Think Your Major Was Pointless? Tech Says Think Again

What are you going to do with an English major, teach?

‍How will majoring in philosophy prepare you for a job post-graduation?

‍Why pursue a history degree if you’re not going to go to grad school?

How many of us have heard some variation of the above from family or friends who doubted our choice of college specialization?

Their concerns may be valid — after all, the people we love just want us to find emotional and financial stability in adulthood — but they’re also unfair assumptions. Yes, some majors are recommended to break into a certain field, such as science prerequisites for med school. But in general, what you major in in college isn’t at all an indicator of future success. 

If you’re trying to land a job in tech, a nontraditional, liberal arts degree might seem worthless. In fact, the complete opposite is true: Just about any college major, even those in the humanities, can lead to a fulfilling and lucrative job in the tech industry.

Some context: Tech isn’t just MAANG

When people think of tech, their first thought is probably the big five: Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google (otherwise known as “MAANG”). Those companies, with their billion-dollar valuations and global reach and appeal, have reputations for hiring computer or data science majors, or people with extensive tech backgrounds (and who live in the Silicon Valley area).

Certainly, that reflects a lot of what they hire for. But even those companies need to recruit from diverse backgrounds to build products and services that meet the needs of a wide audience.

More importantly, those corporate leaders aren’t the only players in the tech space. Hundreds of tech startups are being founded, growing, and evolving every day. Not to mention, thousands more companies in finance, retail, healthcare, and other fields are pivoting to tech-based solutions and platforms. And these organizations are able to stay competitive because they don’t just look for cookie-cutter talent. Your acting, economics, or business background may be just what their tech team needs to think outside the box, overcome challenges in software development, and collaborate efficiently and effectively.

TripleTen has spent years spreading the message that tech is for everyone, and we’ve seen firsthand just how true it is: Upon graduation, our 2023 Outcomes report found, 87% of our bootcamp students land a job within six months. Eighty-percent of participants are complete beginners in tech, with 87% coming from non-STEM backgrounds such as education, hospitality, or service jobs. 

Among these newcomers, over half choose to work for a startup or smaller tech company, where there tend to be greater growth opportunities and chances to carve out niche expertise.

It’s called domain expertise

Companies trying to create websites, customer portals, or digital shopping experiences need someone who can code or collect data, no doubt. But if they only hired for these qualities, they’d struggle in many other ways, such as employee discord or lack of cohesive communication — which is why, according to TripleTen’s latest Employer Report, 65% of hiring teams prioritize soft skills as much as hard ones. This is where your unique degree can give you a significant leg up.

Another way to think about the value of your major as it pertains to tech is domain expertise. Healthcare startups, for example, might find an entry-level software engineer who used to study nursing an attractive candidate because they can speak directly to the needs of patients or doctors, and thus help them build a product that actually sells. A burgeoning data engineer with a background in education can help startups in the space properly evaluate the performance of their offerings to schools or students.

Our research backs up this assertion: 79% of companies hire techies from nontraditional backgrounds, and 85% are confident or very confident in bootcamp graduates that may not have majored in STEM. 

Our grads prove the point

Take it right from our students: Turning an “irrelevant” major into a tech career can be done!

‍Jake McCambley majored in psychology and started out in wilderness therapy, where he guided participants through camping excursions aimed at helping them heal and process their emotions. When that job came to an end in 2020, he joined TripleTen’s software engineering program at the recommendation of a family friend.

With practical experience under his belt thanks to an externship and portfolio of work, he was empowered to mesh his former and current careers together and applied to therapy startup Zencare through its CEO. “I wrote a cover letter to her just explaining, ‘Hey, I’m passionate about mental health. I’m passionate about building products that help people,’ and she responded, saying, ‘Let’s chat on the phone,’” he says. A couple interviews later, he had snagged what’s now a dream job.

If you’re concerned you have to stay in your current domain to break into tech, consider Jenny Doctor’s story: Jenny was a music teacher before she signed up for TripleTen, and landed a job at an IT services and consulting firm while still in the software engineering bootcamp. She credits her ability to think and work creatively as a musician with helping her get the job and thrive in it to this day. “There is absolutely still creativity in my current position. Of course, as a junior developer, I’m not exactly building complicated apps or you know, big components quite yet. But I’m able to find creative ways to solve problems,” she says.

The work-life balance her tech job provides is another unintended perk. “Now that I am in tech and I’m at home and I have more free time for myself, I’ve found that I’ve been playing more music,” she adds.

Some examples to get you thinking

If you’re thinking about making a career change into tech, here’s how to pair your major with the appropriate role:

Keep exploring how you can bring your skills to tech

There are so many avenues for breaking into tech from another field of study, and a TripleTen bootcamp may just be one option you consider. Before you take the leap, it helps to get organized — which is why we’ve created a handy Get-Hired-In-Tech Checklist for ticking all the boxes and crafting a compelling narrative that positions you perfectly for your dream job. The best part? It’s absolutely free to use!