I landed a startup job without the necessary degree. Here’s how you can do it

Photo credit: Pixabay.

“Can you read my mind?” my aunt snickered.

“No, I can’t. Psychology is not mind reading,” I said, exasperated. This must have been the 10,000th time I was saying this to someone who asked about my psychology degree.

“But seriously, what can you do with a psychology degree? Counseling?” she continued.

“Yeah. Many of us do become psychologists or work for the government. But…I don’t want to be a psychologist,” I replied.

My aunt was puzzled. In her days, their degree determined their future job. If you took an accountancy degree, it meant that you had to be an accountant. If you took an engineering degree, it meant that you had to be an engineer.

So, taking a psychology degree and not wanting to be a psychologist is bordering on blasphemy. But I already knew. I wasn’t going to be a psychologist, at least not in the foreseeable future.

Instead, I wanted to be a marketer.

Even without the relevant degree?

A quick search on Reddit shows one popular question: How can I break into the marketing industry without any marketing credentials or degree?

The good thing about the marketing and startup industries is you don’t need any credentials. You don’t need permission. Even without a business-related degree, you can still make your way working for a startup.

And I did.

In my first job, I helped launch AiraWear, the world’s first smart massaging jacket on Kickstarter. Now, I am a content marketing manager at ReferralCandy, a referral marketing tool, and CandyBar, a digital loyalty card.

So, if you want to work in marketing for a startup without a business degree, read on.

Discovering skills through job descriptions

In a 2015 blog post, Eli Overbey of HelpScout wrote about one of his most startling realizations in digital marketing. He thought he was an expert in SEO. He had watched all of Moz’s Whiteboard Fridays, followed all of the top thought leaders in SEO, read every blog post, and even started to give advice on Inbound.org.

Acting on what you learned

Documenting your journey and building your personal brand

Paying to play

Sending ideas to startups

Don’t let your lack of credentials hold you back