Another way of looking at the comfort factor is this. If you have previously worked in another profession such as accounting and you enjoyed it, try mixing a career in IT with your accountancy skills. This will make you doubly valuable in certain environments. Not only will you have an understanding of IT systems, you will also understand the specifics of the implementation and how they are used.
Another angle that you should consider is whether you want to work for a technical company or whether you want to work as a techie in a nontechnical company. Does the idea of working for Microsoft or Cisco or even Yahoo! appeal to you? These companies have just as much if not more of a need for technically capable staff as nontechnical companies do. You may find that technical companies also have a more positive approach to training than nontechnical companies.
Consider the Pace
It is a long and often arduous process to get the qualifications, training, and certifications you need to secure an IT career. After months or years of training, you are finally ready to face the world and take your place in the IT workforce. Then you discover that you are not out of the training woods yet, nor are you going to be in the future. By the time you've finished your education, the technology and the training programs that support it have been updated or amended to support a new product range or even a new product. If you want to play the game, you have to keep paying, both financially and intellectually. An even more frustrating factor is that you can often discover that much of the skills you learn during training are not applied in the workplace. It is not worth getting disheartened by this. It is the nature of the beast.
The point is that the IT world is a dynamic one, changing and progressing at a pace that makes much of what we know today become obsolete in six months. That's just the nature of technology-it constantly and rapidly progresses and, therefore, sets the pace for the demands of most IT professionals whose daily tasks involve trying to accommodate for such rapid change and growth.There is always a new and improved way of doing things, and you are required to make it work. Training and the IT industry go hand in hand, and if there is a second constant in the computer world, its that you will never be finished with your training.There will always be technical workshops, seminars, exams, and certifications. To ignore the need to upgrade your skills is to ignore your IT career.You'll simply be left behind if you don't continue to march with the band and at the band's pace. Ultimately, insufficient training reduces your effectiveness on the job and makes you a lot less marketable in the IT realm.
Don't take our word for it. Deciding on a career in IT and then on a specific area can be a big decision. This article is a valuable resource to assist you along the way and provide you with some useful and honest insight, but there are other avenues and methods you can use to assist you in making a solid career decision.
Ask around; someone you know or someone a friend knows probably works in IT. Give that person a call and ask some questions, get the inside scoop into the industry. Nothing can give you better insight into the job you are seeking than to talk to people already in the profession. Ask to hear both the good aspects and the possible negative aspects of the job. It is best not to view the profession through rose-colored glasses. If at all possible, it can be very beneficial to visit the workplace of an IT profession you are interested in. Seeing a network administrator or So You Want to Work in IT?
programmer at work can give you a clearer picture of what the job entails. Also, ask about the company: What size is it? What is the environment like? What type of company is it? The environment and working conditions are an important consideration when choosing a particular area of IT.
Log on to the Internet and search out information pertaining to the area of IT in which you are interested in becoming employed. Check out employment sites to determine the demand for your target job and the locations in which the job is in most demand. Relocation may be necessary. Refer to the job tasks listed by employers to get a better idea of what your typical day would look like. Would you be in front of a computer all day? Would you be dealing with end users? Would you be working in an office or working off-site?
Explore the training curriculum for your chosen career. The material presented in the training program can provide a clear indication of what the job requirements will be and what you need to know. If you find the training materials extremely uninteresting and you find yourself having to force yourself to read it, that may be an indication of trouble brewing. As mentioned, IT careers require ongoing training and upgrading of skills, and there really needs to be some interest in the chosen field right from the onset.
