How do I start a career in IT?

Typically there are two routes that you can choose to take to start a career in IT – IT technical and web design.

How do I start a career in IT?

The first route you may consider is to start in a technical role like IT Support, Helpdesk support and 1^st line IT Support. These are the most common positions you will find advertised for entry level IT Technicians. The kind of tasks you will be doing on a daily basis could include (but are not limited to) troubleshooting hardware, troubleshooting software issues and maintaining networks.

Traditionally, people looking to start a career in IT would go down the route of first gaining a university degree or at least a college qualification. These are great to have for a generic overview of varying topics in IT  but graduates may find that from an employment prospective, their studies have been too generalised.

Therefore in addition to these, employers often want more specific, industry level certifications like CompTIA A+ and Cisco CCNA.  These certifications are aimed towards specific areas used in IT support roles and demonstrate to employers that you have the technical knowledge needed to succeed in an IT support job. It is the specialised nature of IT Certifications that enables employers to hire someone with more confidence as they will be low risk candidates to recruit.

Many people now bypass the long and costly route of  studying towards a university degree and focus directly on the key certifications required by employers to ensure that they will be able to secure a job at the end of their studies. You can generally expect to start with an average salary of 21k for entry level Technical roles

How do I get a job in Web Design?

Secondly, you could choose to go in to web designer. There are two sectors of web design to be considered – web designing and web developing. Typically, web design is for the more creative individual and web development is for the more mathematically minded.

Web designers will primarily focus on designing the front end of a website to make it look attractive. Web developers focus on the back end to ensure the smooth functionality of the website through coding. At entry level, an IT role will focus on web design as this is usually the starting point for a career as a web designer.

Later in their career, most web designers will choose to gain an understanding of both web design and web development to cover both bases, particularly if they plan to go freelance.

The standard for any web developer or designer is a very solid and applicable knowledge of HTML5 and CSS3 with JavaScript also very welcome. There are often practical projects involved in the hiring process of web designers so you must ensure your skills are razor sharp.

It is also recommended to have a portfolio of websites you have designed to showcase your skills and win over the confidence of a potential employer. This will also demonstrate your creative flair. Web designers generally earn in the region of £25,000 for a starting role.

Summary

When considering a career in IT, is it important to know which route you want to take. IT lends itself to a huge array of career prospects and job titles so the career path you can take is very diverse. Once you start in an entry level role, you will quickly learn where it is you want to specialise and there is huge scope to develop and grow you skills and to progress your career.

Top earners in IT can expect to make up to £100,000 per annum so it is definitely a rewarding career to consider.