One of the easiest ways to feel stupid is to work in technology.
There is always someone who knows more than you.
Someone who can write better code. Someone who understands networks better. Someone who has been doing SEO for 15 years. Someone casually using a tool you’ve never heard of.
And just when you think you’re getting comfortable, the industry changes.
AI has been a great reminder of that.
But after years of working around technology and digital marketing, I’ve realised something:
You don’t need to know everything to build a good career in tech.
You need to become comfortable with learning.
I still Google things
There seems to be an assumption that experience eventually reaches a point where you stop looking things up.
It doesn’t.
I’ve worked with websites for years. I’ve built my career in SEO. Today, I manage SEO strategy and deal with problems that can range from technical issues to content, analytics and local search.
I still search for things.
I still read documentation.
I still encounter technical problems that make absolutely no sense at first.
The difference experience gives you isn’t knowing every answer.
It’s becoming better at finding one.
I’ve become a beginner again
I’m experiencing this firsthand because I’m currently learning cybersecurity and Python.
In SEO, I’m comfortable.
Put me in Search Console, Screaming Frog or an SEO strategy discussion, and I know my way around.
Then I open Python and suddenly I’m wondering why something isn’t working because I missed a colon.
Cybersecurity has been similar.
There are networks, protocols, Linux commands, security frameworks and terminology that I’m still learning.
It’s humbling.
It’s also refreshing.
Being a beginner again reminds you what learning actually feels like.
Your skills don’t exist in separate boxes
What I find particularly interesting is how much knowledge carries across disciplines.
My background with websites makes certain technical SEO concepts easier to understand.
SEO introduced me to HTTP status codes, servers, JavaScript and how search engines interact with websites.
Those ideas connect naturally with cybersecurity.
Data and automation make Python interesting for SEO.
Cybersecurity gives me another reason to understand Python.
AI touches almost everything.
Suddenly, subjects that looked separate begin connecting.
That’s why I don’t think careers in technology need to follow perfectly straight lines.
Sometimes the strange combination of things you’ve learned becomes your advantage.
Learn how to learn
When you’re starting out, it’s tempting to collect courses.
I’ve done plenty of them.
Courses are useful. Certifications can give you structure. YouTube tutorials, documentation and learning platforms can introduce concepts you’d struggle to discover alone.
But eventually you have to close the tutorial.
Build something.
Break something.
Try to fix it.
Get stuck.
Search for an answer.
Try again.
That’s where a lot of learning happens.
The goal isn’t to remember everything you’ve ever studied.
It’s to develop enough understanding that you know what questions to ask when you don’t know something.
Don’t let experts make you feel like you don’t belong
Spend enough time on LinkedIn or X and everyone seems incredibly accomplished.
People announce certifications, promotions, projects and new skills.
You don’t see the three hours they spent trying to solve something embarrassingly simple.
You see the finished result.
Comparing your learning process to someone else’s highlight reel is an easy way to convince yourself you’re behind.
There’s always going to be someone ahead of you.
Learn from them instead.
Knowing how to communicate matters too
Technical knowledge is important, but careers aren’t built entirely inside terminals and dashboards.
Some of the most useful skills I’ve developed have little to do with software.
Explaining complicated things simply.
Asking good questions.
Listening.
Writing clearly.
Teaching someone else.
Understanding why a business cares about a problem.
Admitting when I don’t know something.
You can be technically brilliant and still struggle if nobody understands what you’re trying to say.
AI makes this even more important
AI can now write code, explain technical concepts, analyse information and help us learn faster.
That’s incredible.
It can also create the illusion that understanding something is no longer necessary.
I think the opposite is true.
As tools become more powerful, judgement becomes more valuable.
You need enough understanding to recognise when an answer looks wrong.
You need to know what question to ask.
And you need curiosity to go beyond the first answer you’re given.
You are allowed to grow sideways
Maybe you’re studying IT but discover digital marketing.
Maybe you’re an SEO who becomes interested in data.
Maybe you’re a marketer who starts learning Python.
Maybe cybersecurity catches your attention halfway through your career.
Follow that curiosity.
Not everything you learn needs to result in a new job title.
Sometimes learning something simply makes you better at what you already do.
And sometimes it opens a door you didn’t know existed.
I’m still figuring out where this goes
I don’t know whether cybersecurity or Python will fundamentally change the direction of my career.
That’s not why I’m learning them.
I’m learning because I’m curious.
That’s pretty much how SEO started for me too.
Years ago, I wanted to understand what happened after we put a website online. One question led to another, and eventually those questions became a career.
So if you’re looking at the technology industry and feeling overwhelmed by everything you don’t know, remember this:
Nobody knows all of it.
Pick something.
Learn enough to ask better questions.
Build something.
Stay curious.
Then keep going.
You don’t need to know everything to build a career in tech.
You just can’t stop being willing to learn.
