- The Leap Sprint
- Posts
- Getting into tech with no experience
Getting into tech with no experience
Using the 70/20/10 rule to learn high-demand skills
Michael Ly
05 Dec
Read Time: 5.5 min
Hi networkers,
Fun fact of the week, in product management, the term “sprint” is used to describe a short period set aside to do a certain amount of work.
And yesterday, this newsletter accomplished a mini sprint of its own…
🥳 We hit 500 readers! 🥳
Thank you to everyone reading!
To celebrate this, I’m working on a notion template.
It will contain my career path, recruitment lessons, and every other advice I’ve gained, all for free too!
Keep an eye out in the next few weeks. When it’s ready, I’ll be dropping it in your inboxes, and then on LinkedIn after some time.
🏁 Here’s the route for this week’s run:
🎙️ How I Pivoted into Tech
💡 The 70/20/10 Rule
📍 Go-To Networking Events
TOPIC
How I Pivoted into Tech
For 5 years, I studied Financial Economics as my degree.
Which is why people find it surprising when I tell them I work in tech.
How does a business student with zero experience end up there?
The quick answer to that is - I built my skillset outside of school.
It was through my internships that I discovered my passion for a field in tech called “product management” or PM.
PM is working on projects where you’re building a service, platform, or software for market needs, like a new mobile banking app.
Of course, I didn’t know what PM was at the time. My 1st internship was in accounting and I quickly realized that I hated it.
So nearing the end of my term, I talked with my recruiter about what sort of roles I would enjoy.
And I was only looking for two factors:
A role where no two days are the same
A role where I can work on impactful things
My recruiter suggested I try Scotiabank’s Digital Transformation team for my next co-op.
So…I did.
I did a bunch of LinkedIn learning courses, researched a ton on PM, and somehow passed the interview!
After that, the rest is history.
The moral of my story is the choice between interests and expectations.
On one hand, I expected myself to pursue capital markets because it made sense with what I studied.
On the other, I wanted to pursue my interest in tech, but it had no relevance to my degree.
I chose to go with my interest because I learned that your degree has little importance to your career.
Instead, how qualified you are for a job depends on what you do outside the classroom.
It’s the practical experience and on-the-job challenges where you learn the skills that catapult your growth.
I followed a framework called The 70/20/10 Rule to develop the skills I needed with tech. More on this below. 🔽
(To read about my internship journey, click here.)
TIP/TOOL OF THE WEEK
The 70/20/10 Rule
This week’s tip is The 70/20/10 Rule which explains how we learn our skills.
Let’s say you want to change careers or pick up a new skill like skating:
10% of your learning comes from academic content, courses, and textbooks
20% of your learning comes from networking, coaching, and mentoring
70% of your learning comes from on-job-training and simulation work
While education makes up a mere 10%, it is still important.
It may not determine the bulk of your skills, but it serves as a stepping stone for you to unlock the 20% and 70% resources.
For example, I was only able to find my networking opportunities (20%) through my school resources (10%).
The image below is a visual representation.
Actionable Steps
Identify a skill you want to learn
Note down one resource in each % you can utilize
Optional: contact me to discuss this topic here
Until next time! ⛄
-Michael Ly
Go-To Networking Events
📍Checkpoints📍
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION VIRTUAL CAREER FAIR
Arcteryx Co-Op Information Session for May 2024
Discover IBM: Consulting Internship Info Session
REFERRALS
Share The Leap Sprint
1 Referral - Resume Template
2 Referrals - Cover Letter Template
3 Referrals - Notion Template
You currently have 0 referrals, only 1 away from receiving Resume Template.
Or copy and paste this link: https://www.theleapsprint.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER
Reply