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What field of study is required for tech companies?

What field of study is required for corporate giants such as Intel, Microsoft, AMD, and Sony? #tech #field

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Laureline’s Answer

It takes more than engineers to run a technology company :)

If your goal is to work at a tech company (there are great perks involved!), focus on asking yourself what skills you might bring to the organization first and foremost. You do not need to code to join a tech organization.

There are many functions available for semi- to non-techies that you may want to consider, including positions in:
-Product: works with IT/engineering, but leads the product vision and project manages the delivery
-Sales: client-facing; responsible for generating revenue and putting the product in the hands of the customer
-Enablement: responsible for educating client-facing teams in specific Product areas
-Marketing and Product Marketing: responsible for driving awareness and consideration for the brand and/or product
-Finance: ensures the business has the proper funds to continue its operations
-Legal: serves as counsel to executive team and ensures compliance against various laws (HR, contracts, corporate, privacy, etc)
-HR: responsible for the entire talent experience from hiring to onboarding and separation
-Operations: ensures that all functions described above "talk" to each other

Laureline recommends the following next steps:

Research the careers sites for tech companies that inspire you and review the breadth of functions available
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Paula’s Answer

Even though a major around software and IT will certainly help you in understanding better what the company is producing/developing, you also have great chances at a tech company if you have a business degree or something similar. You probably won't end up coding the software for example but you certainly need people who know everything related to how a business is managed. There are many roles like in Finance, HR, Marketing, Sales and general management in which you will learn everything that you need to know around tech on the job.
Majoring in something that combines the IT and business side can also be a huge advantage as you will understand both sides!
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Christina’s Answer

There's often a misconception that you need to know how to code to work in tech! Tech companies rely on more than just engineers to keep the business running. If your goal is to be an engineer, then you definitely need to major in something technical like computer science, electrical engineering, etc., but if your goal is to work in another organization within the company such as marketing, sales, analytics, design, customer success, or product management, there is no "right" field of study to pursue. These roles are very interdisciplinary, so having a non-basic and/or non-technical will be beneficial to your role.

Additionally, it may be hard to know what sort of role fits you. Here are some steps you can take to help you figure out what is right for you:
- talk to people that work in these different roles at tech companies. Figure out why they enjoy the role, what a day in the life is about, the skills needed, what the role is like on a bad day
- watch youtube videos and read online articles. Watch day in my life videos on Youtube or real articles about the job on Medium to better understand what the role is like.
- do an internship! Interning at a tech company will allow you to not only meet all different types of people that work in a tech company, but also figure out if the role is right for you by directly getting experience in that role
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Jay’s Answer

Spencer,

In today's economy, almost any area of study can be used at large companies. There are definitely specialties (ex - you need to understand software development to be a software engineer), but so many other roles are open.

- Business degrees can lead you into sales, marketing, support, product management, management in general
- Computer Science degrees can lead you into software engineering, product management, support, enablement
- Liberal arts degrees can lead you into Human Resources, Administration, Management, Operations, etc..
- Legal studies can lead you into Contracts, Sales Operations, Business Development

These are just examples, but there are many ways to get into a large company.

Best of luck
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Walt’s Answer

Ultimately tech businesses, like all businesses, require a wide range of functional expertise to run properly. Tech businesses require computer science and engineering backgrounds as a necessity, but are by no means the only type of academic and professional backgrounds that they look to hire.

In fact, a wide range of fascinating fields are represented at most leading tech companies (including my own). You'll see business professionals working in functions such as Product Management, Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, and Finance working alongside the engineers and developers - and each of them fills a role that is vitally important to the business' success.

Rather than think about what tech companies want and then pursue that type of job, I would suggest thinking about what type of work excites you and studying that field. Then, use that skill set and academic background to pursue roles in that function within tech companies. If you find a type of work that excites you and excel in it, you'll be positioned to be successful in Tech - and many other industries if you decide that another feels like a better fit down the line. Good luck!
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Alessia’s Answer

Hi,

There are many different roles in tech companies. You can do software engineering, marketing, sales, strategy, marketing. Identify what is your passion and you can then see how it is related to the tech world.
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Julie’s Answer

It depends more on WHAT you want to do within a tech company. For example, I have a degree in politics but was very involved in my university's student associations and planning events. Because of my leadership/event planning experience, I was able to get a role at Tech company planning executive meetings and from there, I've changed roles and am now in sales. First, you should try to discover what kind of role you want to do at a tech company, Engineering, marketing, sales, etc.... and then either choose a degree that will help you gain the knowledge for that role or take on activities or internships outside of your degree that will help build your skillsets towards that role in tech you want.
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Zhen’s Answer

Hi Spencer,

Because there are so many different jobs/positions in those big companies, first of all, I'd suggest asking yourself what you are interested most in. Then you can research those company's job postings based on your interests. Usually, the company's job posting will list detailed requirements, what field of study you should have to get hired. Going beyond that, you can also connect and ask people on LinkedIn, who's working in those companies.

Hope this is useful!

Best wishes!
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Leo’s Answer

It depends, but in general terms you'll need to study a Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science or similar.

Intel and AMD tend to do more hardware, in that case you'll probably want to study Electrical Engineering, or similar areas that include electronics or semiconductors.

Also, most of these companies post their jobs on their websites. If you browse their current openings that'll give you an idea of what they're looking for.

Leo recommends the following next steps:

Search for Universities or College that offer careers in Software Engineering of Electrical Engineering
Browse the job postings for these companies on their websites.
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