If you are thinking about studying an IT related field for your degree, then you probably already know that it is generally a good choice just because of the sheer variety of roles available that you can specialize in once you have started an IT career. Naturally, as IT becomes an increasingly more essential part of life and industry, we can’t even predict what kinds of opportunities there will be in a decade or two’s time, but there are certain fields of IT and computing that won’t be going anywhere, even if the technologies will undoubtedly advance.
Here are just some of the career paths you could go down as an IT specialist:
Software Development
Software development is one of the fields people first think of when they think of IT carers because this is where most people work if they want to use their programming skills. Coding isn’t the only role in software development, however, although it is a lucrative and interesting career path (you can find out about average IT pay at SalarySite.com). You can also consider work in testing and QA, project management and front-end design if you want a job in the creation of software that isn’t so heavy on programming.
Technical Support
If you like the idea of a job where you get to talk to a lot of people and help resolve issues, then technical support could be a good choice for you. While the most commonly seen part of tech support is the first line support, which usually involves basic troubleshooting, there are other lines of support that users’ issues can be escalated to that require deep technical knowledge and fit within specific areas such as networks, databases, and software. First line support can, however, be a good entry level position that can open up job opportunities in other specialist parts of a company.
Sales
Not all IT jobs are about making technology or helping users with it. Most software houses and IT resellers need good salespeople who also understand the technical side of their products in order to sell projects to clients, and solutions to businesses. This means that if you like the idea of a challenging, target driven role where you work in a client facing capacity, but still want to be in a field where you can use your interest in IT to your advantage, a sales position can give you what you want.
Teaching and Training
Another thing not many people consider when thinking about IT jobs is that once a new piece of technology enters the market, people need to be trained in how to use it. Additionally, people who work in fields like programming need to regularly go on training courses to learn new languages and technologies as they come into use. IT training can, therefore, be a good career if you like the idea of staying on top of the latest things in the industry and enjoy teaching and presenting.
As you can see just from this list, IT is hugely diverse and with an IT degree, there is really a job to suit just about every ambition!
