There’s never been a better time to work in the IT industry than right now! However, if you are still on the fence about it, here are some reasons to seriously consider starting your career in this industry.
1. IT is everywhere
Service providers are no longer the exclusive sources for IT graduate hires. Businesses of all sizes now seek to incorporate IT platforms into their operations and automate services using technology. Since it can be more sensible to have in-house expertise rather than continually having to outsource for even the smallest services, many businesses are now hiring in-house technology teams to suit their needs.
For instance, because they must constantly maintain and secure their IT infrastructure, banking and financial services organisations are some of the biggest employers of IT graduates. Employers in the aerospace, defence, and security industries are also constantly on the lookout for cutting-edge tech talent. Numerous new positions and opportunities have also been made possible by the booming e-commerce industry, notably in the field of mobile commerce.
In short, a career in IT allows you to work in any industry, given the crucial role that technology plays in every aspect of our lives today.
2. Innovative work
Technology advances at an incredible rate that results in new developments almost every few months. Consider, for instance, how the retail industry has moved from brick-and-mortar storefronts to online commerce. Or how cloud computing, mobile apps and blockchain have massively transformed the financial services industry.
As an IT professional, you will often find yourself working at the forefront of these innovations. Working on the technology that drives these continual developments and changes will offer you plenty of learning opportunities, as well as insights into future market trends from a tech perspective.
3. Generous Pay
IT professionals are incredibly in demand in the market right now, with the number of job vacancies available far outstripping the supply of candidates. IT professionals can expect to receive incredibly competitive remuneration right from the start.
As you gain more experience and real-world exposure to various in-demand IT skillsets, your compensation may increase rather significantly. You may even be offered opportunities to work for better-paying companies outside of Malaysia, whether in-person or remotely.
4. Potential for growth
Employers in this sector are renowned for being incredibly generous with training opportunities, giving graduates a multitude of options for career advancement. This is because the global IT skills shortage is typically in mid-level and higher positions rather than at graduate stage. So to plug the gap, employers are investing a lot of time and money to train up junior hires to fill those positions.
Graduates can make use of the training offered to either explore different specialisations for exposure, or to specialise in a specific field of interest straight away. An IT analyst, for instance, may pursue the credentials to work as a certified technical consultant, or even transfer to a different field like cybersecurity instead.
5. Recession-proof work
As the past 2 years of COVID-19 have shown us firsthand, the IT industry is not only a safe space during tough economic climates; it may actually even grow aggressively when times are bad too! Given how crucial technology is to markets and governments worldwide, there will always be demand for IT professionals regardless of external market factors.
In particular, cybersecurity positions are among the IT jobs that are thought to be most recession-proof. Other famously recession-proof IT areas as well are networking and systems administration, and software design and development.
Technical consulting is another job area that thrives during recessions too. Companies will always attempt to use technology to automate functions or reduce costs during tough market climates. So technical consultants will work with clients to advise them on software and technical solutions that meet their needs, as well as assist with the implementation.
6. You don’t need an IT degree
More and more IT employers are hiring graduates from any degree background because they recognise the benefit of staffing their workforce with people trained to think in different ways. This is most common for business-focused roles, such as consultancy. However, some large IT employers also have programmes teaching non-technical graduates to code.
Another popular pathway into the industry for non-IT graduates is to take conversion courses to learn coding and other necessary technical skills. Some conversion course providers even work directly with IT companies to ensure that their students work on real-world IT problems, and those companies may headhunt them for full-time roles later.
