You can work at one of the country’s top tech companies — even if you can’t code
Looking for a new job can be such an overwhelming feat that we might accept the first offer we receive. But it pays, quite literally, to be a little more discerning when choosing the companies we work for. LinkedIn researchers narrowed down the top 50 companies to work for in the U.S. based on LinkedIn users’ posting and applying activity, and you’ve definitely applied — or thought about applying — to at least one of the top ten:
1. Alphabet
2. Facebook
3. Amazon
4. Salesforce
5. Deloitte
6. Uber
7. Apple
8. Airbnb
9. Oracle
“Top company” can mean a lot of things, but researchers found many of these organizations have one important element in common: they prioritize employees’ overall quality of life outside of the office, over simply offering office perks (though many of them do offer pretty great office perks). What that looks like, for example, is how Disney (#17) covers tuition for full- and part-time employees; and how Lyft (#19) covers the cost of therapy for employees and their families.
Now, what good is the idea of a top company if you can’t apply? Sure, the higher profile the corporation, the stiffer the competition, but the larger the company, the more momentum they have to expand. “Some are growing especially quickly, such as The We Company (WeWork) and Snowflake Computing. That’s creating huge opportunity for jobseekers,” said Laura Lorenzetti, senior editor at LinkedIn.
It’s no surprise that major tech corporations dominate the list. According to Lorenzetti, they provide opportunities for jobseekers to “gain valuable experience, tackle tough business problems, and earn a solid living.” Working at some of these companies also makes professionals more in-demand when seeking new opportunities.
If you’re not much of a software developer or aren’t fluent in C++, you’re not out of the running just yet. “Some of the top job functions among our top companies include sales, operations and business development. In fact, not every job even requires a four-year college degree,” said Lorenzetti. She notes that several of the 4,000 open positions at Salesforce, for example, do not require a college degree, including the roles of senior marketing specialist or senior lead content writer. Other jobs at top companies that don’t require a college degree include editor at Apple News, and kids and family content programming manager at Spotify.
Take it from one of the most powerful tech icons working today — a college degree isn’t nearly as important as your ability to learn quickly and integrate yourself into the company culture. “Even at Apple, CEO Tim Cook said in March during a White House visit, ‘About half of our U.S. employment last year were people that did not have a four-year degree.’ We see this trend starting to extend across more and more companies,” said Lorenzetti.
