How to: get into IT

IT is a really broad term, it encompasses everything from software to the physical bits of hardware that are being used extensively on a daily basis. Developers, First-Line Support staff (the people who respond to your IT queries when you have an issue), and IT Engineers are just a few examples of jobs in the IT industry – not to mention the cyber security industry which has become a powerhouse in its own right.

Many people look to get into IT but aren’t really sure of where to start; it can be quite daunting due to the sheer volume of jobs you can do and the importance of those jobs – many jobs also have different names, but essentially mean the same thing (think how many times you have seen job searches for IT Support Engineers and Technical Support Engineers). If you're a beginner. you could consider our CompTIA A+ course.  

Learn how to facilitate a career in IT.

But how do I start a career in IT?

There are many ways – people go to university and get a degree in IT, but that has become a dying practice. A university degree takes three years: far too long considering the speed at which technology is advancing. Here’s a few things that you would have missed had you started a degree in 2016:

• Voice recognition and AI assistants like Google Home and Amazon’s Echo with Alexa
• Developments in the cloud
• Serverless computing
• Real-time language translation

There are more, but to be honest, the ones listed are those that I understood.

But you get the gist. You wouldn’t be able to learn about these because your degree wouldn’t have had an update to its syllabus, as time goes on, you would need to undertake more qualifications to help you get up to speed.

If only you were on a website that offered qualifications.

Learn how to become an IT Technician

Apprenticeship and Junior Roles

An IT apprenticeship or starting at the bottom of the ladder in a junior role are the most popular ways for people looking to forge a career in IT from the very start. Usually, but not restricted to, being started by people in their late teens/early 20s, an apprenticeship helps to build practical experience in a similar environment to what you would work in full-time; all while getting paid, which is always a lovely bonus.

Junior roles are similar to an apprenticeship, just on a full-time contract. They’re always used to build experience and skills that will develop as you go further into your career.

Qualifications

Qualifications like those offered by the likes of CompTIA and EC-Council are used to get you up-to-speed with industry requirements and trends. For example, CompTIA review their syllabus once a year to check if anything needs to change in their courses to reflect any developments that may have been made.

The qualifications are industry-recognised and offer the skills needed to work in the IT speciality you’re interested in pursuing a career in. We also offer Live Labs which help you to practice your skills in a real-world situation, just in a risk-free environment, so you can have a play around to your heart’s content. Mentoring is available through Live Chat Tutor Support too, so you will have guidance throughout as well.

So, in conclusion, the ideal mix of experience and knowledge are needed to get into IT and have a long, lucrative career. At e-Careers, we offer both with our IT courses, and a definitive pathway for everyone because we know that not all careers will look the same.

Call us on +44 (0) 20 3198 7700 to speak to one of our Career Consultants today, to discuss your career goals or get started.