Technology (or tech) is a great career path if you’re interested in solving problems, innovating, and using technical skills. It’s a growing field with many opportunities — but how exactly are you supposed to break in without experience?
Because the tech industry is innovating and ever-changing, there are many entry-level opportunities that don’t require work experience. But that doesn’t mean they don’t require any experience or work to land. We asked tech professionals and career experts their top advice for how to get into tech with no experience.
Figure Out What Tech Job Is Right for You
Before you start your job search, you should have an idea of what kind of tech career you want.
“My journey started by exploring my interests and aligning them with emerging trends in tech,” says Patrice Williams-Lindo, CEO of Career Nomad and STEM career strategist. “For students today, I recommend looking at fields that excite them — whether it’s AI, cybersecurity, or software development — while keeping an eye on where the industry is growing.”
Williams-Lindo recommends experimenting to get a better sense of what those fields are like. You can take courses, participate in hackathons, or network with professionals to learn about their roles (more on these later).
Elvis Sun, a Google software engineer, says that finding the right tech career path involves applying a problem-solving mindset to the world around you.
“I’ve found that the best way to find your tech niche is to look for problems that need to be solved in the real world,” he says. “For students who have never had a job, I suggest that they start by looking at the problems they see daily in their immediate surroundings. This could be problems that local businesses are having, problems at their university, or even problems that family members are having. Once students know what the problems are, they can start coming up with solutions using a variety of technologies. This way, they can naturally find the areas of technology that interest them the most. This hands-on approach helps you learn both technical and business skills at the same time.”
What tech role is right for you?
Take a free (and fun) quiz to learn what tech job is right for you.
Build Technical Skills
“If you want to increase your chances of landing a role, focus on building skills that match the jobs you want,” James Hacking, founder of Socially Powerful, says. “It doesn’t need to be complicated — look up what tools or programming languages are common in the industry and start practicing.”
Look at job descriptions to figure out what tech skills you need. Notice themes in types of skills, whether that’s coding, web development, design, data analytics, or something else.
How do you build those skills? Forage job simulations are a good place to start. You can explore hundreds of free programs that walk you through a day in the life of different tech roles For example, you can try data science at BCG or software engineering at Electronic Arts. Each program teaches you the technical skills employers are looking for. You can then add them to your resume and talk about them in interviews.
But Don’t Forget Soft Skills
It seems straightforward: landing a job in tech requires technical skills. But what about the other skills you need to use those tech skills in a workplace environment — your soft skills, or the skills you use when interacting with others?
Soft skills are crucial when learning how to get a tech job without experience because they’re what makes you stand out. Employers know that you won’t have high-level technical experience (nor do they expect you to). They want to know that you’re a good communicator, a fast learner, and a helpful teammate.
“Master the soft skills — particularly those involving face-to-face and written communication — and leverage those in punching through the clutter of the tens of thousands of other applicants sending out generic resumes, not bothering to do their research before they interview, and relying on online applications vs. referrals generated by relationships,” says Dan Ulin, founder and CEO of the Elite Student Coach.
>>MORE: Learn how to build your soft skills from the Forage blog. Explore critical tech soft skills like problem-solving skills, analytical skills, decision-making skills, leadership skills, and more.
Get Experience
We know — you found this article because you’re trying to learn how to get into tech with no experience! But there are ways to get tech experience that aren’t full-time work experience:
- Taking courses: If you’re a student, your courses can be great experience for applying technical skills in projects. You can also find tons of free courses online to help build skills you don’t have that are on job applications. Sites like Coursera, Codeacademy, and Udemy all offer courses in a variety of tech niches.
- Participating in hackathons: A hackathon is a short, collaborative engineering experience that puts your coding and problem-solving skills to work. Devpost has a list of upcoming hackathons. Check out the careers pages of companies you’re interested in, as they sometimes host hackathons specifically for early career students.
- Contributing to open source projects: An open source project is software that anybody can edit or use. You’ll learn from and collaborate with other people working on the project.
- Taking on freelance work or personal projects: You don’t need to work on an official project to get experience! Taking on a freelance or even personal project is a great way to start applying your technical skills and show employers you have initiative.
“Create something tangible,” Hacking says. “If you’re interested in development, build a simple app or tool. If you’re leaning toward marketing, break down a campaign you admire or try running one yourself. You don’t need to wait for someone to hire you to start working on projects. Those small efforts make you memorable in interviews.”
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Build a Portfolio
Now that you have some experience, it’s time to show it off in an application.
“Something people don’t always realize about landing a tech job is that showing what you can do is far more important than saying you can do it,” Hacking says. “Employers don’t expect you to have years of experience, but they do appreciate seeing real effort.”
That’s why you’ll want to build an online portfolio of your work. For example, if you’re hoping to get a software engineering role, you may link to your GitHub profile to show off your code. If you’re hoping to land a role in UX design, you might create a website that links to different UX landing pages you’ve created.
“Students should focus on building a portfolio of projects that solve actual problems,” Sun recommends. “This means moving beyond tutorial projects and creating applications or solutions that address genuine needs. These projects should demonstrate not just technical proficiency, but also an understanding of user needs, scalability considerations, and business value. This approach shows potential employers that you can think beyond code and understand the broader impact of technology in solving real-world challenges.”
Build technical skills in real-world scenarios.
Apply tech skills in programs that simulate real tech roles at top companies.
Network
This article couldn’t be a guide on how to get into the tech industry with no experience without mentioning networking (yes, it really is that important in every career path!). In tech, networking can be an especially helpful way to understand the larger career path, including emerging types of technology and new roles.
“Put yourself out there,” Hacking says. “Join LinkedIn groups, attend webinars, or ask people in tech how they got started. Most people are happy to share advice if you’re genuine in your interest. And keep going, even if it feels slow. Whether it’s learning something new or connecting with people, the consistency of your efforts will make a difference over time. It shows you’re not just interested in tech but invested in being part of it.”
>>MORE: No idea where to get started? Learn how to ask and prepare for an informational interview.
Apply to the Right Roles
Now that you’ve built up some skills and experience, and even started talking to some people, you’re ready to start applying to entry-level tech roles.
Start by casting a small, more precise net that matches what you’re looking for. Be specific about what skills you want to use, what industry you want to work in, and what kind of company you want to work for.
“Niche it down on the search front,” Ulin says. “Not everybody has to work for Apple, Tesla, or Amazon. Plenty of smaller companies and startups need people just like you, and as the proverbial bigger fish in the smaller pond, you’ll have more room to grow into larger professional roles as you gain experience and earn a few battle scars along the way.”
>>MORE: Take our “How to Find the Best Companies to Work For (for You)” quiz.
That’s not to say you need to avoid applying to the tech giants of the world — instead, it means you shouldn’t apply to them just because of the name. Apply to what makes sense for you!
Regardless of what you’re looking for, you’ll want to search for roles with “entry-level” or “early career” titles or filters that require under two years of experience. If there are specific companies you’re interested in, go directly to their website and apply for roles there.
How to Get Into Tech With No Experience: The Bottom Line
Knowing how to get into tech with no experience requires understanding the macro tech landscape and building your skills and experience based on what roles you’re looking for. If you’re interested in a UX design career, for example, you don’t need to wait until a perfect UX design internship appears — you can start building your wireframing skills with a Forage design job simulation and create an online portfolio that showcases projects you’ve worked on.
Getting a job in tech with no experience is truly about showing, not telling, and making sure employers know you’re eager to build skills and ready to learn. Don’t be afraid to get curious and start building — it’ll only help you go farther in your job search.
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