Want to Work at LinkedIn? Here Are the Degrees You’ll Need

You might already be using LinkedIn to search for jobs or build a professional network, but have you ever wondered what it’s like to work at the company?

LinkedIn’s corporate culture is based on five pillars: transformation, integrity, collaboration, humor, and results. The company lives and breathes its culture and values through a social impact team that partners with nonprofit organizations to offer coaching and mentoring for job seekers facing barriers. LinkedIn also has InDays—one day each month for employees to invest in something that inspires them. Depending on the theme for the month, employees can volunteer for a special cause, celebrate their cultures, show off their talents, or even bring their parents to work.

It all seems fun, exciting, and inspiring—but how do you get a job at LinkedIn? We’ve got you covered with a preview of the company’s profile and the degrees you’ll need to land a job, as well as other ways to connect with and be part of LinkedIn’s network.

A brief view of LinkedIn’s profile

LinkedIn started out in co-founder Reid Hoffman’s living room in 2002 and officially launched in 2003 as a social media network for professionals. Since then, the organization has expanded its services, adding platforms for recruitment, marketing, sales, and learning. LinkedIn currently has over 645 million users in more than 200 countries and territories across the globe.

The company was acquired by Microsoft in 2016, and its revenue increased $371 million (25 percent) in 2019. LinkedIn has more than 15,000 employees around the world, including in its headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, and offices in Chicago, Detroit, New York, Amsterdam, Bangalore, Dubai, Paris, Sydney, and Tokyo, among other locations.

Inside the LinkedIn network

LinkedIn employees are part of teams in the areas of engineering and operations, sales, marketing and communications, product, talent, legal, and finance. Based on data from Indeed, they’re paid well, especially for senior positions and tech roles, just like employees at Amazon, Google, and Spotify.

Here are some of the highest-paid positions at LinkedIn, listed according to average base pay:

• Senior software engineer: $173,020
• Business operations manager: $160,892
• Technical program manager: $160,058
• Senior data scientist: $154,801
• Product manager: $154,535
• Software engineer: $151,092
• Business associate: $134,000
• User experience designer: $127,823
• Operations associate: $122,451
• Customer insights analyst: $121,695

Aside from decent pay, LinkedIn also offers amazing benefits and perks to make working at the organization even better. These include medical insurance, adoption assistance, educational reimbursement, an employee recognition program, and a perks allowance for use on wellness, pet care, or child care. It’s no wonder then that LinkedIn ranks in the top 10 on both the Glassdoor’s list of best places to work and the top-paying companies to work for in 2019.

Want to connect with LinkedIn? Here are the degrees you’ll need.

Exploring the LinkedIn Careers site uncovers hundreds of job listings for tech-related roles, but positions are also available in finance as well as marketing and communications.

Engineering and operations.

When it comes to engineering and operations, LinkedIn has numerous listings for software engineers, network engineers, security engineers, cryptography engineers, site reliability engineers, and systems and infrastructure engineers. As part of the team, you’ll build new products and improve on existing ones, monitor and ensure the health of complex systems, and scale performance and reliability for various applications and tools.

Earning a degree in computer science, information systems, or information technology will help you land the job, while a master’s degree or PhD in computer science or a related field is preferred for engineers working with AI, machine learning, and big data.

The company even has open positions for engineering linguists whose responsibilities include identifying systematic relationships between concepts such as job titles, skills, and certificates; researching, classifying, and annotating the phrases, terms, and data in messy, user-generated data; and evaluating the output of machine learning classifiers and internal tools.

A degree in linguistics, library and information science, philosophy, psychology, math, or a related discipline is required for the role.

Finance.

In the field of finance, LinkedIn has positions available for accountants and finance managers. These roles are responsible for financial accounting and forecasting, analyzing financial reports, and monitoring the financial performance of the company. A degree in accounting or finance will help you succeed in the job.

Marketing and communications.

In the marketing and communications arena, LinkedIn is looking for product marketing managers, partner marketing managers, communications managers, marketing technology managers, and marketing analytics managers. These roles entail developing best practices for marketing systems, building relationships with partners, creating marketing strategies, and analyzing marketing data.

To succeed in the job, you’ll need an MBA or a degree in marketing.

Other ways to connect: Internships, apprenticeships, and entry-level opportunities at LinkedIn

For students, internships are available for technical, business, and creative roles. Interns are assigned a manager and a mentor who will provide feedback and coaching. Other perks include relocation benefits, paid company holidays, and professional development activities like workshops and courses.

Meanwhile, a way in for recent graduates is through entry-level positions. Programs are available to develop entry-level talent into associate product managers, strategy and analytics experts, and business leaders.

LinkedIn also offers apprenticeship programs for those interested in starting a career in recruiting, as well as those considering an engineering position but don’t have a tech background.

Use LinkedIn to get a job at LinkedIn

It might be an obvious tip, but building a strong profile on LinkedIn could land you the job of your dreams at the company. In a previous interview, Tey Scott, LinkedIn’s former head of global talent acquisition, noted that applicants must have a complete profile, with recruiters wanting to see a photo (make sure it’s professional), education, job history, and a robust network of connections.

“Building your network is really important,” Scott said. “And follow people whose networks you can leverage to find a connection at a company. You know who is willing and able to help you in your network. By reaching out to different people, you’re leveraging social media at its best.”

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