — as of January 2020, London had 45 unicorns (startups worth at least $1 billion) compared to 10 in its closest continental competitor, Berlin.

Facebook, Apple and Google have set up vast HQs in London and Netflix have announced plans to triple their existing office space as it expands its UK operations.

In 2019, the UK sucked more investment into its tech scene than France and Germany combined, while UK fintech attracted more capital and completed more deals, alone, than the rest of the top 10 European countries combined.

This growth was seen across the whole tech sector. While the total amount of capital invested in tech startups in the US and China fell sharply in 2019, in Britain it increased by 44%. From 2018 – 2020 the number of employees working in UK tech grew by 40% and the sector now accounts for 9% of the national workforce with 2.93m jobs. As you can see it is an increasingly growing industry!

Excitingly for Academy, based in Manchester, the city was named the fastest-growing tech city within Europe after investment in Manchester tech companies reached £181m in 2019.

The most portable career is definitely technology. It gives you a foundational skillset from which to develop. While you start as a software engineer you can move into Product, Data, AI whatever you want. Whatever route you take, a career in technology is a fulfilling and fascinating one. Technology professionals develop cutting-edge products and solutions that entertain us, improve the environment, keep us connected and save lives.

There is also so much flexibility within tech about where you work and when you work. Many tech companies, as long as you meet your deadline and have strong internet connection,  allow you to work almost anywhere — be it enjoying the comfort of working on your sofa to writing code on the beaches in the Maldives.

In 2021 we’ve seen the likes of Spotify and Coinbase commit to fully-remote working for staff, and the tide is shifting to this way of working.

Since technology is integral to the success of so many different fields, it should come as no surprise that technology professionals are in demand – always.

So long as there are problems within an industry that require a solution, the skills of a technology professional will always be an employable asset.

This usually means considerable compensation. After all, their work is challenging, necessary, and well valued. To this end, technology professionals are quite often among the most well-paid professionals of any organisation and industry.

With the current and growing gap between tech vacancies and qualified tech professionals, we can expect the salaries to continue to grow.