Seattle tech jobs demystified.

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You can get a job in tech. Yes, you.
Tech Jobs Demystified is a project to bring clarity to the actual skills required for various jobs in tech. We firmly believe that in 2021, there is a job in the technology ecosystem for nearly anyone as many skills from outside of tech are transferable. We believe that the industry will only benefit from amplifying diverse backgrounds and skill sets.

If you're interested in a job in tech, but don't know where to start, this is for you.

Tech job titles sound daunting, but most of the job requirements can be found in a wide variety of backgrounds.

Oh, and one thing before we continue: Every company calls itself a tech company these days. To narrow the field a bit, we’re focusing on companies where software is the product itself, or a key part of what makes the business run.

Made for you (with love) by the Pioneer Square Labs team

We’ve developed an overview of the most common teams that exist within technology companies. Within these teams we have highlighted roles that meet these criteria:

Based in software

We at PSL want to leverage our domain knowledge, so we’ll be focusing on businesses where software is the major component.

Transitional

We feel that the most opportunity for “breaking into” tech lies in roles that don’t require specialized technical training or an engineering education.

Ladder-minded

We explore career track jobs with opportunities for advancement and professional development, because the goal is to grow.

Common

Let’s increase our odds of success by highlighting common roles with at least 250 openings in the Seattle area.

Role breakdowns

Supporting

Customer service

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We’ve all interacted with customer support at some point, but the role can look very different depending on who the end customer is. Over the past few years, companies are increasingly viewing the role of customer support/customer success as a way to ensure future revenue, rather than just only a reaction to a problem with a product. That means that roles in customer support/success can often be a core part of a company’s strategy.

Supporting

Operations

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Operations is one of the hardest functions to define neatly. The most broad definition is that the operations teams support the roles of the sales or product teams. They are not themselves making the product or selling the product, but creating the systems that ensure those teams can work optimally. In this role breakdown we’ll differentiate between the more administrative operations (“business operations”) and the common role of operations in a startup, which involves filling the gaps in the product with manual processes, or handling the "real-world" components of the business.

Selling

Sales

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Sales teams get the product into the hands of customers. You can think of it as the “last mile delivery” of "go to market," after the groundwork laid by the marketing team. Sales teams are more common at companies that sell an expensive product. That is why you interact with salespeople at a car dealership but not a grocery store. In the context of technology companies, that typically means that the customer is a business (B2B) rather than an individual customer (B2C). These jobs are plentiful and often can use very transferrable skills developed in other industries.

More roles

Coming soon

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Be on the lookout for more role breakdowns coming soon. Have a role you would love explained? Send us an email at demystify@psl.com.

FAQ

How do tech companies make money?

What's the difference between working at a startup versus a large company?

How is software built?

What's the difference between B2B & B2C companies?

Careers at PSL

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Our portfolio companies are always hiring, please check us out at PSL.com/careers.