5 Ways to Upgrade Your IT Career

Have you just finished your degree and seemed so lost to where exactly do you head next? Or do you already have a job, and yet you’re not being promoted while everyone around you is? Don’t worry! Having a mid-life career crisis is nothing out of the blue moon. It is entirely normal to feel lost at some point, and everyone goes through this stage at one point or another. After all, success doesn’t come overnight. In this article you’ll find the ultimate career guide to help you have a kick start and booming IT career.

As we can see that technology is evolving at a fast pace, and computers are becoming more relevant part of our lives. Hence, the IT industry is consistently changing due to the influence of social media, emerging innovations and technology inventions, recession, economical advancements, and globalization. It might seem confusing to which pathway one should embrace to cope up with the constantly changing world. That’s why it is essential to keep track of new developments and technology advancements and always be up-to-date.

1 – Get Higher Academic Qualifications

Masters

Getting a Master’s degree would lead you to a rapid career progression, and make you a subject matter expert that is highly in demand. It will provide you with more in-depth knowledge of your profession, help you challenge your abilities and learn new skills. Make sure you do your Master degree in a subject that you are passionate and confident about and that has a bright future scope.

Candidates with a Master’s degree will deepen your understanding of subject matters, improve your networking and give you a holistic approach towards technology trends and future job market. It will also help you narrow down your interests and goals and give you a clear outlook to which career pathway you should be taking.

The best part is that candidates with Master’s degree earn 30% more than candidates who don’t have one. Definitely, a worthy investment to learn new skills that would take years of experience to learn by working while promising you a high salary and pay raises.

MBA

MBA program is an excellent combination with an IT degree. It prepares you to develop priceless management techniques, leadership skills, gain the latest knowledge about international businesses, high-level industrialization, marketing strategies, human resource operations management and various other fields. Hence preparing you to work in a competitive evolving work environment.

Candidates with MBA degrees are expected to earn twice as much as those who have a regular University degree. It’s okay if you can’t afford to leave work and go back to full-time study; you do part-time MBA from a nearby university or through distant learning.

2 – Get Experience

In your early stages of career gain as much experience as possible. You should be always open to new challenges and opportunities. Explore new pathways and try to learn as many new skills as possible. Build new networks, and don’t forget to gain soft skills. Build good relationships with your boss and peers. You know your boss is always busy with his job, and has tons already on his plate to be concerned about your career. So, you have to be smart and put an extra effort to win your boss’s attention. Thus, you should be available to offer him help to achieve his goals and objectives. Once you have had a holistic experience, learning new skills and discovered your passion, thrive for your dream!

3 – Get Certifications

Make yourself more employable and stand out with certifications. It is your best shot for career advancement, it helps you become an expertise and shine out from your co-workers. It demonstrates that you are interested, dedicated and highly motivated about your career and you’ve spent valuable time and effort in learning and gaining new skills.  It helps you build new networks with skilled professionals through, which you can exchange skills and share new ideas and solutions.

Remember the technical world is constantly changing at a fast pace. The courses you studied back 10 years ago at University might not be so useful due to new inventions and technology advancements. For instance back in the 90s cellular phones were the best communication source with just one snake game that everyone was going mad over. But now we have thousands of smartphone companies with an endless variety of games and Apps. Getting certifications offers you an excellent platform to keep up to date with current technological advancements. Not just that, it also increases your likelihood of gaining reorganization in your company, getting a promotion and pay rises.

Definitely worth your time and effort, and something you should not think twice before doing. Following is a quick list of valuable IT certifications that promise you a quick career success:

• Best Big Data Certifications
• Best Cloud Certifications
• Best Computer Networking Certifications
• Best IT Trainer Certifications
• Best Storage Certifications
• Best Project Management Certifications
• Best Wireless Networking Certifications
• Best Mobile App Development Certifications
• Best Information Security Certifications
• Best Programming Certifications
• Best Virtualization Certifications
• Best Computer Hardware Certifications
• Best System Administration Certifications

4 – Aim for Hot Selling Jobs

Certain opportunities have a higher demand in the market than others. Keep a close eye on the new technology innovations and aim for opportunities that everyone is buzzing about. Following are the top occupations that have a bright future and high success rate.

Mobile application developer

Mobile application development is one best career opportunities to get your hands on. With 5 billion mobile users globally, there are plenty of opportunities to work for either in companies or freelance basis. As the demand for smartphones and tablets is increasing rapidly, more and more mobile developers are in demand. Major players like Apple, Samsung, Panasonic, Dell, and Lenovo, etc. are coming up with new products and inventions and always competing with one another.

Many new companies are also emerging to create mobile app applications. 300,000 new jobs are projected to emerge by 2020 with a growth rate of 32% which is much faster than average. The best thing is that they get paid a good salary of average $95,000, which increases with relevant experience and necessary qualifications.

Database Administrator

Businesses, large corporations and in fact all companies and government organizations have a large amount of information that they need to store, organize and protect. Database administrators are hired as guardians that manage and protect sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands. 34,000 new jobs will be created in the next year with a growth rate of 31%, which is faster than average. They are highly paid with an average salary of $82,000.

Software Engineer

As technology continues to evolve, and eat up the world, the demand for software engineers is on the rise. Michael page reveals that a software engineer is the World’s most in-demand profession. With more and more demand for cell phones and tablets, and emerging markets, software engineers are required to develop and design secure web-based programs. 300,000 new jobs are expected to open in the next year years with a growth rate of 31%. They are highly paid with an average salary of $90,000 and have a bright future ahead.

Video Game Designer

Do you love animated video games? Make a career out of them! With a $65+ billion gaming industry, which is on the surge, video game designers are gaining increasing popularity. With a high success rate by the traditional PC game market, nowadays all smartphones and tablets have emerged as a new platform for online gamers. Their demand is expected to rise with a growth rate of 30% in the next 10 years, creating about 300,000 new jobs. They are highly paid with an average salary of $80,000 per year.

5 – Work on Your Extracurricular Achievements/Part-Time Work

Nowadays hiring companies focus on your achievements beyond degrees and academic qualifications. Hiring managers tend to seek candidates with skills such as creativity, adaptability, innovative, quick-learner, ready to face challenges and willing work under pressure. Fill your CV with impressive extracurricular achievements so you can outshine other candidates.

Even if you are doing a job, always take out time and use your skills to do something innovative like making an app, setting up a blog, taking online courses, website or being a part-time web developer. This will always keep you up to date with market trends; increase your social networking and provide you an excellent platform to meet new people with the same aspect and goals as yours. It can help you figure out what your interests are and you get to exchange new skills and new learning with other people.

Conclusion

The above-mentioned career hacks will take you light years ahead of other employees and candidates. With a good experience, higher academic qualification and certifications hiring and promoting managers will run after you. You need to be vigilant, up to the date of market demands and always target opportunities that have a bright future to succeed. Congrats you are not so far from becoming the next Steve Jobs!