Breaking Into Tech (No Engineering Degree Required)

Life is all about pivots — especially when it comes to your career.

I, for one, didn’t have a cookie-cutter trajectory into my current role as a senior sales training manager at RapidScale, a managed cloud services company and part of the Cox family of businesses. In fact, I was a journalism grad when I got a job in tech sales. I ended up loving the industry and finding my place in it.

As someone who doesn’t have a technical background or credentials, I like to remind people that you can work for a tech company, even if you don’t have a strictly tech-focused career path. I still can’t code to this day — and that's okay! Working well with people is where my skills shine, and that’s a huge asset for any company.

From journalism to tech sales

Before I got my start in sales and technology, I was actually an aspiring sports anchor. I loved watching SportsCenter back in the day, and I even got to tour the ESPN studio during an internship.

But as I got closer to completing my degree in broadcast journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I realized I didn’t want to compete for those rare anchor roles in large media markets. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I was inspired to try something completely different.

A couple weeks before the end-of-year exams, I saw a flyer on campus advertising an opportunity to meet with recruiters from Oracle about sales jobs. At that point, the only sales experience I had was selling New York Times subscriptions to fellow J-school students as a part-time gig. But I went ahead and signed up for an interview slot, printed a crisp copy of my resume and sat through a few rounds of interviews before getting an official job offer for an account executive job in Austin, TX.

Finding a deeper purpose in technology

Since then, my tech sales journey has taken me through different roles at notable tech companies like Lenovo and Amazon Web Services. After a few years in different sales roles, I pivoted again — this time into learning and development. While I was eager to explore other career paths outside of sales, I wanted to stay in the industry because I loved its ever-changing nature. I found my purpose as a sales enablement professional and facilitator, where my focus was to train others to succeed.

It was around that time when a recruiter reached out about a job at RapidScale, and I jumped at the chance. I was excited about paving the way in sales training at the organization. Sometimes people shy away at being the first to do something, but I took it as an opportunity to set the bar.

I was drawn in for a few reasons. For one, RapidScale had one of the most personable interviews I’ve experienced, and my recruiter was so responsive and transparent about each step in the process. I was also impressed by the level of expertise and credentials that RapidScale boasted. I also like seeing that they’re consistently ranked on the Best Places to Work list.

I recently celebrated my first year at the company, and it’s been one of the most rewarding years of my life.

At RapidScale, people care about your success. They’re ready to jump in and lend a helping hand. I’ve already matched with multiple mentors at the company and I continue to be brought into cross-functional projects geared towards AI advances in learning and development. Shortly after celebrating my first work anniversary at RapidScale, I also received my first promotion at the company. It’s an exciting time to work here, and that’s why I’m excited to grow my career at Cox.

If you’re looking to join an award-winning culture — recognized as one of the best places to work, backed by hundreds of certified specialists and built on 30 years of mission-critical experience — explore our open roles today!

Ready for your next career move? Check out jobs at RapidScale and sign up for our Talent Community today!