How To Switch A Career Into It Successfully
According to the career change statistics, an average persons career switches 57 times during their work life. The idea of switching to a new career can strike you at any age in your life. For that, all you need is a passion and the right path to start your new career. If you are thinking of how to start a career in IT, you have picked the right blog. We will let you know all the details to pursue your new career in the IT sector.
Before going deep into the blog, lets see the list of topics we are going to discuss:
For further guidelines on how to switch to IT career successfully, watch our YouTube video:
Just before switching to an IT career, try answering these questions to yourself.
Do Employers Hire Coding Bootcamp Graduates
Yes, employers do hire bootcamp graduates, especially as bootcamps continue to grow in popularity. Bootcamps provide solid, hands-on learning experiences with opportunities to network and build professional portfolios. Coding bootcamps allow graduates to switch careers or advance current careers with new skills in tech.
In general, employers dislike the lack of regulation in the bootcamp industry. In recent years, bootcamps have experienced more regulation and oversight.
First Step Of How To Learn Programming: What You Want To Do
Since you are learning programming in your spare time, you should probably be interested in the most time-efficient way to educate yourself. Before you jump into tutorials, courses, or any other learning material, we suggest you decide what you are planning to achieve clearly. Here are some goals that will strongly influence the answer to a question of which programming language should I learn first:
Of course, this leaves room for interpretation: I know my goal, but how to learn programming to reach it? For your convenience, we will review the best options for every set aim. We will mention which programming languages are the easiest to master, and which might take more time to comprehend.
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But Dont Underestimate The Challenge Ahead Of You
Kevin Smiths journey in tech has come full circle thanks to his midlife career change. After high school, he got a job as a technician building computer chips, and loaded up on programming classes as he studied electrical engineering in college. However, during his junior year, he quit school and his tech job to pursue his passion for music. He became a jazz guitarist, a cruise ship musician, and a music teacher after earning a masters degree in music.
But programming stayed in the back of Kevins mind, and at age 47, he jumped back in and started learning web development for real to train for a new career. I found freeCodeCamp and started there. I worked my butt off. I struggled through a lot of things, but some things started to click. YouTube videos helped me get through difficult spots.
The real challenge of his burgeoning coding career began once Kevin actually began job-hunting. I probably sent out 500 applications, did 30 coding challenges, 20 phone interviews, and about 10 times I got to the second interview. I made it to the final stage three times.
If you need help with productivity and time management while learning to code, check out these podcast episodes that offer advice and tips for staying focused and motivated:
How To Become A Top Coder In Your Field
You may be wondering how to become a top coder in your area of work. After all, youre not just content to code professionally for a living you want to make a real mark in the field.
Experience is key. As you progress in your career, you should explore new knowledge areas, make sure you learn emerging and in-demand programming languages and hone your existing skills.
There are many communities where coders come together to build better, stronger software. Game enthusiasts may code an innovative video game together additionally, some of the most significant web projects, like Drupal and WordPress , are based on open-source code and rely on enormous communities of contributing developers.
Sometimes, these groups even host conventions and events that offer coders of all levels great opportunities to network and improve their skills. Do some research and find out how you can participate!
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Work On Your Own Projects
Unfortunately, since you are switching careers, you will meet a lot of skepticism. People will doubt your skills, and a certificate from bootcamp will not be enough.
And the best way to bootstrap your programming skills and gain practical experience is to start working on your own side projects and put everything on Github.
Fortunately, you can attach links to all your accomplished projects to showcase your ability to deliver the working implementation and emphasize what a great programmer you are!
If you are looking at getting a job in programming, especially at big companies or corporations, this is most important to have a portfolio. Otherwise, without a diploma or solid experience, it will not be enough to get a job there unless you have a CS degree. It will be easier to find a job when you have projects.
Are You Curious About Technology
Coders’ curiosity about technology is often one of the motivating factors in their careers. Learning coding teaches them about the building blocks of computer programs. Coders want to know how code creates programs, operating systems, and mobile apps. But they also remain curious about how code inspires innovations within the tech world.
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Who Can Become A Programmer
The answer is short and simple: anybody, who has their mind set on the goal. Learning programming might seem a huge challenge, but it isnt actually harder than learning most other professions from scratch.
Since high level and academic programming skills have been associated with math and physics for a long time, theres an age-old notion that still lingers: that you need academic background or special skills to be successful in tech. But its time to realise that coding is something you can definitely learn regardless of your background or major. You dont need superhero abilities or good grades in mathematics to start. You can master it over time by learning continuously on the job, while already building your shiny new career in programming.
If youre excited about coding, and putting in the effort to learn doesnt scare you, youre good to go. Having the courage and motivation to start is the first step towards achieving anything, especially a career change. Youll also be able to build on previous knowledge and experience that you bring with you if youre coming from a different field. If you have the willingness, persistence, and some basic logic skills, then you most definitely have everything youll need to succeed.
What will help, is a well-thought-out plan to be set out in front of you. So lets see the list of 10 steps that could make you end up in successful new tech career!
Why Data Science Is In Demand
The growth of data scientists has grown enormously in the past few years and the urge for data scientists and their importance have been acknowledged by almost all major industries and thats one of the reasons why the demand has grown above 300% in just 8-9 years. As per a survey, the YoY growth has been reported at 30% and its going to rise at a slightly high pace in upcoming years.
Likewise, the demand for data scientists has risen having 36000+ job openings in India and above 5,00,000 and thats a huge number that has been growing significantly and the demand has risen from all across the industries with a whooping 2500-3000 every month. Now the industries have understood the importance ofData Science on how they impact making their business process smoothly.
While companies realize the value and power of Big Data, they thrive to make use of it to make better business decisions. Although there might be a lot of other reasons, still few are the major key highlights that make it Most Wanted jobs in the industry.
These are some of the factors that make it difficult for companies to hire such professionals in data science.
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Build Your Own Website And Projects
If you want to launch a career in web development, consider getting started by building a website. These days, an advanced online portfolio is an essential component of a strong tech resume when youre looking for a new career in coding. With a portfolio website, youll be able to show employers that you understand the technologies needed for developing a site and demonstrate your other technical capabilities via linked projects.
You may also want to consider getting involved in open-source development communities. These allow you to contribute to significant projects, expand your knowledge especially in widely-used programming and scripting languages and make excellent connections in the field.
Dont be afraid to network let people in your professional circle know when you are looking for a job, and consider joining online and in-person networking events to make even more industry contacts.
Additional Resources:
How To Change Career To Software Developer
A career change to software developer can be a challenging and daunting decision. If you are a non-techie whos planning to become a software developer, you may be wondering how you can change careers and become a software developer.
Regardless of how complicated those algorithms appear, every professional software developer today began as a beginner, just like you. So, in this article, we look at programming, the perks enjoyed by developers, and how to change career to software developer.
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Everything You Wanted To Know About Taking Your First Step Towards A Career As A Programmer 5 Min Read
Chances are, at some point in your career, youve wondered if the career youve chosen is the right one for you. If youve thought about a career change, dont panic! Its perfectly normal to change careers from time to time in fact, people change jobs 12 times during their lifetime on average. It might be time to change careers, and a career in programming might be the ideal move for you.
Before you change careers, there are some questions you should ask yourself.
Have You Lost Interest in Your Job or Career?
Are you bored? Dissatisfied? Ready to try something new? Jobs in tech are consistently listed as top jobs by U.S. News & World Report. Programming jobs offer numerous challenges to overcome and are full of opportunities to collaborate with colleagues to solve problems.
Is Your Career Outlook Poor?
Do you feel stuck in your current job? If youre having trouble finding opportunities for upward mobility or career advancement, learning to code might provide you with those opportunities. Even if you stay within your company, coding skills are in high demand among employers. Programmers are always learning and developing their skills, too, which means theyre always creating new opportunities to advance their careers.
Are You Experiencing Burnout?
Do You Want to Increase Your Income Potential?
Typical Coding Career Path
One of the best aspects of the coding field is the almost unlimited growth potential. Here are some of the most common steps in a coders career journey, from first job to leader.
The primary role of a junior developer is to build quality, bug-free software that meets client expectations. Youll use your knowledge of programming languages, algorithms, and databases.
As this is an entry-level position, youll spend a significant amount of time developing your coding skills. You may find coding certain applications a challenge, but this is your opportunity to learn the software development lifecycle.
Senior Developer
After gaining three to four years of experience, youll now be proficient in writing complex software applications. Youll have also gained more in-depth knowledge of databases and algorithms. Now youre fully aware of the complexity of the entire software/application lifecycle.
Lead Architect
A lead architect is responsible for designing the entire software system. Youll oversee the day-to-day coding which is implemented by a team of junior developers. The technical skills gained with years of experience as a junior and senior developer help you take on the lead architect role.
Mid-Level Manager
Senior Leader
As you go further up the career ladder, your job will involve less coding. Youll take on a role where youll be heading a team of mid-level managers. Your job is to motivate and inspire your team towards achieving company goals.
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What Was The Interview Process Like For Your First Developer Job
My first dev company focussed very strongly on cultural fit over raw technical skills so there was lots of conceptual problem solving and general background discussion in the interview. There was a short written test to see what level my Javascript skills were at and then I had to prepare a short presentation on how to make a shopping cart system and how to handle creating and reconciling shopping carts across multiple devices. This was very high level and I just drew out some data structures and user flow diagrams on a whiteboard – not a line of code in sight. It was about 4 hours all in and I got the offer the next day.
While I had 11 years of dev experience under my belt at this point, I was still an unknown quantity so the role was fairly junior and the tech testing light. When I left 14 months later I was asked to test the new senior developer hiring tech test which was much more involved. I still passed it 🙂
During my time at that company I realised how valuable and extensive my self taught dev skills were. I was missing some of the Agile, Git and team aspects but my problem solving, debugging and feature development skills were far ahead of a junior, as soon as my probation ended after 6 months I was promoted to Software Engineer and then my next job was senior level. Dont underestimate your self taught abilities.
Understand why you want to learn to code, this journey is hard, you need a north star.
Set A Deadline For Your Midlife Career Change
Deadlines might be intimidating, but for Syk, it was a useful step. I did not want this objective to end up on a to-do list I never see again, he said. It was spring of 2017, so I promised myself that the following school course was going to be my last as a teacher. So by September 2018, a little over a year later, I had to be working in the field.
Especially when youre considering a career change at 50+, deadlines can help because you might not want to spend too much time and money on career retraining. Opting for short-term courses with high salary potential could be a good option to help you hit the ground running quickly.
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What Are Your Career Goals For The Future
I am full time on CareerSwitchToCoding.com which is a 100% free resource to help you land your first or next developer job. The podcast is chock full of great developer stories and the blog is full of advice for all stages of your career. The book is the most actionable 80 pages on landing a developer job anywhere on the internet.
If you want daily updates then join nearly 10,000 developers following me on Instagram @allthecode or, if Twitter is your thing then come say hi over there @allthecode_.
The next stop is building the YouTube channel!
What Help Did You Get
On the course itself, the teachers were a great help. And there was a career support team who helped with my CV and applications.
Once in the job, I was paired with a senior developer who became my mentor. He was very helpful in explaining different concepts to me and teaching me the subtleties of software development.
I also reached out to developers at my previous company and other companies to grow my networks and peer group of software developers.
And GA has an alumni network that’s really helpful.
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How Do I Become A Coder
If youre interested in becoming a coder, there are a variety of paths you can take. Regardless of how you kickstart your career, however, youll essentially need a combination of educational training and real-world experience . These will help prepare you for the coding career path youre looking for.
Is Coding A Good Career
Coding jobs pay quite well. According to Indeed, software engineers earned an average of around $110,371 last year and programmer analysts earned $80,934. This is based on information submitted by individual users, so may not be completely accurate, but can be taken as a rough estimate.
Several coding careers have high satisfaction rates, too. A 2018 report from CareerCast put several engineering and programming jobs in its top 25 list. Similarly, reports from Glassdoor also indicate high satisfaction rates among software developers and data scientists.
If you’re keen to try out a coding career, its important to figure out which are the most useful coding languages to learn in 2021. But Kathryn advises that beginners needn’t worry too much about picking one language over another, as a lot of them are fairly similar so you can transfer what you’ve learned across different types.
I don’t think there’s a gap in the industry for a particular language, says Kathryn. But I do believe there are not enough software engineers to fill all the technical jobs that are available right now.
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