Jobs in information typically start with working at a help desk. Preparing employee’s technology to answer their questions, many young professionals in the IT career wonder if this is what it will be for the rest of their professional lives. However, with advancements in the information technology industry, IT professionals can make their way up to network infrastructures or cloud computing. With any job, there are ways you can successfully advance your career. Here are the tips for advancing in your IT career.
Become a Team Player
Oftentimes the IT department feels like its own little world. In reality, you are an essential part of the whole company. You need to see yourself as one of the employees of the business, rather than that one “IT guy”. Because in the end, you do contribute to the business’s bottom line. Familiarize yourself with the company’s quarterly or annual reports, and brush up on their goals and missions. Not only will upper management be impressed with your initiative, but you may find yourself enjoying going to work more than you did.
Get Certified
Working as an IT professional shouldn’t mean you are stuck at a help desk for eternity. Even in your professional life, you should always be learning new things. For information technology, CompTIA is one of the most well-known certifications for IT specialists. Taking professional IT programs that offer CompTIA certification will be crucial to anyone who wants to advance their career.
Brush Up On Your Soft Skills
There is a difference between your skill sets, and they are defined as either soft or hard skills. Hard skills are the ones we are taught. Learning the ins-and-outs of the computing world and how to solve your coworker’s requests are all learned through hard skills. Soft skills, however, are ones that you have not learned through tangible means of practice. Rather, your soft skills are your ability to work with others and communicate. In general, these align more with your personality than your technical capabilities.
Become cognizant of where you excel or have a lack thereof. For example, it might be time to brush up on your email etiquette, or maybe learn to be more open with your thoughts and concerns when communicating important information. Over Time, you will develop stronger soft skills, but they are not something that you can master in a matter of weeks.
