Tech marketing is one of the most varied and exciting career paths for marketers.
That’s one of the key things we learned in our panel discussion with Alberta tech marketers. Our Program Director, Chantel Elliott met with a few folks to discuss the biggests reasons to choose a career in tech marketing:
- Nyssa Cromwell, Head of Marketing at G2V Optics
- Darcy White, Campaign Strategist & Customer Acquisition at Blackline Safety
- Vicki Laszlo, VP of Marketing at GoFetch
Here’s what we learned from our panelists:
1. Tech offers an almost endless variety of marketing jobs and responsibilities.
In both startups and scale-ups, there’s a lot of marketing work to be done, which means there’s a lot of places where you can carve out your niche.
You can be a creative marketer writing copy, making videos and doing graphic design. Or you can be a data-driven marketer, building and analytics program and tracking the ROI of marketing campaigns and content. Or maybe you’re the strategist, building plans and programs to meet key business goals. Or maybe some mix of all of those. In fact, it’s usually some mix of all of those. That’s why T-shaped marketers do so well in tech.
Because the variety of responsibilities in tech marketing is almost endless, people with all sorts of backgrounds can build great careers in tech. Or what if you’re working in marketing at a big company and looking for something more exciting? Tech has a place for you.
“The beauty of tech marketing is there are so many opportunities that are outside of the conventional opportunities you find at many companies. You can really make your career meaningful for you. You can make it what you want to make it.” Vicki Laszlo, VP of Marketing at GoFetch
2. In tech, you’re not just a cog in the machine. You’re making a real impact on the business.
In growing tech companies, there’s a real opportunity to make your mark on the success of a business. In fact, your role is so important you’re not just working for a marketing manager or director, you’re often collaborating directly with the executives, right up to the CEO level.
Your input, decisions and work can be the difference between a successful year of growth and a business that struggles to survive. This is an incredible opportunity to learn and make an impact.
3. No day is the same. Because things in tech change FAST.
Every week is filled with a mix of creative, strategic and technical challenges. Marketing disciplines are highly interrelated, so you’ll touch a lot of areas. This is especially true in earlier stage companies where marketing teams are usually small, and your personal areas of responsibility are often big.
Also, you’re always learning as you go. With any marketing initiative, you test, learn and then you adapt. This can happen quite quickly. So the assumptions you have on Monday might be vastly different on Friday. And your marketing plans could change as a result.
It’s a highly dynamic environment. You’ll never get bored.
“One of the great benefits of working in tech marketing is you can do a variety of different things, but you can also then specialize in the areas of marketing you really love and enjoy.” Darcy White, Campaign Strategist & Customer Acquisition at Blackline Safety
4. Tech companies typically offer modern, youthful work cultures.
Many tech companies built their organizations with remote and hybrid work cultures long before the pandemic required it. Unlike in more traditional companies, the focus is less about clocking in and clocking out and optics. It’s about results and impact.
There’s less hierarchy and more flexibility in how you execute your job, who you can work with and influence – and even how you dress. Keep in mind that many tech companies are founded with a desire to disrupt an existing marketing or business. They are rebels at heart. That often applies to the culture too.
5. Career growth possibilities are endless. And you can often design your own job.
In traditional companies, it can take years to climb even a rung or two on the corporate ladder. In tech, today’s marketing coordinator could be a VP in five years.
By joining a tech company at a startup or scaleup stage, you’re betting on growth not just for the company, but for yourself. And as a company grows and its needs expand, you may have the ability not just to apply for open internal positions but to craft the job you want for yourself, based on company needs and what you love to do.
It’s a very different approach to career management. Like anything else in tech, it requires you to be proactive and deliver impact. But you’re not tied to traditional ways of doing things.
“In a tech company it’s scrappy. You must come not just with problems but solutions. And things are moving fast. The thing I love about it is you have direct impact and line of sight to strategic goals and building a company.” Nyssa Cromwell, Head of Marketing, G2V Optics
Want to become a tech marketer?
The OnRamp program helps new grads, young marketers and career-pivoters make the jump into the world of tech marketing. Learn more about it here.