If you’re reading this then you’ve probably read part one of this post where we touched some examples of the top tech jobs in the industry.

For those joining us for the first time and those returning, we bring you part two on how to break into tech with an insight on the top tech jobs in the industry.

Hearing of such roles is one thing, but understanding what each role entails and it’s value is a complete game changer.

So without further ado, let’s get into the second part of our breaking into tech series.

If you like talking, then this is for you. The Business Analyst (also known as the ‘BA’) can be seen as the middleman/woman.

They support the work of the business and team by providing technical and functional expertise.

In tech, you have two types of BAs ‘Functional’, and ‘Technical’.

What’s the difference?

Technical: A technical BA has both the business expertise as well as the technical ability to translate business problems into actionable solutions.

The technical expertise helps business stakeholders understand from an unbiased point of view, what’s technically feasible and how the business can get there.

Functional: A functional BA or traditional BA, doesn’t need to provide technical expertise.

The focus is helping peers and the business understand how things work from a functional perspective.

Any technicality that needs to be understood can be done by solution architects, engineers, etc.

So that the BA can leverage their knowledge and skills to answer such queries, without having to learn skills that already exist within the team.

What do they do?

The BA acts as the bridge between business and people on the ground doing the work.

The business focuses on profit and other things, while the people on the ground focus on ensuring the business continues to be profitable.

In tech, the people on the ground are the engineers, software developers, testers, etc.

It is the BA’s role to make sure that whatever is communicated at the top is fed down to the technical teams performing the work.

A BA needs to understand business requirements (i.e. what the business is asking for?) and figure out how and whether this can be done.

The how is usually through visual graphical presentations containing process flows and mind-maps.

The ‘whether this can be done’ is the conversation you have with the developers.

You see the role of the BA is critical to a business’s success in the tech world because they need to have an understanding of both sides – business, and developers.

What are some of the characteristics?

Mediator: BAs have the spirit of a mediator, as they play the role of the person in the middle, they need to maintain an impartial view at all times.

And only work in the interest of everyone including the customer.

Business decisions will sometimes create friction with developers, so the BA has to remind all parties to work in the best interests of the customer.

Objective: Bas are non-reactionaries; they maintain an objective view of what needs to be achieved and work accordingly with this in mind.

They avoid being reactive and focus on proactive measures that can contribute towards a team’s overall success.

Pragmatic: The BA has a pragmatic approach to the team’s work. Processes have to be practical and provide a basis for a solution to a problem.

For example, BA document processes, support the creation of service design documents and provide graphical presentations in the form of process models.

How to become a BA?

BA roles are one of the roles that I feel does not require any formal certifications.

However, having said that, there is a range of BA certifications available to help you have a fruitful career as a business analyst.

Some companies offer free training and specialised pathways, specific to BA work.

You can find examples of these companies in another post we have done here – Tech Careers: Secure Your Place with a Job in Technology

The consultant is the jack of all trades. They are smooth operators who act as the shaper and change agent – you go in as the combination of the two.

Consultants find their way into companies when their services are required from a business point of view.

The actual role of a consultant is to provide some form of advisory service and expertise to a problem a business is experiencing.

However, this has somewhat changed over the years.

The idea of traditional consultants still exists; however, tech consultants do more than just advise.

Technical consultants come with a lot more versatility, instead of just telling a business what and where the problem is.

They have the experience to go a step further, working on the problem – which may be in the form of an initial draft solution.

This will then be followed by workshop sessions that get into the meat of the business.

Nowadays, paying for advice isn’t what it used to be, companies have employers who can do some of the initial work.

The dependency comes in for a consultant comes from the perspective of a fresh set of eyes to look at a problem.

Your service may not be required if you are only able to find the same problem that the business is already aware of.

This is why today, being mult-skilled, and disciplined across several areas, will make your role as a consultant more valuable.

For example, you’re a consultant that has a background in software development.

You will be able to provide a lot more benefits by sharing your insights and bringing past knowledge and experience to support business objectives.

To be a consultant you need to be good at adapting to changing environments.

You should be well accustomed to volatility and become a chameleon in any given situation – as you need to be able to quickly blend into the business.

Improvisation is another skill that’s important for such a role.

You may experience times when you have to work with incomplete information, you just have to go off that and make the most out of a given situation.

There aren’t any specific certifications for consultants, or to become a consultant, you become one through experience.

It has less to do with accreditation and more to do with hands-on experience and ways of working.

There are, however, consultancy companies that specialise in this type of so that’s a great place to start if you’re looking to go down this path and are interested.

Someone has to manage things, right?

In the tech world, a project manager is the person responsible for ensuring a project is delivered successfully.

When it comes to certain decisions about the project, it’s the project manager who has the final say.

You can look at the Project Manager as the Godfather.

The project manager handles a lot of the overarching activities that are needed to make the project a success.

These activities include things such as the budget, timelines, objectives, and expectations.

This is all established and agreed upon at the business level.

Once project managers have the buy-in from the business sponsors, they can go forward with project objectives.

The project manager does what its name suggests, they manage the project as well as the people working on it.

To be a project manager you need to have good business skills as well as operational skills.

You need to know how to manage an operation and understand how you can bring something to life from start to finish.

The project manager also needs to be good under pressure, things can get tough and timelines can get squeezed.

So it’s important to have a clearly defined goal, know what the defined destination is, and keep that at the forefront.

There will be buffers that take into account unforeseen circumstances and anomalies.

Overall, it helps when you have a vision of the whole thing.

It makes it easier to communicate to the wider team to ensure everyone is on the same page.

How to become a Project Manager?

Project management training courses are probably one of the most popular IT qualifications out there.

There’s a variety of resources and free courses on how to become a project manager.

Now, although there’s a lot of info out there, you should be careful not to just jump into something because it sounds good.

You become a project manager through a range of training courses, yes, to find quick tips that work see our post here – Tech Careers: Secure Your Place with a Job in Technology.

Get the relevant professional certification – Prince2 is a good one, this is the one we hear about everywhere.

Prince2 is a great industry-recognised certification that will teach you all you need to know about Project Management and how to become a good Project Manager.

But there are levels to this… You don’t just get the certification and then hope for the best.

That’s not a strategy! You need to have experience managing a team of people.

Knowing how to run an operation and manage a team is the bread and butter for such a role.

The Scrum Master is the servant leader, the overseer, the glue.

The role itself is an integral part of the m team when it comes to developing software products.

The Scrum Master role was created out of the Agile methodology, Scrum — which essentially is a way of working.

It’s gone beyond IT and has now entered other industries.

The Scrum Master has to be my personal favourite. It’s one of a kind!

The role of the Scrum Master is unique. They do not manage. They do not develop or code.

They’re not admins. The Scrum Master acts as the facilitator of Agile best practices and processes.

They provide a container for which the team can operate and work freely.

Scrum Masters remove impediments and anything that can interrupt or take their team off course.

It’s the type of role where you do a bit of everything — the jack of all trades. You need to have the ability of a manager but the heart of a leader.

Just being a manager in this type of role is not effective, you need to know how to lead.

What example are you showing? How can you encourage growth in your team? What about making your team more effective?

As a Scrum Master, you manage these expectations by creating an environment where employees are responsible for their work and their actions.

It’s an active role, not a passive one. The role is not a tick-box exercise.

The Scrum Master actively inspects and adapts their approach to support the development of the Scrum team.

The Scrum Master is the number 1 person protecting the team’s interests, making sure they’re able to work at their best and bring out the best in people.

You see, the role of a Scrum Master is people-focused. It’s the people that are the center when it comes to fulfilling the role.

You play a similar role to the Project Manager, but there are distinct differences in how one should move.

The first thing to note is you’re not a manager. You shouldn’t try to be a manager or behave like one – no!

There are cases where you have to ‘manage’ expectations, but the only management you do is around the ways of working. You leave it to the team to manage themselves.

A Scrum Master is a coach and a motivator. They coach the team to ensure they do not lose sight of their goal and maintain focus within the team.

The element of a coach in a team is always beneficial… let’s take football as an example, without the coach, how will the team know the game strategy, a team without a coach is like a bus with no bus driver.

The coach can be seen as the most important person because they’re the people who guide the team, as well as oversee everything.

The Scrum Master is a nice role because you don’t necessarily work in a normal way.

You work to ensure people are working in the most effective way possible.

Your job is to advocate the best practices of working in an agile way, the main area being “ways of working”.

How to become a Scrum Master?

The way to become a Scrum Master is simple – not necessarily easy, but simple.

You can take a professional Scrum Master course at Scrum.org.

This course will help you get the relevant training and skills needed to become a successful Scrum Master.

I recommend going for the PSM certifications (Professional Scrum Master I, II, III).

You don’t have to commit to achieving all PSM certifications, but as long as you manage to get the PSM 1.

This one is a nice introduction to the Agile world of Scrum – what it means? The methodology? How to apply it? And ways of working.

Hopefully, you’ve found the above useful.

We’ve covered 7 examples of what we think are some of the most popular and important roles in the tech industry.

This sheds light on the key responsibilities involved in the tech ecosystem; what to expect; what’s required and some simple tips on how to get started.

If you feel like you know the role you want to go for and just want to know how to get your foot in the door, then check out our other post that breaks that down here – Tech Career: Secure Your Place with a Job in Technology