Do you want to gain a new profession that will benefit you in every way? If so, you should seriously consider working in the IT industry. But how to start a career in IT in 2022? Well, we can help you out!
Working conditions have changed since the 1990s, but there is still a shortage of specialists and companies are offering good salaries—it's a great time to pursue a career in technology if you want to achieve financial freedom. There are some IT certifications that are easy to obtain even for a beginner.
Don't be discouraged if you've never worked in IT before. If you ask “how to start a career in IT as a non-IT professional”, just know that it’s very easy to get started in this industry.
Why Start Working in IT?
Working in IT offers a lot of benefits, both for experienced workers and newcomers.
First, IT provides job security, as there is a higher demand for experienced workers with IT certifications. It is very easy to find a job in large cities.
Second, IT skills are often available without a four-year degree. For many jobs in IT, you don’t need a degree, you just need to have the right skills—and many free IT certifications can simply confirm them. You can learn many of them on your own or in online courses, like web development or mobile applications.
Finally, IT is constantly evolving with the emergence of new technologies, making it a great choice for people who like to learn new things and constantly evolve. With new inventions come niches in the market—as long as you are ready for new tasks.
How to Prepare for Work in IT?
Learn to code
HTML is typically the first programming language people learn because it's widely used and easy to learn without prior experience. It is frequently taught in elementary or high schools—if you can create a website, you can sometimes find a niche in a marketing company as a programmer. If you know HTML, go further, get familiar with WordPress and other CMS and also CSS – Google can offer free IT certification for simple web-based skills.
If you know the basics, it's worth your time to learn JavaScript, Java, C++, Python, Ruby, and other programming languages. These are considered more challenging languages that may require more formal instruction. It's easy to find tutorials and online courses that make it easy for anyone to learn popular coding methods.
There are many good resources on YouTube, blogs and tutorial programs to help you learn, but recruiters warn that not all sources are created equal when it comes to finding a job.
Get interested in the open-source community
Open-source programs have open source code—meaning that anyone can modify and publish them. Open-source software allows many people to work and develop at no cost. You can learn to code by creating or assisting with open-source projects and sharing your knowledge with others. This not only expands your skill set, but can also be included in your portfolio and resume.
Programmers and those interested in growing in IT should be especially familiar with Linux, which allows for versatile development. Both iOS and Android are essentially variants of Linux—and it's easy to move from it to other open source projects. If you want to know how to start a career in IT, you can’t do it without the knowledge of Linux.
You can create your own projects or assist with existing ones. Choose the one that best suits your skill level—if you are a novice, for example, you can follow the development of changes on the forums. Don't be afraid to ask questions, the open-source community is very open and tolerant.
Go back to school
Of course, to enter the IT industry, education is not essential, but it's still a great way to gain skills. You can enroll in a coding course, go to college to get an MA or BSci degree. It depends on your needs. To be a programmer, often all you require are IT certifications, confirming your skills in a programming language, but a job as a systems administrator or network engineer may require a bachelor's degree in computer science.
Remember, too, that even if you already have other education, that doesn't mean it limits you when working in IT. Many employers agree that a degree in the humanities like journalism or history provides an IT professional with creative problem-solving, information retrieval and data analysis skills. Don’t worry about how to start a career in IT as a non-IT professional: you will stand out from other candidates who simply have computer or technical knowledge if you include your degree as an advantage.
If you don't like computer science, you can also study computer information systems, computer engineering, mathematics, statistics, applied science and other subjects. However, it is worth it simply to improve your computer skills—any branch of science makes heavy use of computers these days.
What Certifications are Worth Getting?
Often your education doesn't matter—it's your skills that count. However, an IT certificate confirms these skills more than a college degree. When you take an exam, you'll get a certification that will open many doors for you. We have selected some popular exams and IT certificate programs, especially good for IT beginners.
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
The Amazon AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam is a certification for beginners that covers the basics of IT services and how to use them on the AWS cloud platform. The exam covers coding, cloud architecture design, security, troubleshooting, deployment, migration, load and performance testing, and business applications. Many websites are hosted on Amazon servers – if you want to make money creating websites, it's worth earning this certification to confirm a basic understanding of data and content hosting.
ScrumMaster
Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) is an entry-level credential that shows you understand Scrum, a software development framework. It's not really coding-related - but it's ideal for anyone who wants to become a software engineer, business analyst or project manager. Scrum is a product development strategy used not only in IT—so it will also be useful for those with experience as a manager.
Linux Professional Certification
The Linux Essentials Professional Development Certification (PDC) certifies knowledge of Linux. The exam covers the basics of Linux hardware, software, processes and applications, as well as system security, file permissions and public and private directories. Also discussed are open source software, command lines, creating and using compressed backups and archives, and writing and running simple scripts. Most servers use Linux—this inexpensive IT certification will give you the skills to become an administrator and step into the role of a programmer.
Microsoft 365 Fundamentals
The Microsoft 365 Fundamentals certification covers the basics of all the products and services of the Microsoft 365 platform. The certification confirms that you know the capabilities provided by Microsoft 365 (not just OneDrive) and the benefits of using cloud services, the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model in the cloud, and deploying a Microsoft 365 cloud service.
How to Find a Job in IT
You can look for ads in the press, on industry websites or through LinkedIn, but the best way to find a job is through networking. Simply network with other IT professionals and attend events related to your field to gain connections.
If you are an experienced professional who has completed IT certification courses online, you should keep in friendly contact with former employers, co-workers or supervisors who can help you get a better position. You can also try to connect with other experts through sites like LinkedIn.
