Information technology has been an integral part of our daily lives as well as the driver of businesses. Businesses can’t operate in today’s world without the help of IT, and the core of IT lies within its infrastructure.
Many opportunities are waiting for you just about anything to do in IT line. Take a quick peek in popular job portals like JobStreet, LinkedIn, Career@Gov, etc. Chances are, there may be something that could pique your interest. Even in a COVID stricken economy, Information Technology will still emerge as one of the essential business services. This is a great opportunity for tech businesses to flourish as many traditional businesses are moving online or looking for ways to digitize their business.
IT specialization and career path
If you think being in IT line is almost about sitting in a call center and listening to users grumbling about their keyboard or mouse not working, think again. IT involves a lot of logical problem-solving and constantly upgrading oneself to in turn, upgrade the business IT capability
Sure, being a call agent to answer calls all day long and attending to user problems may be a good way to break into the IT industry, with some basic general IT knowledge, you could land yourself a job as an IT help desk call agent as long as you are willing to commit to work in long shifts or odd hours. There’s also the support from escalation engineers in case the issue grows out of your scope. However, you need to bear in mind that the longer you are in an entry-level role, it is going to do you disfavor in the long run if you are not improving and upgrading yourself.
When applying for a job, be sure to consider what career path and your next job would be after this. Is the current role going to compliment your next bigger and greater role? Does the role provides you with any development opportunity?
If you have been in IT support for many years (or even over a decade) and feel that you are very competent in your area of work and nothing is a challenge to you in your daily work, this could be a warning sign that you are lounging in your comfort zone. As age catches up to you, this could potentially put you in a disadvantage if suddenly you were to lose your job, for whatsoever reason.
Who would want to hire a general worker with only basic IT skill set but asking for higher than average salary expectation. It just shows the hiring manager that the candidate is not self-driven to improve himself.
There are tonnes of different IT specialization roles out in the market, and each has its career prospect and pros & cons. There’s IT systems infrastructure and security, applications, DevOps and automation, the Internet of Things and data analytics, etc., to name a few. Not to mention, there’s also niche specialization like IT business analyst, IT sales engineer, IT project manager, SEO, etc. Be sure to understand what the role is about and ask yourself if this is what you want to commit yourself into.
For younger readers, before deciding on which IT specialization you are pursuing in your studies, do yourself a favor and check out job portals to find out how is the job market like right now, what roles are high in demand, what roles suit your needs, what roles have good career prospect. The real learning starts only after you graduate.
Afterword
Ultimately, what you should be seeking is a career, not just a job. You need to decide for yourself what you want to be before other people decides that for you.
Disclaimer
The content provided here is for general information purpose only. I’m not a certified career advisor and this is solely base on my personal view, years of experiences and honest opinion.
0 Comments: