After developing your skills, an internet search for freelance work will net you thousands of resultsFinding a job in the current job market is already incredibly difficult despite ‘the lowest unemployment rate in years’ being a regular headline. The jobs that are available require experience and skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. This means that without doing courses or training, it is near impossible to get a job in these fields.
Luckily, with the prevalence of online learning platforms and the possibility of developing a personal portfolio to show off your skillsets to potential employers, it is becoming easier to break into these industries. The industry in question today is technology.
Ways to develop relevant skills
The first thing you should do when trying to get into the technology sector is figure out what type of work interests you. If, for example, you wanted to get into programming, find out which programming languages are required of the role and look to develop your skills. There are a huge number of online learning aids for programming, ranging from dedicated websites to online videos and even webcam tutoring.
If you have little experience, these methods can teach you the basics, which you can then develop your own programs from, and then move on to intermediate and advanced lessons from there. This can apply to many aspects of the technology industry, meaning this advice can be adapted to anything from programming to database management and even network infrastructure development.
After developing your skills, an internet search for freelance work will net you thousands of results, where you can find people looking to pay for small projects to be done. Use this to build your experience and add it to your CV, ready for the next individual project or prospective employers to see and be impressed by.
Documenting and building a portfolio
Building a portfolio is a great next step to getting your foot in the door of the technology industry. Using programming again as an example, you could do some basic work for people in a freelance capacity, alongside developing your own in-house programs, all of which you will have the source code available for. These can be stored in an online repository and linked in any cover letters you send to employers, in order to showcase the work you can do.
Having these examples available to prospective employers is a hugely positive thing, as there is proof you can do the job. It would give you an advantage over someone who didn’t have any of their work available to show off, which may end up being the deciding factor that nets you the job you’ve applied for.
In summary, the technology field is a vast open space where skills can be learnt without going through the orthodox methods of learning. Anything from 3D modelling to programming and video editing can be learnt at your own pace using new and innovative methods, allowing you to learn part-time whilst working in your main job.
If you want to change your industry and move into IT, type your desired role into a search engine and explore the internet for an hour or so. You are sure to find hundreds of like-minded people willing to help you with the next steps into your new career.
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