The information technology field is one that has been booming for the last couple of decades. As more and more businesses gear towards automation, there’s more of a demand than ever before for professionals in this field. Even if you don’t have years of training or a college degree, there are many entry-level positions you can seek in IT.
Web Developer
If you’ve played around with creating websites and have a flair for design, you may want to consider a career as a web developer. These individuals work to create websites for clients. You’ll be expected to have good communication skills to understand and translate what the client needs into their website. You’ll likely work with a plethora of clients and need to consistently create and updating their websites. Being a web developer requires more than just having played around with “WIX”. Educational requirements for web developers vary with the setting they work in and the type of work they do. Requirements range from a high school diploma to a bachelor’s degree. Web developers need knowledge of both programming and graphic design. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook, the median annual wage for web developers was $69,430 in May 2018. Employment of web developers is projected to grow 13 percent from 2018 to 2028, much faster than the average for all occupations. Demand will be driven by the growing popularity of mobile devices and e-commerce.
Social Media Manager
One of the best IT jobs that a newbie can start out with is social media management. All that’s really required is an understanding of how to operate some of the most popular social media sites. Employees in this position typically work for specific businesses that pay them to monitor and update their social media profiles. These workers post content—such as images, text, or videos—to spark interest in a topic that relates to the brand as a whole. Some of these social media managers may be expected to handle incoming communication from social media networks. Often social media managers are front-line company representatives who help smooth customer issues and head off bad publicity. You should be able to make judgment calls quickly, particularly when handling sensitive topics.
Education. To become a social media specialist, you typically need a bachelor’s degree. You should expect to study subjects such as public relations, communications, and business. For more information see: The BLS article: Social Media Specialist
IT Help Desk
If you enjoy solving problems, then a great way to combine IT and problem-solving is to become an IT help desk employee aka “Computer Support Specialist”. These employees will communicate with clients via a help desk chat to solve IT-related issues. Because of the wide range of skills used in different computer support jobs, there are many paths into the occupation. A bachelor’s degree is required for some computer support specialist positions, but an associate’s degree or postsecondary classes may be enough for others. A good place to start is by getting an A+ Certification from Comptia from there you can move up to various Microsoft Certifications. Getting an A+ certification is much cheaper and quicker than getting a college degree it requires that you pass two tests costing about $290 each. According to the BLS, the median annual wage for computer user support specialists was $50,980 in May 2018 while the median for Network Support Specialists was $62,770.
Coding Assistant
All the applications and databases that are utilized in the business world came from the desk of a programmer. While a programmer has extensive knowledge in coding for applications, they do require assistants to help with specific tasks. As a coding assistant, you’ll be trained in a specific area of code such as Java or C++. You’ll assist the programmer in creating codes for all sorts of applications and databases.
The BLS has a list of other Computer and Information Technology Occupations.
About the Author: Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan
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