No Prior Experience in Tech? How You Can Still Enter.

Starting Without Experience Is Common

Many people entering tech careers today didn’t start with a technical background. At StartSteps, we work with learners from retail, education, administration, logistics, finance, healthcare, and other fields. Your starting point doesn’t define where you can go.

What matters is motivation and willingness to learn.

Transferable Skills Matter More Than You Think

Skills you’ve already developed through work and life apply directly to tech roles.

Communication skills matter—explaining ideas clearly, writing documentation, and working with stakeholders are daily requirements in tech. Organization is valuable because managing projects, tracking details, and maintaining systems are core to many digital roles. Problem-solving experience translates directly when troubleshooting issues, finding workarounds, and improving processes. And collaboration skills—working across teams, managing relationships, and coordinating with others—are essential in any tech environment.

Someone with retail experience may thrive in customer-facing tech roles. A former office manager might excel in operations or coordination positions. These skills don’t disappear when you change careers—they become part of your strength.

Tech Isn’t Just Coding

Many people assume tech means writing code all day. The reality is different.

Tech teams need people who maintain and configure business systems, translate between business needs and technical solutions, support users and customers, manage data and operations, and document processes and train others.

These roles value communication, structure, and problem-solving as much as technical knowledge—sometimes more.

Roles You Can Enter Without a Technical Background

At StartSteps, we train people for roles that don’t require prior tech experience. The SAP Finance Consultant program prepares you to work with business systems in finance, logistics, and operations. The SAP EWM program focuses on warehouse management systems used across supply chain operations. The ServiceNow Administrator program teaches you to configure and manage IT service platforms. And the Cloud & Data Engineer program trains you to build and maintain data infrastructure with AWS and Databricks.

Each program teaches you the technical skills from scratch. Your job is to show up ready to learn.

Long-Term Growth Potential

One reason tech appeals to career changers is the long-term trajectory. Across digital roles—not just software engineering—salaries tend to grow steadily over time.

As you gain experience, you can specialize in specific technologies or industries, move into leadership or project management, or shift to different teams or responsibilities within the same company.

Internal mobility is common in tech. Your first role is a starting point, not a ceiling.

How StartSteps Programs Work

Our programs are five months, full-time, and taught in English. They include technical training, soft skills development, and career coaching and placement support. Our programs are also 100% funded through a Bildungsgutschein from the Agentur für Arbeit or Jobcenter.

Next Steps

If you’re considering a tech career but don’t have prior experience, visit startsteps.org to learn more about our programs and book a free consultation. We can help you figure out which path fits your background.