4 Tech Jobs That Don’t Require Coding

Technology jobs are growing fast, and in some cases they’ve already replaced jobs for factory and service workers. Just ten years ago, marketing and technology were two distinct industries, but marketers now rely on different software and apps to do their job. Investors love to put their money in tech companies, and tech founders are some of the richest and most admired people in the world.

But what if you’re not a computer whiz like Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos? What if you don’t have a knack for coding? What if you’re more of a creative or a numbers person? Does this mean you can’t get a job in the booming IT field? A survey from Glassdoor reveals otherwise.

About 43% of jobs from tech companies with at least 100 job postings on Glassdoor were for non-technical positions. While that’s less than half of the industry’s job openings on their site, it’s still a whopping 53,000 non-coding jobs in the tech industry. That just goes to show that the IT industry isn’t just for coders.

Non-Techy Jobs That Don’t Require Coding and the Skills You Need to Get Them

The trick to finding these jobs is to decode the job titles used for these positions—and to understand the skills companies are looking for in an applicant.

1. Program Manager

Program Managers work on several projects simultaneously to ensure that all deliverables are done on time, within budget, and according to the right specifications. They coordinate with the individual project’s Product Manager or Lead and the client via meetings and emails.

You’re not the one creating the products. You’re just the overseer of the communications and schedules of the different teams.

While the name implies that you’ll have subordinates, in most cases that’s not the reality. The Product Managers you work with aren’t your subordinates, but you will be a mediator between them and the clients, so good communication and problem-solving skills are a must for this position.

Graduates with a background in management, leadership, and communication will do well in this position. For instance, an organizational leadership course will teach you about psychology, business, and human resources, all of which will give you the skills needed as a Program Manager.

Program Managers earn an average of $113,999, while the top earners earn about $160,487 according to data from Paysa.

2. Contracts Administrator

A Contracts Administrator deals with the negotiation and implementation of a company’s and their partners’ or vendors’ contractual obligations. The role varies per company, but in general the job revolves around creating mutually beneficial contractual arrangements with other companies to support the employer’s goals.

Your job is to ensure the company contracted delivers on its part. You also have to check that no one involved is getting a kickback, and any type of fraudulent or deceptive activity that may lead to a breach of contract in the future is avoided. Of course, this goes both ways; if your employer fails to pay the party contracted—or whatever the agreement is—you may be tasked with helping to smooth things over before a lawsuit is filed.

While an education in legal matters is helpful, it’s not a requirement for many companies because a typical business administration degree already includes fundamentals in business law and even some units in accounting.

For instance, this IT Contract Admin job says a 4-year degree is required but an MBA or JD is a plus—but in terms of experience they require only two years of professional experience drafting commercial agreements.

3. Tech Writer

Tech writers create tutorials, documentation, press releases, product pages, and everything else needed to promote the user adaptation and marketing of a product. While a coding degree isn’t exactly required, Tech Writers need a fundamental understanding of tech to write comprehensive content about the products they’re working on.

Don’t worry, the designers and coders who built the product will help you understand certain features of the project. All you need to worry about is translating the tech speak into layman’s language.

It’s a perfect job for Liberal Arts graduates or anyone with a creative mind. As long as you have fun understanding and explaining product features, as well as creating troubleshooting guides for system errors, you’ll do just fine.

The only possible downside to this job is that you’ll have a hard time finding this role in a startup environment, as only medium and large companies can afford to hire dedicated Tech Writers.

4. IT Business Analyst or Risk Assessment Specialist

Is money and finance interesting to you but you have no desire to work in Wall Street or a bank? You can get a job as a Business Analyst or Risk Assessment Specialist in the IT industry.

With the meteoric rise of tech companies, more of them are evaluating market data to identify and mitigate risks, as well as find possible improvements for their business models and processes. These jobs require a Business Analyst and a Risk Assessment Specialist, and it’s perfect for those with an analytical mind.

Students with a law or finance degree but don’t want to pursue their course because of the grueling hours can get these jobs. They have the training to process a lot of data and interpret it to protect the financial interests of their client. Attorney Annie Arakelian, for example, has a background in complex financial planning, which would be useful in this field.

IT Business Analysts earn about $101,965 on average, with the top earners receiving about $128,911 based on data from Paysa.

5. Designer, Illustrator, or Animator

Tech companies hire graphic designers for different types of jobs, such as designing logos, websites, a user-interface (UI), packaging, or video animation. Visual creative skills have a lot of sub-niche jobs, so it’s easy to find one that will fit your skills.

Not all design jobs rely heavily on drawing or Photoshop-editing skills. For instance, the work of a designer at a marketing and product packaging company looks simple like the folder designs below, but their main job is making sure that the design looks good on the type of stock and finish used when printing.

A typical Graphic Designer earns about $59,113 according to Paysa’s data from over 251,000 designers. Top earners net about $72,117. Of course, some graphic design job niches earn more, like Animators or UI/UX designers.

Ready for a Career in Tech?

Scared of the outrageous real estate prices in Silicon Valley? Don’t worry, you don’t need to work there to get the high pay and benefits of an IT job. There are job openings in many tech companies across the nation.

In many cases, you don’t even need a new degree to switch careers, as long as you can find transferrable skills that will be useful for your target job. Go check out different job portals to see which of these job options are compatible with your experience, and then come up with a game plan to make the switch.

BIO

Charley is a freelance copywriter and content marketer specializing in recruitment and entrepreneurship. When she’s not stringing words for her latest copywriting project, you’ll find her starting another side business, or planning yet another trip.

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