Five Reasons Why Applying for a Job in Tech May Not Be Right for You

 At the beginning of my adulting journey, I had been searching for a way to make something of my life; a way to start a career and be able to travel the world at the same time. I've heard of people doing it – making money online as digital nomads.

It seemed like something I could do, something that I could learn and make money from, in my own time and from anywhere in the world.

I had spent countless hours researching, scouring the internet for all the information I could find about digital nomadism in general--from social media marketing to programming.

At the time, it seemed to be more of an intangible dream that could put me in a financially strained position if I didn't know what I was doing.

And so, I was determined to make it happen, and I felt like I was finally ready to take the plunge. Shortly after I graduated from college, I signed up for a programming bootcamp after struggling to land a lab corps research position that related to my biology degree.

As someone who had zero programming experience outside of reading a book about java programming days before my interview, the bootcamp was certainly intense, but I picked up enough coding knowledge to start working on my own projects and get a grasp of the industry.

Shortly after completing the program, I was contracted off to work for a fortune 500 company in the San Francisco Bay area where I would make barely enough to get by--renting a bedroom with a bathroom for $1500 a month.

It was a huge leap of faith, but I was determined to make the most of it and see what else the world had in store for me. The job ended up being the start of a journey that would take me all around the world, and I couldn't be more grateful.

To begin, I focus on the advantages of technology - travel, learning, growth, and opportunity that it can bring. These are opportunities not just for those who majored in computer science or IT related fields, but also for people with degrees in other disciplines.

I have a friend who studied criminal justice and he can write code better than most developers I know. That's why my initial approach is to focus on the beauty of tech; it is one of the easiest ways to achieve a first-class ticket to the middle class and for this reason, I believe most should consider pursuing a career as a tech worker.

But just because this is the easiest and cheapest route to having a cushy high-paying job, doesn't mean it's a walk in the park. Just as tech can look like flexing hours to fit your schedule, it can also look like a stressful week of overtime with some days requiring you to work from 8 in the morning till 8 the next...

So here I am, writing an article on why you shouldn't pursue employment in the tech industry. Unfortunately, I'm familiar with people who got drawn in by the allure of programming only to discover after they've started that it wasn't what they thought it would be and had to bail out quickly. Sadly, some of these folks have spent a lot of money on coding boot camp training, just to be let go less than twelve months later due to their performance.

Given that, here are five reasons you might not want to work in tech.

1. Long Hours - As mentioned before, tech jobs typically involve working long hours and can be quite stressful. Although many tech companies try to discourage employees from working overtime, it is often expected in order to stay competitive.

This kind of subtle pressure can come in the form of coworkers bragging about how much effort they put in over the weekend to finish their projects, even if such unpaid overtime was not officially approved. As time passes, the workload increases; coworkers push each other to finish the same amount of work in a shorter time frame, which can be impossible to do without working over forty hours.

2. High Stress Levels - Working in technology can be highly stressful due to tight deadlines, pressure from clients or bosses, and high expectations from customers or other stakeholders. Besides acquiring the skills necessary to do your job, you're expected to quickly grasp incoming technical developments and spend time outside of work studying for potential certifications.

If you don't stay on top of your work in the tech industry, you'll quickly find yourself lagging behind. There will always be someone on your team who obsesses over their work around the clock, outshining the rest. They will likely be up at midnight perfecting their work, making everyone else's accomplishments look meager in comparison.

It's a double-edged sword. On one hand, the cutthroat atmosphere acts as a way of sifting through the least experienced developers. But on the flip side, the stressful environment can cause those with the least amount of ability to become overwhelmed and start to doubt themselves. If this culture doesn't sound appealing, you might want to reconsider a position in tech. This leads me to my next point...

3. Low Job Security - Technology is ever-evolving which means that what you learned today may become obsolete tomorrow as new technologies emerge on the market. This can lead to job insecurity as you are always at risk of being replaced by someone who knows more than you do in a short period of time.

Since I'm employed as a contractor, I need to be able to adapt my skills on the fly in order to fulfill each client's unique requirements. AI has only made this more pronounced so if you're not comfortable with that kind of instability, it might not be the best career path for you to pursue.

4. High Costs - Tech related courses, certifications or boot camps often come with hefty costs that you'll be expected to invest in, which may not pay off if you later decide that this field isn't for you after all.

As I mentioned before, I've worked with people who graduated from expensive boot camps that they paid thousands for only to be fired after less than a year of work.

Gaining certifications isn’t always easy on the wallet. You must pay for each certification test, and if you don’t pass, you have to bear the cost of retaking the exam. Fortunately, some employers will reimburse successful candidates. But failure can still be quite an expensive setback.

5. Ageism - Unfortunately, ageism is an issue in the tech industry as well where younger professionals often get preference over older individuals who may have more experience but lack the latest technical knowledge. This bias often results in employers overlooking older professionals for hiring and promotion opportunities which can cause frustration among those affected by ageism in the workplace.

It's hard to fight something that is hidden yet so prevalent. I've observed how older contractors are less likely to be chosen for projects than their younger counterparts. I even caught clients saying outright that they don't want to hire anyone over a certain age.

It's worth bearing in mind that if you are beyond a certain age and considering a switch to tech, this could be an issue. It is fairly noticeable, although not necessarily limited to the tech field.

I don't wish to imply that it is impossible for the tech industry to change; only that its present culture demands assertiveness. Not everyone has an outspoken personality, so if you're not looking to cultivate one, it might be worth considering another field of work.