Photo Editing: One of the Tech Careers That Do Not Require a Tech Degree

Everyone has experienced the disappointment of not being able to apply for the desired job due to a lack of skills needed. This is especially tedious when they require a bachelor’s degree and you don’t have one. However, you should know that this has changed in recent years. Most companies in several industries have ditched their bachelor’s degree requirements to something more flexible.

According to the United Kingdom Office for National Statistics, the employment rate for people aged 16 to 64 was 76.4% between February and April, a drop when compared to the previous month. This drop can be attributed to Covid-19 affecting businesses.

However, do not be desperate because according to an article by Cosmopolitan UK last year, there were a handful of high-paying jobs without the need for a degree.

“Entry level roles in the marketing industry can begin at £18,000, and don’t require a degree – work experience, internships, or apprenticeships as digital assistants, researchers or juniors are great places to start,” Dusty Baxter-Wright wrote.

According to the article, a third of students said they regretted going to university.

We know that college isn’t for everyone because not everybody likes the idea of going through a three to five-year education process. Today we have bootcamps, which are a more feasible option for many aspirants. Bootcamps take less time to complete than college degrees. They’re also less expensive and provide a more up-to-date education system. Here are some of the most in-demand tech careers that don’t require a tech degree and where you can learn these skills in the UK.

Photo Editing

Even with the raise of photo editing tools and software, the demand for photo editing works are still in demand. Almost all areas of marketing and production need an expert touch of a skilled photo editor. Even if it requires expertise on using tools like Photoshop, Illustrator and other advanced editing software, you don’t need to have a degree to get the job. 

Photo editors are responsible for reviewing and selecting photos for promotion, adverts, publication, and distribution. They edit and enhance photos to make them more professional and appealing. They create a portfolio of visual assets, ensures constancy to style guide and branding, collaborates with designers, photographers, marketing team and content editors to ensure quality and vision aligns. This is why they are very significant to all industries. 

Web Development

Web development refers to the ability to create websites. Web developers work with different programming languages, depending on what they’re working on. Some of the most used programming languages that web developers use are Python, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. There are three types of web developers: front-end, back-end, and full-stack.

Front-end developers work with the visuals and everything the user interacts with, while back-end developers handle everything that’s underneath like the servers and algorithms. Although it’s not common to see people with this specialization, full-stack developers are in high demand because they work with both back-end and front-end development. But, this last type of developer has a lot on their plate.

In the past, you were required to have a computer science degree to work as a web developer, but now you can learn it through a coding bootcamp. One of the best schools where you can learn this skill in the UK is Codeworks. This school has an eight-week bootcamp program that helps you build complete digital products at the end of the course. You’ll learn everything from programming languages to back-end and front-end frameworks.

Digital Marketer

Digital marketing is the ability to allocate marketing efforts into the digital arena. Users and customers spend more time on their phones than any other place, so companies are trying to be more accessible for them on the platforms that they use such as Instagram or Facebook. Digital marketing is also very related to gaining hits on search engines, so these professionals must be familiarized with SEO and SEM techniques.

To be a digital marketer, you don’t need to have a college degree. Although it’s a plus to have a degree in digital marketing, it’s not necessary. If you look at the job offers on LinkedIn, Upwork, or any other employment platform, you’ll notice that they don’t require you to have a tech degree. However, you do need to have a stable internet connection and excellent communication skills. If you would like to land a career in this field, there are several digital marketing bootcamps that you can choose from.

General Assembly’s Digital Marketing bootcamp is one of the leading ones in the UK. The reason for this is because General Assembly has one of the most updated curricula in terms of digital marketing. You’ll learn all digital marketing principles from creating a strategy to SEO techniques to rank any website on Google. Besides, General Assembly also teaches you how to work with analytic tools like Google Analytics to measure your marketing performance.

Data Scientist

Data scientists are in charge of providing actionable insights based on data analysis. Data science has become such an in-demand skill because many companies benefit from this profession. A data scientist can help detect patterns, forecast situations, and analyze trends to come up with a better business decision. We can see that this profession works in many fields such as the drug development industry, the stock market, and even the sales business. Why would you want to become a data scientist? They have a great salary of $123,000 annually. 

To become a data scientist, you need to have mathematical skills and a good understanding of statistical principles. Although you can opt for a tech degree, it’s no longer necessary now. You can learn this skill at Coding Dojo. This school will not only teach you how to come up with actionable insights for real-life business problems, but it’ll also provide you programming schools in languages like Python or SQL.

Cybersecurity Analyst

A cybersecurity analyst can detect vulnerabilities in a company’s IT and data system and apply actionable strategies to prevent attacks. They work closely with cybersecurity engineers, who develop programs and create data protection policies. Cybersecurity analysts can make from $95,000 to $125,000.

Companies who suffer from data breaches and digital attacks can spend millions of dollars in recovery expenses, so they try to protect their data as much as possible. Cybersecurity analysts are here to help and that’s the reason why this skill is more in-demand than ever. Cybersecurity has become a company’s first need when it comes to IT services. This could show you that landing a job as a cybersecurity analyst is not difficult if you are good at keeping company data safe.

Do you need a bachelor’s degree to work as a cybersecurity analyst? Not necessarily. A good path to learn this skill is through Cybersecurity bootcamps. There’s a school that offers a complete bootcamp where you’ll receive training from veterans in the cybersecurity industry. This school is called Flatiron School and it has facilities in London.

Mobile Development 

With the increased number of companies that want to create an application for their customers, the demand for mobile app developers rises. That’s the reason why this is one of the most common job offers in the tech field in platforms like Upwork or Freelance. Mobile developers create apps like the ones we use every day on our phones, and these apps are usually lead generators for companies as they create customer engagement. 
If you were to work as a mobile developer, you could have a salary that goes from $123,000 a year to $133,000, depending on the system specialization. And this skill does not require a tech degree to start working as a mobile developer. You can learn this skill at Codeworks, which offers an in-depth program in iOS and Android mobile development.