Technology Careers

Imagine developing artificial intelligence that streamlines healthcare or an algorithm that makes pizza delivery more efficient. You can be the one writing the code; the one researching how people will use it; the one deciding how to make it safer; or the one dreaming about the next big thing. If you are interested in tech—or just curious about the possibilities—CXD can help you identify roles in which you can thrive.

With their strong communication, analytical, and critical thinking skills—not to mention adaptability and grit—Bowdoin students thrive in the tech sector, and not in small part because they excel at identifying and solve problems. Bowdoin graduates seek technical and nontechnical roles: software development, project management, user experience, trust and safety, data science, sales and marketing, recruiting, and the list goes on. Our alumni work in well-known companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Pinterest, Airbnb, Amazon, Okta, Salesforce, and more. They’re also entrepreneurs who establish and work for smaller companies and startups. Bowdoin students benefit from the knowledge, expertise, and generosity of the Bowdoin network in learning about and succeeding in landing jobs in the companies and roles that interest them.

Sample Career Paths

A tech company is like any company in regards to the roles that make it run. Sales, marketing, finance, human resources, operations, development, legal, and facilities all provide opportunities to work in and contribute to a tech company. Explore how companies are structured and the terms they use to describe various positions to understand the full picture of exiting opportunities in the tech industry.

Software Development and Engineering: If you are interested in creating, maintaining, or improving the technical products that organizations use and sell, then software development or engineering might be for you. Building software products requires strong critical thinking skills, a certain fondness for logic puzzles, an iron-will when it comes to roadblocks, and a desire to collaborate to find the answer.

Sales: If you have an enterprising personality and like working with people to find solutions to their problems, sales might be for you. Sales associates help customers and clients understand their needs and propose technical solutions to make their organization work better. Sales people rely on strong communication and relationship skills to be successful.

Customer Success, Engagement, and Support: If you like helping people get the most of an experience, customer success, engagement, and support might be for you. People who work in this field engage with current clients and customers to help them get the most of the product or service. Customer success, engagement, and support is a great way to learn a product and is a great entry point to other roles in the company.

User Experience and Design: If you like to think about how someone will engage with a product, user experience and design might be for you. UX (user experience), UI (user interaction), and UR (user research) all comprise roles that research, design, and curate the experience of using a product. In some organizations, these roles are rolled up into one role whereas other organizations have specialized roles.

Project, Product, and Program Management: If you like to see things get done, project or program management might be for you. Project Managers focus on specific deliverables, Product Managers work on a particular product area, and Program Managers focus on bringing to fruition a strategic goal in an organization. While many program or project managers start out in engineering, sales, or customer success, more and more companies are offering internships and Associate Product Manager (APM) programs as an entry point into the field.

Meet Alumni

Meet the Willners: two alumni who met at Bowdoin and majored in English and Anthropology, now working in senior roles at Pinterest and Airbnb.