Whether you hold a valuable degree in technology or you’re looking to transition from an entirely different field, building a new career can be difficult, especially if you don’t know where to start. Of course building a career in any industry takes time, hard work and dedication to the industry you work in and there is no shortcut to getting your dream career. However, there are a few things that you can do that will help you build a career within the information technology sector.Read on to find out our 5 top tips on how to build a career in the IT industry.
Do your research! This is so important to determine what type of work you want to do in the IT industry. A lot of people who don’t fully understand what information technology is think an IT job consists of an endless amount of troubleshooting and furiously typing away at a keyboard. Thankfully, IT jobs require a lot more skills than that and figuring out what kind of work you want to do is the first step to building your career in the IT industry. Do your research on programming languages, what roles exist within the industry, salary projections, and what credentials you’ll need. This will really help you zone in on what you want to be doing and will act as a roadmap to your new career.
Becoming qualified in the IT field will be very beneficial for you, with a course like KAL Training’s Certificate III in Information, Digital Media and Technology. You will learn a wide-range of information technology disciplines as the course will cover areas such as digital design skills, image handling, writing for the web and simple HTML coding, giving you a broad skill base and making you highly employable in a number of IT fields. These fields include technical support, web design and front-end website support and maintenance. A prospective employer is going to look at someone with a qualificationmore closely over someone without. This is because a qualification gives you credibility with employers, clients and colleagues. Bottom line, get qualified!
A great internship is often the start of a great professional career. To get your foot in the door with the best organisations in IT, you usually need an internship with a reputable company by your side. An internship will allow you to practice and expand on your skills that you will need to have to work in the IT industry.
Internships are great for their practical experience and also for the networking opportunities you will have. You will have the chance to make lifelongcontacts when you’re an intern, even if you’re a total newbie paying your dues at a small local IT business. Another thing to note is don’t knock back a great opportunity because you don’t think the company is well-known or don’t think it will get you anywhere in the long run. Experience is experience. If you follow instructions and show initiative throughout your internship, your employer will have no problem with writing you a stellarreference letter for when you begin your job search. You never know, they might be so impressed with your work ethic and may hire you on after your internship is completed!
Do not be ashamed of self-promotion, it’s a great way to get ahead of your competition and stand out from the crowd. Creating your own website, without the help of automated website building tools, can really give you the upper hand on the competition when going through the job application process. Even if you’re looking for work outside of web development, consider building your own homepage. If you didn’t already know this, prospective employers will be Googling you (shocker) and if the first thing they see of you is a webpage that you built yourself, they’ll be much more impressed. Using your HTML and JavaScript knowledge,show off your tech prowess and create a unique bio for yourself. By doing so, you’re displaying your IT skills and giving potential employers an insight into who you are, all in one.
IT industries events are filled with plenty of successful individualswho were in your shoes a few short years ago. Many of these successful IT professionals are ready and willing to give you advice and mentorship services, and can be yourprofessional fairy godmother if you play your cards right. Go out and make a name for yourself. As Steve Martin would say, “be so good they can’t ignore you.”
If you’re passionate about the IT and tech field and have been wanting to change jobs or build a new career, KAL Training can assist you in achieving your professional goals. Call us on 1800-244-438 today and makean appointment with one of KAL Training’s experts to discuss your options. Anything is possible with KAL Training!