AKA: The next big thing!
The job: With the speedy pace of technological change, opportunities to innovate and come up with the next tech startup success story are endless. Being equipped with relevant STEM skills like coding and maths will provide a great foundation alongside the creativity, imagination and drive needed to launch a tech startup.
Starting salary: Unknown/notoriously low – entrepreneurs often need to look for investors to help launch their career, however they can be quite successful through businesses such as Atlassian and Facebook. Crowdsourcing sites like Kickstarter are another option, or programs such as RMIT’s Activator.
Secondary school: Diverse skills are a big plus for any aspiring entrepreneurs. Stick with STEM subjects and particularly computer science electives – but top-notch communication skills will also come in handy when selling an idea to investors and the public, so that should be kept in mind when choosing subjects.
Uni degrees: Optional! A software engineering-related degree may be useful, or something completely different – aspiring entrepreneurs should follow their passion. Steve Jobs famously dropped out of college, but continued to attend courses as an unofficial student before he started Apple.
VET pathways: There are plenty of useful VET courses available for aspiring tech entrepreneurs to up-skill where necessary, everything from coding and programming to business and management courses could be valuable.