Tech companies are adopting 100% remote work. At the same time, many companies expect most of their workforce to return to the office by the end of the year. Trailblazing companies like Twitter, Slack, and Facebook announced they will let all employees work remotely from this point forward if they so choose. Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook will cut pay for employees who relocate to less expensive areas. Remote work and location-based salaries aren’t a new phenomenon. Companies like GitLab already have location-based pay that is clearly defined on their website. They argue that location-based pay bands are the fairest way to evaluate employee qualifications and their cost of living. Remote work doesn’t mean living twelve hours away from the nearest office and never stepping foot in an office. There are different ways for companies to incorporate remote work.
Employees Will Go to the Office Less
Multiple remote work models differ from living in a different state than your company’s office. Even though we have heard of people fleeing high-cost areas such as New York and San Francisco, these are extreme cases. Most people will still live a commutable distance from their office. Instead of working 100%, most employees have stated they will go to the office once or twice a week. The wide acceptance of remote work will allow professionals to prioritize when they need to go to the office or when they can complete their work at home.
According to a CNBC poll, 46% of CEOs expect 50% of their employees to return to the office by the end of September if the Covid-19 pandemic doesn’t have another surge in cases. Tech companies like Google and Apple are slowly phasing workers back to their campuses, but have given employees til at least the end of the year to work remotely. If you know how to code an app and don’t need to be in the office to do so, there is no reason to go to the office. Forward-thinking companies are trusting their employees to do just that.
Tech Jobs Aren’t Going Away
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), tech jobs such as front end developers are on the rise and have a projected growth faster than other industries. Current growth is a result of entrepreneurs finding ways to innovate old industries. Century-old companies are adding technology to their products, and new companies are finding ways to reach customers with quick and easy to order products.
Covid-19 has driven customers to shop online, positioning companies with well-designed websites to excel over their competition with lackluster designs. Consumers aren’t apt to wait for pages to load or navigate through poorly designed web pages. UX/UI designers are responsible for designing appealing and easy to use websites to keep customers engaged long enough to complete their purchase. If you have an eye for a web page’s design or functionality, you can become a UX designer without a degree.
Non-tech Jobs Are Becoming Tech Jobs
Automation has been a fear of employees for decades as technologies continue to advance. Instead of eliminating jobs, automation makes some careers obsolete but is creating thousands of computer science careers. Call centers need fewer people to answer phones as companies develop artificial intelligence voices to meet their customer’s needs without talking to a single person. Data scientists are using data from phone calls and algorithms to improve the success rate of AI voice responders.
From retail to oil companies, all industries have a use for data scientists. They help companies analyze costs, customer habits, and employee efficiency. Their calculations help companies save money and focus on in-demand services that customers care about. If you’re constantly looking to make the process more efficient, this line of work might be for you.
You Can Have a Tech Career In A Few Months
Even with a location-based pay cut, tech workers earn higher than the average employee. Getting a job in tech is more accessible than you think. By attending a coding bootcamp, you can learn to be a data scientist or a UX designer. You can learn these skills in as little as three months at the right bootcamp. If you prefer a self-paced course, you can learn at your own speed. Many bootcamps are so confident you’ll land a high paying job that they defer payments until you get your first paycheck.