General Assembly, Author at General Assembly Blog | Page 5

The first 90 days are crucial for anyone starting a new job, but the stakes feel higher for a career changer who is eager to get off to a strong start in a new field. You’ve worked hard to get here and you’re excited to jump right in, no doubt—yet, before you can reach the satisfying peak, you have to claw your way up through a landslide of information, sort through intricate workplace dynamics, and discover the new “you.” 

Why are the first “90” days so important? Well, according to Jobvite’s annual survey, 1 in 3 workers quit within the first 90 days of accepting a job offer. Most often, company leadership, culture, or duties differ from employee expectations. Perhaps there’s a change in the role’s responsibilities or flexibility. Sometimes better pay is offered elsewhere or a negative incident leads new employees to promptly quit. 

In a perfect world, every company would invest heavily in a well-planned onboarding program that gives new tech employees all they need to thrive. The reality is that, oftentimes, you’re on your own—sink or swim!

The first tech job you land out of boot camp may not be your forever home, but you can at least gain a strong foothold—picking up valuable skills, experience, and references by using a goals worksheet as your North star. The following action items can help you become acclimated to the waters of your new position with a refreshing sense of purpose and direction. 

With the sheer scale of innovation in the tech industry today, product management has become an in-demand skill. There’s a reason why Glassdoor has ranked Product Management as #10 on their list of the “50 Best Jobs in America for 2022”. With a median USA salary of $125,317 per year and 17,725 current job openings, there’s something for everyone.

But is a Product Management career the right fit for you? Keep reading to find out.

So, you’ve been Googling immersive programs late at night and you’ve stared into the smiling faces of alumni on bootcamp websites, wondering if you see your future self. You’ve cycled through the stages of online bootcamp shopping:

📱 Searching for hot jobs in tech
👩 LinkedIn stalking people with those jobs
🧑‍🎓 Googling courses and bootcamp programs that teach those skills
😮 Reading about time commitments and cost
📵 Closing your tab in a panic 
🤷‍♀️ Starting over the next day

Reading about immersive programs can be intimidating. Is it really full-time? Do I need to quit my job? Can I keep up with the coursework? How will my life change? 

• You’re interested in working in tech but don’t have the technical skills you need to get started
• You want a tangible certificate to add to your resume to help you go after that promotion or new job
• You’re a lifelong learner and want to level up your skills to use in your current job or small business

Let’s start with the reasons you may have been looking at immersive programs to start with:

If you can’t imagine slogging away for decades in loyal service to a single company, only to be rewarded with 3pm cake and a gold watch to celebrate your retirement, you’re not alone. For today’s workers, who change careers about as often as they change hair styles, that sort of employment monogamy seems positively naivet. Whether in search of a better work-life balance (currently noted as the number one driver for a career change), higher compensation, or more fulfillment, people are moving from career opportunity to career opportunity at an increasingly rapid pace, picking up valuable–if not disparate–skills along the way. 

The challenge for today’s career changers isn’t putting a positive spin on “career hopping” (which is no longer viewed as a negative), but simply standing out in a sea of candidates. In order to get noticed, job applicants can’t just write a resume, they need to craft a compelling career narrative. Sound daunting? It’s really not. This ultimate guide will tell you in five easy resume-writing steps exactly how to land a career you love, even if you have no prior experience in your area of interest. 

Trying something new career-wise can be as scary as it is exhilarating. That’s why we’re excited to launch Workshop Wednesdays, which gives you a way to dip your toe into doing something different.  So, whether you’re looking to change your career and break into tech or if you’re just looking to level-up your skills, Workshop Wednesdays allows you to test the waters, so you can dive into either track with confidence. 

Just like our courses, these workshops will be led by our team of expert instructors, who have real world experience in today’s most in-demand fields including data, coding, UX design, product management and marketing. 

Every Wednesday from September 14th until October 19th, join your peers from all around the world to experience our most popular workshops (ranging from $60 to $200 USD in value) — completely free.* Better yet? All Workshop Wednesday participants will get $200 (in your local currency including: USD, AUD, SGD, GBP, EUR) to use towards a GA part-time or immersive course of their choosing (T&Cs apply). 

Getting into tech doesn’t have to be complicated. Nowadays, it’s common for people to change careers even if you don’t have a university degree. As a result, it’s becoming increasingly common for career changers to do online courses, part-time classes, or bootcamps to pivot into a new career.

Despite Brexit and the pandemic, UK’s tech industry is booming. According to last year’s Tech Nation Report, the number of unique tech jobs advertised in the UK outweighed that of other European countries by 259% on average.

UK employers are always looking for new tech talent — keep reading to discover our top 10 tips to break into tech without a university degree.

Tip #1: Your Transferable Skills are a Gold Mine

You’ve probably heard about transferable skills as someone looking to change careers. But what are transferable skills, and which are the most important?