Careers in Information Technology Services [Third Installment]

As we discovered in the previous two series installments, employment in IT services are projected to grow rapidly over the next decade, outpacing similar professional, scientific, and technical industries and the economy as a whole.

Today’s The Daily Leap post, which is the final installment in this well-received series, describes how individuals typically prepare for a career in IT services.

Preparation for IT Careers

So how can someone get started in an IT career? There are many paths. Having both general and specific skills is helpful. But for many jobs, formal training is essential.

Skills

A general foundation, such as ease with computers and a curiosity about how they work, is important for working in IT. And several specific skills may be helpful for a variety of IT occupations, especially for those that are expected to remain in demand.

• Business aptitude. High school classes in mathematics are helpful for establishing a strong foundation for IT training and for business-related subjects ranging from accounting to finance.
• Wireless networking proficiency. Workers in this area need to be detail oriented to effectively design, install, and maintain wireless networks and systems.
• Information security knowledge. Specialized training prepares IT workers to gain expertise in these issues.

Degrees

A bachelor’s degree is the usual minimum qualification for many IT jobs. Those who do the most complex tasks may need a master’s degree.

The most applicable degrees for IT jobs are those in computer science, computer engineering, software engineering, or information systems. But many other types of degrees can lead to a career in information technology, including management, electrical and computer engineering, mathematics, and arts and humanities.

Not all IT workers need a bachelor’s degree, however. One example is computer support specialists. Jobs in this occupation may be open to applicants who have a high school diploma, some college, or an associate degree.

Certification

Certification programs usually require candidates to take a test or a series of tests; a passing score represents to employers an IT applicant’s or worker’s knowledge and skills. Some programs allow candidates to study on their own for these tests, and others offer test-preparation courses.

IT product vendors generally offer certification in the computer software or hardware they produce. Some vendors require certification for people who work with their products. Professional organizations offer voluntary certification programs in a broad range of subjects, such as wireless networking and information security.

Before entering such programs or paying any fees, workers should research the program to determine its reputation within the IT community.

Overlooking Skills Gained Outside of Work

During a job search, it may be easy to identify and communicate skills you have gained in the workplace, but what about skills you’ve gained outside of work. Many people overlook everyday-life skills they’ve developed at home or through participation in hobbies, clubs and organizations, or volunteer work.

Whether you’re currently employed, looking to change jobs, or re-entering the workforce, it is a good idea to broaden your scope when creating your skills inventory. This inventory should be something you can easily reference when needed, for example, when updating your resume or interviewing for a job.

Below are a few common scenarios and highlighted skills that may apply to the workplace.

Stay-at-home Parenting

If you’ve been a stay-at-home parent and never given a second thought to the skills you’re gaining, think again. Raising children translates to caregiver. Managing your family’s budget develops general accounting and budget management skills. Handling several tasks successfully on any given day, and often simultaneously, demonstrates time management and multitasking abilities.

Volunteer Work

Volunteer work is a great way to use existing skills and learn new ones. For example, if you volunteer your time tutoring children, you are developing teaching skills. By working with a non-profit organization to build homes, you cultivate construction skills. Raising money for your local church or school provides fundraising experience.

Hobbies or Interests

Writing your own blog posts hones communication skills. Similarly, if you find yourself answering technology questions and fixing computers for friends and family, you may have a technical aptitude that is highly sought in the workplace.

These ideas provide a starting point. Now make time to think about and professionally position the invaluable skills you have gained outside the workplace.

Transitioning Out of the Military: 5 Steps to Success

Step 1 – Find a Focus

Whether you have served four years or dedicated your entire career towards service in the military, you may face some obstacles in your transition. Over the next five weeks, I will tackle some of the issues you will face and provide you with five steps you should take in order to expedite the transition process.

This first step is very important; it will determine the effectiveness of your military transition. In order to get results, a job search and a resume must have a target or focus. One of the biggest errors made on military transition resumes is a lack of focus. There is no such thing as an effective generic resume. A resume that tries to appeal to everyone ends up appealing to no one.

Military personnel learn a wide variety of skills and often have countless additional duties on top of their duty title. It would be nearly impossible and certainly ineffective to fit all your previous military experience into one resume. Studies show that the reader affords your resume 10 to 15 seconds of attention. The reader will not sift through all the irrelevant information to get to the most compelling information. Your relevant, transferable skills must be easy to find, not buried among the unimportant information.

For example, a jet engine craftsman whose focus is contract and finance management will never be effective in their search with a resume that focuses on jet engine maintenance. In addition to mechanical knowledge, this candidate has project management, customer service, budget planning and allocation, documentation management, and supervisory experience. Their mechanical knowledge has no place on their resume, as it is irrelevant to the target employer.

Before beginning your transition, determine the career field you will pursue and identify the local companies that have jobs. Discover what qualifications and education you need and define your transferable qualifications. Some research resources are the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook (http://www.bls.gov/oco) and the Department of Labor’s O*NET site (http://online.onetceter.org).

Making the decision to target your job search will enable you to eliminate irrelevant information from your resume and accelerate your job search. This may mean leaving out some skills and experience or possibly having multiple resumes targeted to different careers.

Assessing Your Employment Skills

When you read the requirements for any job posting these days, it can be a little daunting. Every position demands strong leadership abilities, excellent oral and written communication skills, project management expertise, relationship-building savvy, etc.

Previous positions may have afforded you some of these employment skills, but don’t forget to look to other areas of your life where you have been using and honing them. These experiences can and should be used to build your resume and your interview repertoire.

Project Management: Maybe you haven’t ever held a project management position, but you possess these skills if you’ve chaired a committee at school or a community association. Ever organized a fundraising event or a family reunion? Now there’s the ultimate in project management!
Leadership: Think about sports, organized or intramural, for yourself or your children. Any coaching experience provides invaluable leadership opportunities. A winning record is impressive, but so are the anecdotes of children who came into their own under your tutelage. And interacting with the parents of children you are coaching absolutely requires relationship-building savvy.
Communication Skills: Obviously we communicate every day, all day long, but the question is how to convey the mastery of these communication skills. Are there any community newsletters you write or to which you contribute? Do you blog on a favorite hobby? If so, how many followers do you have? Perhaps you have felt strongly on a community issue and convinced others to consider the issue and seek action, displaying not only persuasive verbal communication skills, but leadership as well.

These types of opportunities which we encounter in everyday life, inside the office and out, allow us to develop both necessary and practical skills, helping us become the well-rounded candidate that employers seek.