5 IT Career Paths You Can Follow

IT professionals are very much in demand, as these are skills that not everyone has. Still, businesses all over the world rely on computers and other IT to carry out their daily operations. This is why pursuing a career in IT can be a smart move, particularly if you want peace of mind that you have job security, a good salary, and plenty of opportunity for professional growth. There are several different paths you can follow in terms of an IT career, and if you are interested in pursuing this but aren’t sure which area you would like to focus on, here are some examples of the career paths available to you within this sector.

• Cybersecurity                                                                                                                  As IT evolves, so does the potential for online threats. The protection of data and making sure that these programs are not hacked or compromised in any way is essential, which is why cybersecurity is so vital. If this is an area that you’re interested in, specializing in cybersecurity could be the ideal career path for you within the IT industry. You will cover this topic in your undergrad degrees in IT. Still, to give yourself a better chance of following this path, you may want to pursue more intensive education on the subject by enrolling in courses like this one for cybersecurity leadership.

• Software Development                                                                                                                       If your passion lies more in creating cool apps of other forms of software that businesses can use to improve their customer service and overall operations, this might be the right path for you. You can even get involved in video game development if this is another interest of yours, or help companies develop apps for their customers to use, and so much more. This role will involve a lot of coding and testing the software that you’re working on.

•  Web Development                                                                                                             This is similar to the above. However, your focus will be on maintaining websites and phone apps. Again, this is something that can open you up to a variety of industries as all companies will need to have a professional, functioning website and even apps for their customers to use every day if they are to compete in the modern marketplace. You might be working on the overall mechanics of the website, the front interface, or both.

• Data Technician or Analyst                                                                                                                 Data is a big buzzword when it comes to business, particularly data protection. Although this might not have always been a traditional IT role, the demand for analyzing data and protecting this information has sky-rocketed in recent years, and this can be a very lucrative career opportunity. Working with data can help with the overall maintenance of hardware and contribute to improving cybersecurity as well.

• Cloud Computing                                                                                                                    Cloud computing has increased in popularity over recent years, allowing both individuals and businesses a great solution for safely storing their data and being able to retrieve it easily if there was to be an issue with their networks. Working in this field, you can expect to be working on some software programming for cloud systems and helping with the overall maintenance of these.

If you are interested in pursuing a career in IT but aren’t sure what area to specialize in, perhaps something from the above list would be right for you?