18 Tech Jobs That Require Little Education To Get Started

The technology industry is filled with largely experience-based jobs. Many of these jobs require minimal formal education, such as an associate degree or a certificate program. If you can demonstrate your ability to carry out the duties, you can qualify for a tech job that pays well.

In this article, we discuss 18 tech jobs, including their primary responsibilities and average salaries, to get you started in the industry.

Jobs to get you started in the tech industry

Many tech professionals start as self-taught and then earn a formal education along the way. They typically seek this education when they're ready for a promotion or a related career path that may be a better match for their personal interests and skills. They continue learning via a traditional degree, a certificate program or taking courses in areas they want to gain additional knowledge in.

Here are 18 tech jobs that are easy to get into:

1. Computer technician

National average salary: $26,575 per year

Primary duties: A computer technician provides network and computer support within companies and government agencies. They may also work for third-party computer support companies. They install, maintain and troubleshoot software and hardware as well as answer computer-related queries from customers and employees. They also set up new computer systems, make sure that an organization's internet security is up-to-date and running smoothly, participate in onboarding for new employees and train non-tech professionals on software and computers.

Read more: Learn About Being a Computer Technician

2. Web editor

National average salary: $50,939 per year

Primary duties: A web editor creates and reviews emails, websites and social media postings. They look for and correct grammatical and spelling errors. They may write articles or review content written by website contributors. They also oversee the flow of web content production and make sure that publishing deadlines are met. Web editors may also source artwork and images, commission photographers and liaise with clients or internal departments to check style content and presentation, as well as develop editorial policies, data protection, copyrights and best practices.

3. Multimedia artist

National average salary: $51,088 per year

Primary duties: A multimedia artist uses multiple computer software and artistic methods to create video games, animations, website designs, advertisements, scenes or characters in a movie and special effects. They create realistic images by controlling movements, textures, shadow, color and light. They usually sketch initial ideas by hand and then bring them to life using computer software programs. A multimedia artist often designs two- and three-dimensional images using modeling applications. These applications help make images move and allow characters to start interacting with each other on screens.

4. Aerospace technician

National average salary: $50,995 per year

Primary duties: An aerospace technician designs, constructs, tests, operates and maintains the basic structures of spacecraft and aircraft, as well as control and propulsion systems. They assist engineers and scientists in preparing equipment diagrams, drawings, scale models and blueprints. They gather information, perform laboratory tests and make calculations. They may also write technical materials and estimate the cost of labor and materials required to manufacture the product.

5. Web designer

National average salary: $52,727 per year

Primary duties: A web designer develops appealing and functional websites for businesses, individuals and government agencies. They use their knowledge of graphic design and computer programming to create websites that meet client requirements. They often work in larger teams with computer programmers, media creators and graphic designers. They collaborate with team members to develop more specialized elements, such as e-commerce portals or animations. After collaborating with their team, a website designer integrates all required elements into a cohesive website. Once they have completed testing the website, they send the finished product to the client for review.

Read more: Learn About Being a Web Designer

6. Content marketing manager

National average salary: $57,018 per year

Primary duties: A content marketing manager creates and implements a company's overall marketing strategy. They often collaborate with social media managers to streamline the delivery of messages across various mediums, analyze website traffic, implement ways to increase website traffic and create images, articles and videos. They may also provide internal teams with recommendations on best practices. Other job duties of a content marketing manager include assisting distributors and vendors with creating content for their company websites, writing and distributing company newsletters and creating and updating a calendar to keep track of project deadlines.

7. Digital marketing manager

National average salary: $58,502 per year

Primary duties: A digital marketing manager is responsible for overseeing a brand or company's digital and social media marketing. They focus mostly on increasing sales, customer loyalty and brand awareness. They usually manage all customer-facing online presence of a company, including advertising, social media profiles, company websites and other communications. They're also on the front lines of discovering new methods for digital promotion. When technologies, platforms and new sites are released, it's a digital marketing manager's job to evaluate whether these might be a good marketing solution for their company.

Read more: Learn About Being a Digital Marketing Manager

8. Graphic designer

National average salary: $58,926 per year

Primary duties: A graphic designer creates communication materials in both digital and print forms. These communication materials may include logos, brochures, web pages, magazine covers, books, advertisements and annual reports. They often create these communication materials by hand or by using a computer application, such as Adobe's Creative Suite. A graphic designer typically meets with clients to determine what they want their proposed communications to look like. They create or incorporate illustrations, designs and pictures to reflect the desired tone and theme of the communications. They also review final productions for errors and make sure that final prints reflect client requirements.

Read more: Learn About Being a Graphic Designer

9. Technical support specialist

National average salary: $63,192 per year

Primary duties: A technical support specialist works with end-users to provide technical support and assistance for hardware, software and technical issues. Some of the more common issues they troubleshoot include slow performance, connection problems, inefficient programs and inability to access data. They often take customers through the process of installing applications on their computers and launching those applications for the first time. They also provide actionable tips to resolve the issue, send technical documentation to end-users and customers and refer difficult cases to a senior specialist.

Read more: Learn About Being a Technical Support Specialist

10. Data analyst

National average salary: $65,520 per year

Primary duties: Data analysts are responsible for organizing and interpreting large amounts of data for others to easily understand. Companies use this interpreted data to make business decisions. Other job duties of data analysts include performing statistical tests to gather data related to business procedures, identifying important trends that can affect business decisions, regularly monitoring data for industry changes and collaborating with team members to improve statistical testing procedures.

Read more: Learn About Being a Data Analyst

11. Digital strategist

National average salary: $65,669 per year

Primary duties: A digital strategist develops and runs the social media strategy of an organization to build its brand reputation. To increase brand engagement and visibility, they communicate with their audience via online platforms that allow users to create and share content, services or products online. A digital strategist first analyzes large quantities of data to determine the audience's taste and use behavior. The most important data is then set aside for marketing campaigns, such as posting relevant videos, text and images that evoke audience interest in topics related to the company.

12. Digital project manager

National average salary: $69,924 per year

Primary duties: A digital project manager plans digital campaigns from the initial stages of the project through to final delivery. They work with a variety of clients on several different projects at once. They continuously assess working methods and processes and make recommendations for improvement. They also identify and implement company key performance indicators (KPIs) and project milestones, as well as review project resources and provide an analysis of whether they meet the project's demands.

Read more: Learn About Being an IT Project Manager

13. Computer programmer

National average salary: $73,162 per year

Primary duties: A computer programmer writes and tests codes using a range of computer languages, such as Java and C++. They create instructions that allow computers to generate meaningful output. They often work closely with end-users, managers and information technology staff in their companies or client organizations to develop, test and maintain computer programs. They also respond to notifications of errors in programs, rewrite programs and identify malfunctioning code.

Read more: Learn About Being a Computer Programmer

14. Cybersecurity analyst

National average salary: $83,707 per year

Primary duties: A cybersecurity analyst evaluates digital security risks for an organization and makes recommendations for how to prevent potential threats. They usually work in a team responsible for ensuring that an organization receives protection against external threats. Cybersecurity analysts also assess the security of any networks or digital devices connected to a network, implement responses to threats to reduce the risk of attacks, develop protocols for safe use for employees to follow and respond to any attempted breaches to mitigate damage.

Read more: Learn About Being a Cybersecurity Analyst

15. Application developer

National average salary: $87,572 per year

Primary duties: An application developer analyzes data to determine a software's requirements and specifications. They sometimes work with other computer specialists during this process. They then carefully design the application, documenting every step of the process for future reference. Once the design is complete, they code the application and test it through stringent procedures and routines to make sure that it operates smoothly and with optimum operational efficiency. Often, application developers are required to modify or troubleshoot existing programs to improve performance.

Read more: Learn About Being a Software Developer

16. Network engineer

National average salary: $89,783 per year

Primary duties: A network engineer maintains computer networks and all associated systems, including applications, hardware and software. They implement data security systems and perform data backups to protect important information, as well as install and configure network equipment such as proxy servers, WAN accelerators, VPNs, load balancers, switches and routers. They also perform ongoing troubleshooting and monitoring to find innovative ways to boost network performance. Other job duties of a network engineer include conducting regular maintenance tasks such as installing patches or service packs, managing security configurations, performing network upgrades and scheduling updates.

Read more: Learn About Being a Network Engineer

17. UX designer

National average salary: $96,948 per year

Primary duties: A UX designer, or user experience designer, addresses the digital experience needs of end-users, such as identifying errors in existing designs, developing usage scenarios and recommending improvements to digital products. They usually conduct usability tests on each URL of a mobile app or website to identify weaknesses in digital products. To gain a full understanding of customer needs and competitor offerings, a UX designer researches the target market, helps in the creation of a content development strategy, develops research-based insights on user experience and aligns their design solutions to company standards.

Read more: Learn About Being a UX Designer

18. DevOps engineer

National average salary: $115,761 per year

Primary duties: A DevOps, or development operations, engineer develops, upgrades and implements software solutions for internal systems. They oversee the health of servers and work with system operators, IT professionals and software developers to identify opportunities for improvement and implement new code.

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