In this day and age, technology has got into every field of life. It has opened new vistas in terms of careers and skill sets. IT-related skills are high in demand. If you are a student or a professional in the IT field, the world is open to you. With every passing day, there come more jobs requiring IT professionals.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the IT jobs will witness a 22 percent increase by the end of 2020. That means time is just right for IT graduates and professionals. However, to make this industry worth your while, you need to stand as a professional. Here are a few things you should do to excel in the IT field as a student and as a professional.
Technical Understanding
Since you are pursuing a technical field, you should get grips with jargon and technical knowledge. Precisely, you should know your stuff. Acquire deep expertise with the requisite protocols and tools to stand out in the field.
Remember, you are not alone in this field. Because of its popularity, people from other fields would also be switching along with many other IT graduates just like you. So, you have to build your brand, and that is possible only when you stand out among the crowd.
Acquire programming skills and be adept at networking and firewall skills, cyber-security, artificial intelligence, and IT architecture.
Problem Solving
You have to be a staunch problem solver if you want to excel in the IT field. It goes without saying that you should find technology interesting. It is a sine qua non for doing well in any job. The tech giants would not want anyone who is uninterested in their field to work for them. They want someone who can take their organization to new heights.
Apart from that, you should become someone who loves challenges. Even when there are no specific answers, you should be daring enough to test the waters and invent new solutions. For example some students, when they run out of time, however still have lots of tasks left, use a specific writing assistant, which is a rather creative solution to the problem.
Learning attitude
You should have a positive learning attitude if you want to make it as an IT professional. Be it the programming classes or getting to grips with the latest technology, you have to partake actively in the learning process. All the IT gurus religiously keep up with the ever-changing technologies.
Along with learning, acquire and manage certifications to add credibility to your brand. Read articles, blogs, and technical white papers. Participate in online debates going on between tech experts. And most importantly, keep an eye on the globally recognized certifications in your field. Getting your dream job is not easy and you must acquire the needed skills and certifications.
Patience
Patience is the key to survival in the corporate IT world. Dealing with clients and users can be stressful. If you have a relatively lower threshold, you will come over the edge pretty quickly. Both clients and users are the recipients of your services, be it directly or indirectly. You cannot start on the wrong footing with these groups.
Apart from the people, the system can also test your patience sometimes. Remember, you will be dealing with gadgets, which can have technical glitches. If you go berserk over a slow PC, this field is not suitable for you. So, keep your cool whenever an issue arises.
Get hands-On Experience
Attaining real-world experience is important for every field. It becomes even more important in IT because all the work you are required to do in professional life is practical. Potential employers like to see the portfolios of their prospective employees. You should have something to show to them.
Creativity
The IT field requires you to be creative and innovative. Your job is not going to be some bland, desk-job. Rather, you will be expected to come up with unique ideas to offer solutions to tech-related problems. Understand the concepts and methodologies of information systems thoroughly. Incorporate your academic knowledge into real-world scenarios and always think of the box.
Be a people’s person
You might think being an IT professional will not require you to showcase your people skills. But you are sadly mistaken. You cannot be a lone wolf in this industry. If you aim to move up the ladder and reach a managerial post, you have to have good social and communication skills.
