by Lina Martinez

Photo by Fabian Grohs on Unsplash

Technology pretty much runs the world today.  Try and think of an industry, or area of our lives that don’t revolve around it. If you’re thinking of pursuing a career in technology, the great news is that you’re likely to find a rewarding, well-paid job.  There are many different roles you might want to consider looking into and see which one appeals to you most. 

Network Engineer

IT systems run on infrastructure.  A network engineer builds, configures and repairs networks to keep everything running smoothly.  They often work for specialist IT companies such as Terminal B, that provide services to companies in all sectors.  For more information visit https://www.terminalb.com/ to see the types of services and clients you can accept to work with. Some larger organisations have network engineers who work in-house, solely on their systems.

Software Engineer

Software engineers develop and test software.  They need a solid grounding in computer science, engineering and math but the demand for software engineers is huge. Opportunities are available from startups to government agencies.

Web Developer

Almost every company in the world has a website, that’s not including the millions of personal blogs too.  A good website is an investment and good developers are in high demand. May web developers are self-taught and skills in Wordpress, HTML, PHP, MySQL and Javascript are usually needed.

IT Manager

In this role, you are expected to oversee the strategic planning and direction of your company. You coordinate all of the internal IT staff as well as third party specialist companies.  In many organisations, IT managers operate at a senior level within the company, often being on senior management teams and even boards. 

In addition to IT knowledge, you’ll need to learn other business skills including strategy, budgeting and people management. 

Security Analyst

Cyber security is a huge concern for companies of all sizes.  There have been many high profile data breaches in recent years including Equifax, Canva and Yahoo. However, many over 62% of small businesses have been the victims of phishing or social engineering scams in the past year. 

As hackers get more sophisticated, the number of breaches continues to rise.  As a security analyst, you ensure that networks and IT systems are secure and not vulnerable to attack. 

In addition to analyzing system vulnerabilities, you will need to work with other stakeholders to educate employees in good data security, defense planning and threat detection.  

Skilled security analysts are in high demand in every sector as companies attempt to stay ahead of cyber criminals.  

Key Takeaways

A career in IT can be varied and extremely rewarding.  Within the sector, there is a range of different job roles that suit a variety of skill sets and personalities.  
The rapid development and advancement of technology mean that these skills are in high demand now, and will continue to be in the future.  Career prospects are good and average salaries are excellent in all areas of the country.  Many of these skills can be used on a freelance basis too, giving many more options for work/life balance.