Information technology is appealing to many job seekers as a career field because the area is growing, offering plenty of job stability. If you are thinking about picking an IT-related career, there are a few things to know to help you decide which specific type of role would be right for you.
1. Prepare to Learn How to Code
While there are many career paths under the umbrella of IT work, one thing they have in common is that they require you to know how to code. To learn this, you’ll need to spend time practicing your skills. Even knowing coding at the basic level probably isn’t enough to land you a position. Often, job interviews at large firms are designed to test your skills, and if you don’t know coding, you may not pass their evaluation. It does take a few years to learn the different languages to land a job that uses coding.
If you don’t want to put this time into learning the skill, you can focus on administrative jobs, since the skills for these are more on the communication side of things. Whether it’s online courses, books, or classes at your local community college, there are plenty of ways to learn the intricacies of coding. Classes and courses can be expensive, especially because of the amount of time you can expect to devote to coding. One option is to use a personal loan to invest in this portion of your career, so you don’t have to chip away at your savings. Getting a personal loan is an excellent way to fund your goals, and you can examine a guide with everything you ought to know.
2. Consider Shadowing a Professional
Shadowing a professional and exploring different paths in IT support careers or in a related field you are interested in can help you learn more about that specific role. You might be able to follow them around or sit in on a typical workday to see what the day-to-day responsibilities of their job are. You can talk to current IT professionals about their career path, their responsibilities, and how they got where they are today by doing informational interviews.
3. Understand Remote and In-Person Work
It’s common for tech workers to work from home much of the time. Software testers and developers, as well as web designers, often work remotely. One of the benefits of not needing to work in an office is that you don’t have to spend as much time getting to and from work. This can give employees a greater level of freedom in how they spend their time outside of work. This can lead to higher job satisfaction and a lower chance of burnout. Still, before you rule out working in the office, know there are some drawbacks to working remotely, of course. When all the employees are in their own home offices, they may not be able to work as cohesively as a team. Remote workers are more often overlooked for promotions than those who work in person.
4. Take an Internship
Internships are a fantastic way for you to gain experience in the industry to see if this is the right career for you. Students in graduate or undergraduate programs may be able to get academic credit after their internship. Depending on the program, it might be necessary to obtain an internship to graduate. These opportunities can help you be more professional, apply your skillset, and decide if this is a good fit.
5. Learn About Employment vs. Self-Employment
There is a myriad of opportunities for both self-employment and traditional employment in the tech industry. As you will be the one finding clients, you will need to be a good self-manager and marketer to be self-employed. On the other hand, being an employee means you will need to thrive on a team. Of course, the route you go may depend partly on the opportunities available when you are ready to start working, but it’s still a good idea to have a general idea of where you want to go. If it’s independence, flexibility, and the potential for a high income you’re looking for, self-employment may be for you. However, if you prefer more stability and lower risks, you may want to be an employee.