In recent years, technological developments have taken the world by storm. The greatest thing about technological advancements is that these are not limited to a specific sector. Instead, every industry, sector, business, and organization leverages technology. And as the use of tech is becoming widespread, the need for tech experts is also increasing.
Advancements and more tech usage lead to more job openings in this field. That’s why many students are selecting tech-related degrees nowadays to develop a tech career, and so should you. But before you choose a career path, you must do detailed research about it. Like knowing what are the needed skills, educational requirements, career options, and benefits of a career. This article is for all those students who want to establish a tech career.
Here are four things you should know.
- Required Skills:
Being a tech-savvy person is a good indication that you must opt for a tech career. But mere interest in technology is not enough to establish a career in this field. You need to have some hard as well as some soft skills to have a successful career. You might already have some soft skills naturally, like good communication, etc. The technical or hard skills are the ones that you develop during your studies and even when you are a working professional.
When it comes to the tech field, it’s quite easy to gain and hone your skills quickly. Boot camps are a good example in this case. If, say, you lack data analytics skills, you can enroll in one of the online data analytics boot camps. In no time, without even leaving your house, you will learn all the data analytics knowledge and skills.
Here are some must-have hard or technical skills:
- Hardware Deployment
- Coding
- Database Management
- Technical Writing
- Operating System Knowledge
- Network Configuration
Develop these and other hard skills if you want to establish a tech career. If some of these are not included in your major, you can opt for options like boot camps to gain these skills.
Some of the soft skills you need include:
- Problem-Solving
- Communication
- Leadership
- Project Management
- Creativity
- Tenacity
- Degree Options:
Computer Science:
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A degree in computer science equips you with all basic knowledge of IT. With this degree, you will learn how different programs work based on different data processes. You will learn how and why certain designs work better than others. Thus, you will learn about computer design and development in detail. You get enabled to understand system functions by learning about theories of software analysis and development.
Cybersecurity:
Where there is technology, there is a risk of cybercrime, and a degree in cybersecurity will teach you how to detect, prevent, and react to these cybercrimes. With this degree, you will learn about security protection software, common cybersecurity attacks, and risk management.
Software Engineering:
If you are keen to develop new software solutions and apps to meet new needs and demands of people, then majoring in software engineering will be the right move for you. With this degree, you will study courses like software design, real-time operating systems, web programming, database modeling concepts, user interface software, etc.
IT and Information Systems:
The most opted-for degree in the tech field is IT and information systems, as it’s the most rounded degree and covers almost all aspects. The common courses you will study while pursuing this degree are database concepts, introduction to UNIX, web design, Windows server networking, fundamentals of business systems development, and so much more.
Network Engineering:
As the name suggests, this degree teaches you all about digital networks. This degree will enable you to design, develop, and maintain telecommunication systems and digital networks. As a network engineer, you will modify a company’s information technology platform to ensure its security. By learning about applied networks and security, you will be able to develop and secure computer networks on small and large scales. You will also learn about firewalls, data analysis, wireless communication networks, and VPNs.
Other popular degree options include system administration, web development and design, database management, etc. For all these degree options, you can earn a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate.
- Career Options:
There are unlimited career options in the technology field. For most career options, you will need a bachelor’s in the relevant field; however, some jobs might require a master’s degree. Some career options are:
- Cloud Engineer
- Data Scientist
- Robotics Engineer
- UX Designer
- Software Developer
- Cybersecurity Analyst
- Computer System Analyst
- Benefits of a Tech Career:
Higher Pay:
Tech experts earn a handsome salary. Even entry-level jobs offer good pay. And as you advance in your career and work in higher positions, your earning potential also boosts.
Positive Future Growth:
This goes without saying that technology is a growing field. This means there will be tons of job openings in this field in the future. The tech industry is the second-biggest industry in the US. People working in the tech industry earn 85% more as compared to those working in other industries. The overall growth rate of the tech industry till 2024 is 5%.
Some careers in the field have more growth potential than others. For example, the growth potential for computer and information system managers is 15% from 2022 to 2032. This is more than double the average growth of all other occupations combined. Similarly, the BLS reports that there will be 19,000 job openings each year for web developers and digital designers for a decade. Computer and IT occupations will grow much faster than the average of all other occupations from 2022-2023.
Conclusion:
Before choosing a career, you must get thorough information about it. Some careers might not have many degree options, others might not have a positive future growth rate, etc. But when it comes to the field of technology, it has unlimited degree options that lead to tons of job options you can choose from. The jobs in this field also pay a higher salary than those in other fields. However, you will need to develop some necessary skills along with getting a technical degree to establish a career in the tech field.