If you, too, are considering one of the many opportunities in this field, then here’s what you need to know for a successful career....
CAREER COUNSELLING
The Economic Survey of Pakistan (2020-2021) revealed that the compound annual growth rate for IT and related services reached 18.85 percent – higher than every other industry in the region. Jobs in the IT and tech industries are expected to grow significantly in the coming years, and companies around the world are already beginning to transform to keep pace with the future of work.
If you, too, are considering one of the many opportunities in this field, then here’s what you need to know for a successful career.
The learning never stops
The only constant in the tech and IT industries, like life, is change. You may have started out your career 10 years ago as a software developer who later switched to computer networking. Perhaps, you then shifted your career’s direction to big data and completely reoriented your specialisation. Today, your job may very well be centred around cloud computing, an area that didn’t even exist when you started out.
Programming languages evolve with no consideration of your background and past experience, and a career in this field may make your expertise obsolete in just a few years. Tech professionals have to be ready to learn the next significant change, and become fluent at it rapidly.
Work hard, earn big
Some may find the idea of constant learning exhausting, while others exhilarating. If you’re the latter, then this is the field for you. The changing nature of work in the tech industry also brings with it an abundance of opportunities to grow. Fresh graduates who join tech companies in entry-level positions are highly likely to see rapid growth in a short amount of time, and internships often lead to full-time employment. The benefits of this work both ways; growth for employees and companies get to retain the resources they have invested in.
The catch, however, is that the hours can be long and the work repetitive. Application processes are also usually quite rigorous, but the sector is known to be meritocratic in nature.
Tech isn’t just for “techies”
“Tech has evolved to become a much broader term than it used to be when it first burst into the scene. It’s true that tech jobs require technical expertise, but it doesn’t always mean being hunched over a dimly lit, messy desk, coding the next big app. Roles in the tech industry can vary greatly from business to business, often prioritising the knowledge of soft skills like communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and flexibility, over the amount of programming languages you may fluently know,” stated Ali Turab, Human Resources Business Partner at Savyour, Pakistan’s first and largest cashback app.
Talking about career opportunities in the tech industry, he further shared “The majority of tech roles can be Data Scientists and Researchers, Programmers and Developers, IT Support, Digital Product Design, Front-End technical roles, and now even AI/ML or VR specialists. The roles leading the industry now have expanded to include professionals from non-technical fields such as sales and marketing. Tech companies, too, need to sell their products to customers and target the right audiences with their company’s communication strategies.”
Remote work is no big deal
After a series of global pandemics, we are emerging into a new world of work, irrespective of industry. Remote work, meetings, and conferences have all become the norm in a post-Covid world. The internet is only now beginning to recover from the endless memes about commuting from bed to the home office “corner” to join video conferences with pets in the foreground.
The tech industry is no stranger to remote working. Some jobs required remote availability even before the global pandemic of 2020, due to tight project deadlines. This is also true for tech resources who work in critical service support, handling emergencies at all times of the day.
Learn new, transferable skills
Jobs in tech can offer the opportunity to work on a multitude of projects at the same time. This can equip you with new skills and help you gain more experience in areas that are new to you, such as learning a new programming language or improving your skills in data research. This field of work is sure to help you develop a variety of skills and talents, many of which are transferable to other career paths. Maybe, one day, you can start your own tech company with the skills you develop at your next tech job.
