IT Career Development - An Introduction into the Industry
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The document provides a comprehensive overview of starting a career in the IT industry, highlighting its rapid growth and diverse career paths including software development, sales, education, and consulting. It discusses the essential skills and attributes needed to succeed, such as adaptability, perseverance, and continuous learning, while also addressing common questions about career choices and prospects. The document outlines various job opportunities and salary ranges within the industry, emphasizing the importance of passion and determination in achieving success.
IT Career Development - An Introduction into the Industry
- 1. FUNDAMENTALS OF STARTING AN IT CAREER: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW By Adekunle Lawal
- 2. OUTLINE GENERAL OVERVIEW CAREER PATHS INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITIES INDUSTRY ATTRIBUTES IDENTIFYING/CHOOSING A CAREER PATH BUILDING THE DESIRED CAREER RECAP
- 4. GENERAL OVERVIEW The demand for IT professionals has risen over the past 15 years One of the fastest growing industries and occupations is the IT industry and IT related jobs The most sought after jobs n the IT industry are connected to Data Communication, Information System Development and Security Information Systems has become a standard to maintain, manage and drive businesses while these systems allows communication within an organsiation and with an external organisation through a secured channel
- 5. GENERAL OVERVIEW While Information System Development has shown more prospects than any, small, medium and large enterprises are now embracing the integration of using Info systems to drive their businesses Other areas are beginning to evolve with very bright and promising future as they relate with information generation, storage and re-use Multiple questions have been generated and still unanswered. Question such as: How do I start a career in IT? What are the skills I need to acquire? Which aspect is most promising? Which aspect provides more opportunities? What if I fail?
- 6. CAREER PATHS
- 7. CAREER PATH The IT industry is one of the largest industry in the world and it has created millions of jobs worldwide. Generally, career and job opportunities in the IT industry can be classified based on the following: General Business Service and Repair Sales Software Development Education and Training Consultancy
- 8. Almost, if not every business no matter how small they are, tend to use of form of application or the other in their respective businesses to prepare files and documents. Some employees use some specific IT application to perform specific tasks. Some organisations have an IT department that work to meet information requirement of the organisation which also provides jobs that are classified into 6 main areas: Management System Development Technical Services Operations Training Security CAREER PATH – General Business
- 9. It provides services such as maintenance, installation and repairs of IT gadget and its components Service and repair jobs title include: Service Technician Repair Technician Computer Technician. As a computer technician, part of his job is to install, maintain and repair hardware, install upgrades as well as configure software while he does the troubleshooting at the same time. Today, the approach is different as the available technologies allow the diagnose and repair of software associated problems from a remote location which makes it very flexible. CAREER PATH – Service and Repair
- 10. These are people that sell computers and accessories often referred to as computer sales people. Their main job is to determine client’s need and match it with a correct combination of both hardware and software. They are usually paid based on number of products sold. While some salespeople work directly for computer equipment and manufacturing companies such as Lenovo, Dell and HP, others prefer to work for resellers thereby making their roles and jobs more flexible as they can work for more than one reseller at a particular point in time. CAREER PATH – Sales
- 11. These are people that sell computers and accessories often referred to as computer sales people. Their main job is to determine client’s need and match it with a correct combination of both hardware and software. They are usually paid based on number of products sold. While some salespeople work directly for computer equipment and manufacturing companies such as Lenovo, Dell and HP, others prefer to work for resellers thereby making their roles and jobs more flexible as they can work for more than one reseller at a particular point in time. CAREER PATH – Sales
- 12. So many companies develop software that are targeted towards different industries helping them automate their respective business processes. Some software companies particularly specialize in developing a particular type of software to increase and improve efficiency as well as performance. Efficiency and performance in the areas of operations, financial transactions, decision support, knowledge base and automated processes depending on the company s priority. CAREER PATH – Software Development
- 13. One of the most relevant areas of the IT industry is the area of education and training as companies now see the need to invest in their employees in form of corporate trainings to further boost their knowledge and understanding of organisation goals in order to get the best out of them. Another vital area is where corporate trainers teach company employees on how to use a particular type of software. In recent times, help desk has been developed to handle hardware and software problem users might encounter CAREER PATH – Education and Training
- 14. IT consultancy is one that is fast gaining recognition as the only sub-industry that allows professionals to give back to the industry based on their demonstrated expertise coupled with experience that has been gathered over the years as a form of service. Some come cheap while others come very expensive depending on the area of the industry been focused on. An IT consultant is usually hired by an organisation based on his experience and expertise. Trend over the years has shown that IT consultants are the most sought after category of professional in the industry. CAREER PATH – IT Consulting
- 15. In cases where big organisations are involved, they hire a team of consultants. One of the reasons why IT consultants are hired is because they possess very strong technical skills coupled with a very high level of communication as this is seen as great value to the organisation and the industry. IT consultants are in high demand worldwide especially for tasks such as web and mobile app development, hardware and software configuration, network design and installation as well as information system design. CAREER PATH – IT Consulting
- 17. The IT industry is one that has a wide range of opportunities for professionals who are willing to take advantage of it. Here is a list JOB AREA JOB TITLES ANNUAL SALARY RANGE ($) Management Chief Information Officer 140,000 to 310,000 Chief Technology Officer 140,000 to 310,000 E-Commerce Director 93,000 to 195,000 Network Administrator 43,000 to 162,000 Project Manager 57,000 to 125,000 Project Lead 57,000 to 125,000 System Development and Computer Games Designer 51,000 to 113,000 Programing Database Analyst 37,000 to 137,000 Desktop Application Developer 46,000 to 127,000 Mobile Application Developer 46,000 to 127,000 INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITY
- 18. JOB AREA JOB TITLES ANNUAL SALARY RANGE ($) Mobile Application Developer 46,000 to 127,000 Software Engineer 49,000 to 135,000 System Analyst 46,000 to 125,000 System Programmer 53,000 to 126,000 Technical Lead 61,000 to 135,000 Technical Writer 39,000 to 100,000 Web Software Developer 53,000 to 105,000 Technical Services Computer Technician 37,000 to 75,000 Database Administrator 67,000 to 113,000 Desktop Publisher 33,000 to 65,000 INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITY
- 19. JOB AREA JOB TITLES ANNUAL SALARY RANGE ($) Digital Forensic Examiner 54,000 to 130,000 Graphic Designer 39,000 to 77,000 Quality Assurance Specialist 49,000 to 109,000 Storage Administrator 65,000 to 91,000 Web Designer 55,000 to 115,000 Web Master/Administrator 50,000 to 95,000 Operations Computer Operator 30,000 to 64,000 Data Communication Analyst 43,000 to 16,000 VoIP Specialist 43,000 to 116,000 INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITY
- 20. JOB AREA JOB TITLES ANNUAL SALARY RANGE ($) Training IT Instructor 38,000 to 173,000 Corporate Trainer 48,000 to 86,000 Help Desk Specialist 39,000 to 60,000 Security Chief Security officer 113,000 to 225,000 Computer Security Specialist 51,000 to 120,000 Mobile Security Specialist 51,000 to 120,000 Network Security Administrator 55,000 to 133,000 Security Administrator 54,000 to 123,000 INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITY
- 22. 1. Open To Learn New Things Be willingness to learn new things when ever the opportunity presents itself. Irrespective of the level you find yourself, always be open to learn new things. This might include learning how to use a new software, or learning another programming language. The industry is one that evolves from time to time and so the things you know today might not be relevant in the next 3 years. You need to keep updating yourself to keep up with the pace of the industry. INDUSTRY ATTRIBUTES 10 Attributes You Need To Have
- 23. 2. Ability To Think Deep The ability to perform critical thinking and evaluation is very important. The industry itself is full of uncertainties which will warrant you to propose solutions from time to time to correct some uncertainties. Your proposed solution would directly affect people’s life once implemented No excuse for wrong assumptions or calculation or further base ones decisions on assumptions that are not real. Constant critical thinking and evaluation helps the individual to develop problem solving skills which would be needed in future. INDUSTRY ATTRIBUTES 10 Attributes You Need To Have
- 24. 3. Passion In everything you do, if there is no passion for it, its just a waste of time. Part of the reason why IT professionals have been successful in the industry is because of the strong passion they have for doing what they do. Passion is what would motivate you to keep going when it seems your career is all over when it has not actually started. Passion is what will always push you to try again when you fail in doing something right so many times. You need Passion!!!!!!!!!!!! INDUSTRY ATTRIBUTES 10 Attributes You Need To Have
- 25. 4. Consistency This does not only apply to IT career building, it applies to almost everything. Consistency in this case means having a steady pattern in which you do your things. When I started building my career, I started with web development but then I had to be consistent with development in order for me to get used to the working environment, software, syntax of the programming language, even system logic and debugging. Consistency helps you develop a certain level of skill that makes you very confident in what you do. The industry that needs you to be consistent. INDUSTRY ATTRIBUTES 10 Attributes You Need To Have
- 26. 5. Perseverance Perseverance is best described as a situation where an individual continues to pursue his/her dream and goals irrespective of the hurdles, obstacles, difficulties and uncertainties he must have passed through or currently passing through. As a young professional trying to build my career then, waking up in the middle of the night when everyone around me is sleeping, just to make out time to develop my personal skills wasn’t easy but I still kept going at it. At some point, I had to deprive myself of my social life to make out more time for practice. This is perseverance in reality. INDUSTRY ATTRIBUTES 10 Attributes You Need To Have
- 27. 6. Determination Determination is very similar to perseverance but in the case of determination, you deal with facts and figures that have been established over time. It might be a fact that only 2 out of every 50 students that try to become a programmer actually succeed. This clearly sets the boundary for you and your determination would be to either be among the next 2 of next batch of 50 students to become programmer or surpass that record and become the third person in history. Determination involves you focusing more on the goals to be achieved rather than the process to achieve it. INDUSTRY ATTRIBUTES 10 Attributes You Need To Have
- 28. 7. Adaptability In every situation, the ability to adapt to a lot things actually determines how well you will cope. Building up a career will definitely involve you adapting to doing a lot of new things like, staying up late, reading more books, spending more time on hands-on practical or even watching video tutorials. Adapting to the lifestyle and challenges that comes with building a career is an attribute that has been realized over time to be very effective towards getting used to the way things are done with respect to your desired field. As a professional, you should be able to adapt very fast to any situation. INDUSTRY ATTRIBUTES 10 Attributes You Need To Have
- 29. 8. Patience As you know that there is a saying that says “Rome was not built in a day”. A successful career cannot be built overnight. A skill cannot be acquired overnight. An individual cannot become an Entrepreneur overnight, likewise you cannot become a professional overnight. Careers are built over time, skills are acquired over time likewise becoming an Entrepreneur is something that happens over a reasonable timeframe. If you really want to have a successful IT career, then you have to be patient enough to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge in order to be relevant for a longer time. INDUSTRY ATTRIBUTES 10 Attributes You Need To Have
- 30. 9. Focus Setting one’s mind on the overall goal to be achieved and not necessarily the process to achieving that goal is another way of staying focused. This might include a constant reminder of yourself of what you want to achieve within the next 6 months or 1 year and why you have chosen that goal. Two questions you should also constantly ask yourself are What? and Why?. What do you want to achieve as your goal? Why choose that goal? The ability to remain focused on ones goal gives you a desire to never want to quit even when it really gets tough. INDUSTRY ATTRIBUTES 10 Attributes You Need To Have
- 31. 10. Exploration In the process of building a career, you will be taught a lot of things, given real life exercise and scenarios to solve and general activities that would over time align your way on thinking towards the industry way of thinking. Never reply only on what you are taught, take out time to explore on your own, sometimes you need to learn beyond the scope or boundaries of your curriculum. About 85% of skills developed and acquired by professionals are the ones acquired from self development and a lot of practice. This habit should be embedded in everyone. INDUSTRY ATTRIBUTES 10 Attributes You Need To Have
- 33. This is where a lot of people run into problems as they are not sure what the future holds for them. In identifying and choosing a career path, one should consider the: Overview Considerations Pop up questions Imagination IDENTIFYING/CHOOSING A CAREER PATH Overview, Considerations and Questions
- 34. IDENTIFYING/CHOOSING A CAREER PATH Overview of the IT Industry Security Technical Services Management System Development Training Operations INFROMATION TECHNOLOGY
- 35. IDENTIFYING/CHOOSING A CAREER PATH More Detailed Overview INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY NETWORKING CLOUD SYSTEM DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT GAMES DEVELOPMENT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MULTIMEDIA SECURITY DATABASE ADMINISTRATION FORENSIC
- 36. IDENTIFYING/CHOOSING A CAREER PATH Questions Choosing a desired career path has always been a problem for a lot of people due to a lot of reasons as to a lot of unanswered questions such as: What does this path entails? I don’t know what to expect How difficult and demanding is it? Do I have the skills to excel in that field? What are the prospects of this path?
- 37. IDENTIFYING/CHOOSING A CAREER PATH Questions The key to identifying a desired career path lies in the fact that three key questions needs to be addressed Are you considering that career path because you love doing what it entails? Are you considering that career path because it is the one with the brightest prospect? Are you considering the career path because you already calculated it will be easy to handle?
- 38. IDENTIFYING/CHOOSING A CAREER PATH Considerations There are 4 main considerations that needs to be examined Motivation Inspiration Zeal Imagination
- 39. IDENTIFYING/CHOOSING A CAREER PATH Considerations – Pop Questions The questions that one should always ask are: What motivates you to have chosen the IT Industry? What inspires you about the IT Industry? What triggers the zeal in you to want to pursue a career in the IT Industry? What drives your imagination?
- 40. IDENTIFYING/CHOOSING A CAREER PATH Considerations – Motivation Personally, my motivations came from the things that I saw and the things I realized I could do, there was so much potential still untapped. These included things like: I want to be the one to develop an app that could connect students worldwide irrespective of university and country I want to be the one to design, develop and implement a central database system used to manage government agencies such as The Police Force in developing countries I want to be the one that could develop an expert system that would help students make decisions on course and college to attend based on what they are good at doing best WHAT REALLY MOTIVATES YOU?
- 41. IDENTIFYING/CHOOSING A CAREER PATH Considerations – Inspiration Inspiration will always come from what you set your mind on. For those whose mind is already set on the industry, inspiration will come mostly from he products of the industry that has helped humanity live a better life. These might be gadgets, software, mobile devices, robots and even services Sophisticated system that have been successfully implemented into different industries to make work processes easier and more flexible. Mobile apps that have made operations such as shopping, flight ticket booking and college online application easier and more flexible. WHAT REALLY INSPIRES YOU?
- 42. IDENTIFYING/CHOOSING A CAREER PATH Considerations – Zeal There has to be a driving force or ZEAL that always serve as a benchmark for you as an individual It could Fame Lifestyle Dream Goal The zeal will always put you in a situation where you can achieve more than you can ever imagine WHAT TRIGGERS THAT ZEAL IN YOU?
- 43. IDENTIFYING/CHOOSING A CAREER PATH Considerations – Imagination Imagination comes from a whole lot of things you see, feel, watch and interact with on a daily basis. It could range from technology based products to people or even nature. It could be from stories of people, communities and regions in need of a solution It could be from a technology or process as old as 50 years or less than 3 years It could be from anything that relates to providing a solution WHAT REALLY DRIVES YOUR IMAGINATION?
- 44. IDENTIFYING/CHOOSING A CAREER PATH Re-evaluation of Questions Ask these questions again and determine which category you fall Are you considering that career path because you love doing what it entails? √ - Good Decision (Passion) Are you considering that career path because it is the one with the brightest prospect? √ - Good Decision (Determination) Are you considering the career path because you already calculated it will be easy to handle? × - Wrong Decision (Short cut)
- 45. BUILDING THE DESIRED CAREER - Skills
- 46. BUILDING THE DESIRED CAREER - Skills Skills Needed To Be Acquired Gap Identification Problem Solving Project Management Communication Research Technical Leadership Team Co-ordination Conflict Management Human Resource Management
- 47. BUILDING THE DESIRED CAREER - Skills Gap Identification Gap identification is the ability of an individual to be able to identify creative loopholes in the industry and further turn them into a business opportunities. This skills is commonly associated especially with Entrepreneurs, exhibited in real time Gap identification and exploration may lead to Development of a new technology Improving on already existing technology Combining technologies to provide something new It could also lead to New line of business New clients
- 48. BUILDING THE DESIRED CAREER - Skills Problem Solving Problem solving can be at different levels or categories Managerial Level Managerial staffs need to come up with a solution for a current problem in that organisation Technical Level a system has to be developed to automate business processes in a defined organisation This skill is very visible with specialist and consultants Both would analyze a situation and then give their professional opinion which in most cases have turned out to be problem solving in reality
- 49. BUILDING THE DESIRED CAREER - Skills Project Management Project management skills at any stage easily becomes handy as it encompasses a lot more than other skills combined together. Because of the complexity in the nature of the skill itself, it is one of the most sought after skill in the IT industry worldwide. Resources need to be managed to achieved a desired goal set at the initial planning stage of any project. The resources could be financial, material or even human. This is another skill common among managerial staff such as Head of Department (Research &Development) and Chief Information Officer.
- 50. BUILDING THE DESIRED CAREER - Skills Communication One of the most relevant skills in almost all industries is the communication skill. At every point, there will be communication between you and your subordinates, either junior or senior. Managerial staffs need to constantly communicate with their immediate subordinate in order to pass vital information down the chain of hierarchy In an organisation with a project team, online and offline communication matters a lot It is an effective way of passing project goals and related information to the project team who eventually carries out the tasks
- 51. BUILDING THE DESIRED CAREER - Skills Research As an individual starting up an IT career or trying to develop an already existing one, one of the skills you cannot run away from is research skills. There are various stages and levels of research depending on which one is applicable. It could be researching into a career path to know what the future holds It could be researching into a new domain like Cloud Computing Some researches are extremely deep and detailed while others are shallow but the skill to be able to determine the depth of research is very important to any individual trying to develop a career
- 52. BUILDING THE DESIRED CAREER - Skills Technical This is the number 1 skill you need to possess for active survival in the IT industry, also referred to as universal skill. Every branch of IT requires one form of practical or technical skill. For web developers - programming and coding For multimedia – animation and drawings For Security – command line configuration These skills always form the basis for which people's relevance are measured. Imagine a web developer who cant write simple program or do level one troubleshooting of codes.
- 53. BUILDING THE DESIRED CAREER - Skills Leadership Leadership comes in different forms as there are leadership roles in almost every level or organizational hierarchy. It could leadership at the Managerial level, Departmental level or Assigned Project level. The ability to lead comes with different attributes such as patience, attentive listening, charisma, effective communication, strategic reasoning and implementation as well as excellence. Some organisations send recommended staffs for leadership training. Leadership comes with a lot of responsibilities and need to have the skill cannot be over emphasized.
- 54. BUILDING THE DESIRED CAREER - Skills Team Co-ordination Organisations designate specific tasks to dedicated teams and expect completion within a given timeframe. A tree does not make a forest Team oriented goals and achievements has advantages it brings to an organisation team goals also develop skills such as communication and leadership in the case where the individual is put in a leadership position in the team. No one employee exist alone, working in a team boost working relationship between employees.
- 55. BUILDING THE DESIRED CAREER - Skills Conflict Management Working in an organisation involves working with people with different culture, beliefs, language, background, orientation and lifestyle and so there are bound to be friction once a while. Conflicts arises in organisations because of so many reasons among which are: Working conditions Benefits Positions Promotions This skills is needed especially for a person with the dream of becoming an Entrepreneur
- 56. BUILDING THE DESIRED CAREER - Skills Human Resource Management (HRM) Human Resource Management involves dealing directly with employees on various terms such as salary, benefits and entitlements As an entrepreneur, before some vital positions can be filled in the organisation, the prospective candidates will have to go through the head of the company The final decision has lasting effect on the organisation Some organisations hire professionals and dedicated staffs that handle Human Resource Only very delicate and sensitive positions are handled by the head of the organisation.
- 57. RECAP
- 58. RECAP The following areas have been covered: General overview of the IT industry Career paths that the industry offers Industry opportunities available for professionals Industry attributes have been discussed Identifying/choosing a career path Building the desired career For the full Notes, leave a comment to request for it.