Today’s emerging IT industry is popular for its diverse job opportunities, high wages, and, most importantly, work-life balance. It offers consistent openings and high scope for both experienced and beginners, so they can boost their careers in the field. For this reason, currently, we have a very strong and thriving IT base worldwide.
Despite the never-ending benefits, the IT field is so diverse that candidates often get confused about which profession fits best for them. Programmer, engineer, or data scientist, which career to choose? If you’re thinking the same, then here’s a quick guide to help you out:
Examine Your Interest and Skills
This may take a while, but you must evaluate your personality, skills, and field of interest before considering any profession. Career interests reflect your job performance and growth. If you don’t consider your interest/skills before choosing your IT profession, you may end up in a field that takes you nowhere. In fact, you may feel stuck and unsatisfied. So, always examine yourself and find the job role that initiates a spark in you.
If you’re into data security and breaching fixes, a career in cybersecurity would be best for you. Similarly, you can be a software developer if you’re interested in programming or software building. You can also try your career in IT support if you like to assist end users with their common technology problems.
Check Education and Training
Both education and training play a critical role in deciding your profession in the IT field. With relevant qualifications, you may take the lead and try opportunities in a similar field. If you have studied a bachelor’s in science, mathematics, or statistics, for example, you may try your career in data analysis.
Similarly, if you have a bachelor’s in IT, computer science, or a related field, you may try your luck in network administration. Also, if you’re interested in applications/websites and have a graphic design degree, you can be a UX/UI designer.
So your education decides a lot about your profession. It also boosts your shortlisting opportunities among employers, as most of them look for candidates with subject-related qualifications.
Look for Job Demands
If your educational qualification ensures many possible employment opportunities, choose a role that is high in demand among employers. However, you must also look for its long-term scope and opportunities. Some of the IT roles that are currently in demand include web developers, computer system analysts, database administrators, and more. In fact, employment in computer and IT occupations is projected to grow by 15% within 2031.
Another popular job role in the IT industry is a network administrator. As a network administrator, you’ll be responsible for installing, monitoring, and troubleshooting a company’s network infrastructure. You’ll also be responsible for handling the online privacy of the organization by using technologies like firewalls, antivirus softwares, or a dedicated IP for extra VPN usability. Additionally, some other demanding IT job roles are computer research scientists, java/python developers, DevOps engineers, and more.
Think About Long-Term Goals
The IT industry is constantly evolving and growing, that’s why you must consider long-term goals when deciding on an IT profession. We recommend you take a minute and evaluate where you want to see yourself in 10-20 years. Depending on your aim, assess the long-term opportunities of common IT job roles. Make sure to choose the one that gives you maximum growth in the future.
Although the growth may vary as per industry trends, some common IT domains with long-term goals include Artificial Intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, data science, and analytics, etc.
Take Self-assessment Quizzes and Attend Summits
Self-assessment quizzes and tests are effective ways to identify the appropriate profession in the IT industry. They can help you identify strengths/weaknesses and explore common interests that align with your personal values. Additionally, it can help you know about your personality type and the profession that fits you. You can take any online self-assessment quiz (paid or free) for a quick personality review.
Alternatively, you can attend popular summits, conferences, and fairs to learn about IT job scopes. There are many reasons to attend TechTarget ROI Summit, like in-depth subject knowledge, the latest research, and an opportunity to connect with market peers. So, don’t miss out!
Get Professional Advice
If nothing works out and you’re still clueless, try taking professional advice from a career counselor. As they’re well experienced in career development, they can give your better insights into the job markets and opportunities. You can also clear out any possible doubts and get additional assistance for other activities like resume and cover letter creation.
