Technology and Data

Have a look at the job profiles in this sector on Prospects and targetjobs to find out more about what these roles involve and how to get into them.

These are just some of the profiles available:

• Cyber security analyst
• Data analyst
• Data scientist
• Games developer
• IT consultant
• IT sales professional
• Machine learning engineer
• Network engineer
• Software engineer
• UX designer
• UX researcher
• Web designer

For more specific job titles and details about what they involve see:

• Hitmarker's complete list of gaming jobs
• Acumin's list of cyber security job titles
• Turing's list of Data Science job titles

Digital Skills Global give detailed insight into the top 10 skills tech companies are looking for:

• programming, web and app development
• digital business analysis
• digital design and data visualization
• digital project management
• digital product management
• digital marketing
• social media
• data science and data analytics
• decision making for leaders
• something they haven’t seen before

As well as technical ability, employers are interested in skills which make you effective in the workplace, such as:

• communication and presentation skills. For example, presenting information to non-technical colleagues or clients
• teamwork. Projects can require input from different specialists, or collaboration between colleagues to complete
• analytical and problem solving skills. Identifying risks and working around obstacles are an important part of many tech roles
• ability to learn and adapt. As technology changes and advances, you may need to retrain and learn new methods
• attention to detail. Small oversights can have a big impact on tech projects

Starting salaries for graduate jobs in this sector can vary depending on the position.

To get an idea of typical starting salaries use the following resources:

• our Discover your Earning Potential Pathway offers access to The Pay Index. This shows you how salaries vary across different roles, industries and locations
• job profiles, such as those listed on Prospects or targetjobs
• vacancy sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn

For information about how to negotiate a salary, visit Handling job offers.

• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed
• use LinkedIn’s Alumni tool to find out what Newcastle graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. See Newcastle Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on Getting inspiration from others [3:13]
• attend alumni events, such as Newcastle Develop, to hear directly from our graduates.
• sign up for mentoring support with Graduate Mentor and The 1 Hour Project. These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting
• attend recruitment events and employer and sector insights. Hear about graduate jobs, placement schemes, build your network and ask questions

Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.

Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process:

• RateMyPlacement - placement year reviews written by students.
• The Job Crowd – graduate job reviews
• Glassdoor – company reviews from employees

Read career guides for this sector, such as:

• Prospects
• targetjobs includes 10 typical jobs graduates can do in IT and what type of IT company and job is the best fit for me
• Bright Network

Use online magazines and journals to follow news from your industry. Reading about trends and developments is important for applications and interviews.

Examples include:

• Tech Nation provides analysis of the UK's digital technology sector
• Computer Weekly.com and Computing.co.uk for general insights
• GamesIndustry.biz, MCV and Games Radar for updates on the gaming industry
• Venturi's Voice podcasts for key insights and trends in the technology and data sector
• Security Journal for news and industry updates on cyber security

For North East technology and data sector insights, visit:

• Sunderland Software City, which posts regular insights about the tech sector
• Invest North East, which has information on the North East's digital and tech sector

Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry.

• Sunderland Software City run events where you can meet technology companies and recruiters
• Regular meetups across the region. Eg NE Tech and North East Data Scientists, both based in Newcastle
• Tech Diary lists tech events in the North East

See also our recruitment events and employer & sector insights.

Join IT-specific student societies. For example, the Computing & Technology Society (NUCATS) organises and promotes events such as hackathons. They sometimes invite guest speakers to talk about their careers.

Use social media to find industry insights

Join sector-specific groups on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. You can also find useful insights on careers on X and TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate.

Find out more about how to use social media for your career.

Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network

Professional bodies often:

• run networking events
• have specialist groups you could join
• post vacancies on behalf of their members
• have member directories, useful for speculative applications

Key organisations include:

• BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT – runs regular events, often free, on various topics. Also has a range of specialist groups, such as health, software engineering, security and a network for women working in IT
• Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)
• Council of European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS)
• International Games Developers Association
• ScreenSkills - industry skills body covers animation, games and visual effects

Finding professional bodies worldwide

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of professional bodies. Find them under ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each individual country guide.

Apply for advertised opportunities as early as possible.

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled.

If you miss any deadlines, don’t worry – there are still lots of ways to find work experience and graduate opportunities throughout the year.

Use our resources to get started:

• MyCareer- search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts 
• Internships, placements & shadowing- links to vacancy sites
• Global work experience- for internships or placements abroad

Search the following external sites for more opportunities:

• School of Computing Science: Placements and work experience blog
• Gradcracker– vacancies for STEM students
• Year in Industry (YINI)- UK industrial placement opportunities in technology, science and engineering
• IAESTE– work placements for engineering and science students. The UK is not a member, but it's still possible for students studying in non-member countries to apply
• Faculty Data Science & Data Engineering Fellowship- for STEM PhD, Master’s and post-doctoral researchers. There are three fellowships a year starting in January, May and September. After two weeks of intensive sessions you are paired with project companies for a paid six-week data science project
• Turing Internship Network – internship projects between businesses and AI/data science doctoral students

The Careers Service runs flexible term-time and summer internships with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage IT projects, such as programming, data analysis and web/app development.

Search for these under Vacancies on MyCareer. Type in ‘NCL internship’ into the text search box.

You can find these advertised throughout the academic year. Full-time summer opportunities are advertised from around March.

Access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:

• additional vacancy websites
• CV, application and interview advice
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

If you’re looking for inspiration, try searching our NU Work Experience Directory.

You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank.

For graduate schemes, apply as early as possible.

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled.

Graduate jobs tend to be immediate start positions which can be available all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies. See targetjobs: A graduate's guide to starting your IT career with a small employer.

Use our resources to get started:

• MyCareer - search for graduate schemes and graduate jobs in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
• Graduate Jobs – lists graduate vacancy sites

Search the external sites below for more opportunities

Sector wide vacancy sites

• Gradcracker - graduate vacancies for STEM students
• STEM Graduates
• CWjobs.co.uk
• IT Graduate Jobs
• Jobsite: IT
• Technojobs
• IT-Jobs.co.uk
• Joblift: IT – includes graduate jobs and internships
• NHS Jobs
• Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) – three-way partnerships involving a business, a graduate and an academic institution. Graduates work on research projects while gaining industrial experience with an employer. Projects are competitively paid, with funding for personal development, and typically last 1-3 years.
• Autism Works has opportunities in software testing for applicants with an Autism Spectrum Condition

Data science & analytics vacancy sites

• Gradcracker: Data science jobs
• DataScientistJobs
• DataCareer
• Datatech Analytics
• Techno Jobs: Data scientist jobs
• Turing Internship Network – projects between businesses and AI/data science doctoral students

Games development vacancy sites

• gamesindustry.biz - jobs board
• Amiqus - specialist games recruitment agency
• Datascope - games, online and mobile technology recruitment
• OPMjobs.com - games industry recruiter
• MCV Jobs - vacancies in the games industry
• Change-job - games and new media
• Hitmarker – games jobs in the UK and overseas, includes remote opportunities.

See International jobs for details of overseas vacancy sites.

Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:

• additional vacancy websites
• CV, application and interview advice
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

You might also be interested in GermanTechJobs.de – software developer jobs in Germany.

Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities:

1. Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in.
2. Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company.
3. Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated.
4. If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying!

You can use this approach at any point in the year. We recommend that you:

• start your research as early as possible to gather relevant contacts
• contact organisations around three months before you want the opportunity to begin

• find organisations on MyCareer. Select ‘search' then 'organisations’
• use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page
• search for companies on LinkedIn. The Find Alumni tool shows you where Newcastle graduates are currently working
• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed

Use the resources below to find organisations in the North East, UK and worldwide.

North East organisations

• Generator Union - represents and leads the North East digital cluster. Students can join their network to get the chance to attend events and meet employers and industry professionals. Has a members directory, which may be useful for speculative approaches
• The Catalyst has a member directory which include software and technology companies
• Baltic Quarter - cluster of tech and digital companies based in Gateshead. Includes game development companies
• NETPark (North East Technology Park) - based in County Durham, see company directory to find companies
• Dynamo North East - industry-led initiative focusing on growing the tech sector in the North East. Members include IT companies, large corporate companies, technology hubs and consultants
• Northern Tech 100 - league table of the North's fastest growing tech companies
• gamesdevmap - list of game development companies in Tyne and Wear. Includes Ubisoft Reflections and Nosebleed Interactive
• Sumo Digital and People can Fly also have studios in Newcastle

UK organisations

• targetjobs - search employers by sector, eg software engineering or technology
• Find companies on MyCareer - click ‘Search' then 'Organisations’ to find companies the Careers Service has worked with. Can filter by keyword, sector and region
• Newcastle University Game Technology Research Group: Alumni - list of gaming companies Newcastle graduates have gone on to work in
• targetjobs: Organisations - search by sector, eg software engineering or technology
• Tech UK - network of technology companies in the UK, see member directory to find companies
• LinkedIn Find Alumni tool – filter by location, area of work, degree studied and skills. See a list of companies which have hired Newcastle graduates. Scroll down to see the graduates’ profiles for inspiration
• Researching employers – includes ways to source and research companies
• Professional body websites sometimes include member directories, which are helpful for finding employers

Worldwide organisations

• gamedevmap - worldwide directory of game development companies
• search GoinGlobal's employer directory for company information in 196 countries. Their country guides list professional bodies around the world