Our young people are bombarded every day with the message that “they HAVE to learn to code!”

It’s a good message. Not a completely accurate one, but not a wrong one either. I firmly believe that a basic understanding of coding is important for anyone in our technology driven world. Whether you learn to actually code or just learn what the terminology is, you are much better off than someone who learns nothing. I taught myself to code – Thank you Code Academy and GirlDevelopIt Philly! – in my 40’s. I got tired of having to rely on someone else to fix my website or figure out how to structure an email template, so I learned the basics of HTML and CSS. Am I a developer? Far from it! But I know enough to fix my own website and to hold an intelligent conversation with developers. That second skill has been invaluable when working with my clients. Being able to “translate” a client’s needs to a developer or vice versa has been a huge help in keeping projects moving smoothly.

But the reality is – there is so much more to working in tech than coding.

I consider myself a Woman in Tech even though I do not spend every day coding. As a social media consultant, everything I do is tied to some form of technology. Whether it is playing with the newest social media app, finding the right platform to amplify my client’s message or analyzing the analytics to write reports on the results, everything I do is related to technology. Yet, there are way too many people, especially young girls, who have not been educated to see that what I do is “work in tech”. Their vision is that someone only works in tech if they code. In alignment with their mission to equalize the gender balance in tech, TechGirlz is launching a new campaign to change that perception.

Welcome to…. there’s more to tech than coding!

Check out this awesome infographic that shows just a small sample of careers in tech that are not about coding:

Now it’s your turn – How many other careers can you name that are “in tech” but don’t involve coding?