5 Tips for Retraining Into a New IT Career

Retraining for a new IT career not only offers an exciting new challenge – but it can also bring forth potentially higher pay, new competitive skills, and the opportunity to explore emerging sectors in this evolving industry. With a wide range of educational resources now available, building the experience you need has never been more accessible with the right initiative and planning.

Below, we explore our top five tips for retraining into a new IT career, the top most in-demand IT sectors as of late, and how a course with Lumify Learn could help.

Research and weigh out your options

Before you start training for a new IT profession, it’s important to firstly determine the specific role or sector your hope to pivot into. Map out the unique skills, experience, and credentials you have under your belt; along with your interests and job preferences – and use this list to help you discover potential new careers on the job market.

With jobs in IT, it can help to ponder the question: what kinds of problems do you wish to solve? Do you hope to provide businesses with greater digital security? Do you want to help companies improve their presence online? Do you hope to create an app or program that could improve workplace or user productivity?

As much of the industry revolves around crafting technological solutions, your answer to this could help you navigate through your available career options.

Once you’ve found an area (or two) that catches your interest, take the time to research the common job requirements for this sector. This will help you pinpoint any skills gaps you may need to address, along with certain qualifications you may need to acquire.

Consider specialised IT training

If you’re simply shifting from one IT career to another, you’ve likely already had experience in the fundamental areas of tech (i.e. familiarity with common technologies, ICT ethics and privacy policies, basic cyber security, etc.). This can help you in your transition, as it offers a solid foundation of transferable skills.

However, certain careers in IT – such as roles in cloud computing, data science, and AI – require industry-specific certifications for employment. Plenty of online courses are now available to help you acquire these qualifications, with many providing a flexible learning experience best tailored to your study needs and personal schedule.

Lumify Learn, for example, offers a wide variety of IT courses in areas of cyber security; digital marketing; data and AI; cloud computing; and more. Plenty are also aligned to globally-recognised certifications from leading tech bodies such as CompTIA, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and more.

Take up an internship or pursue your own projects

IT employers not only look for those with the right technical knowledge – but also the practical skills, to boot. Be sure to put your training to practice through hands-on experiences such as an internship or a personal project.

Opportunities for the former can be easily explored through popular job boards such as SEEK and Indeed; both of which come up with hundreds of options upon search. You may also wish to use LinkedIn, as it’s a popular social media platform for not only finding new opportunities on the job market – but also for forging new connections with like-minded professionals or industry peers. With over 6.5 million active Australian users on the site, it’s a resource worth exploring.

Pursuing your own projects is also a great way to help exercise your newfound skills, and provide you with the flexibility of applying and exploring them in your own way. In addition, it helps build on your industry portfolio, and demonstrates initiative for potential employers.

Get up-to-date on industry resources

On top of specialised courses and experience, it could help to read up on publications or books relevant to your desired IT sector. These serve as a complimentary addition to your training and helps foster that “lifelong learner” mindset critical to a career in IT.

Popular resources recommended by IT leaders include:

TheCyberWire, a cyber security-dedicated website that fills users in on the latest news, developments, and events surrounding the IT security field

TechCrunch, a website dedicated to the latest news on the general IT industry

GrowthHackers Community, a platform for growth marketers to connect and share their knowledge on innovative marketing and experimentation

Blinkist, a subscription service that summarizes non-fiction books (including those related to the tech sector) into bite-sized nuggets of information

Look for opportunities in your current company

Retraining for a new IT career shouldn’t necessarily mean leaving your current company. Perhaps they themselves could offer you the opportunities you’re after.

Look into the available tech positions your organisation currently has for hire, and see whether you and your newfound skills would be a good fit. Shifting to a new role in the same company is often more convenient than switching companies altogether; as you’re already familiar with your organisation’s culture, workflows, and overall mission.

Some companies may even reimburse you for your training or offer professional development programs to help you transition into your new role. Employees can then typically apply for another in-house position upon gaining the required certifications.

What are the most in-demand IT sectors?

Cyber security

With cyber crime rates increasing by the year, and an estimated 16,600 additional security specialists required in Australia by 2026 – cyber security stands as one of country’s highest-paying and in-demand IT fields. Payscale reports an average of $96K AUD earned by cyber security professionals each year.

Cloud computing

Focused on the delivery of services, storage, and communication tools over the web, cloud computing in Australia is estimated to grow by 12.5% by 2025, reaching a market value of $14.1bn. Opportunities in this job market thus run plenty, with such skills earning a whopping $138K AUD per year for the average worker.

Data Analytics

As both our data generation and usage increases, so does demand for those with the right skills to collect, manage, and leverage them. Data scientists have garnered massive demand in the past few years with no signs of stopping, as reports predict a 12.9% job growth in the field over the next half decade and a generous average salary of $120K AUD.

ICT Project Management

Australia has experienced a surging demand for project managers as the economy continues to find its footing post-COVID-19. ICT project managers rank among the top most in-demand roles, according to AIPM, with strong future demand and an average salary of $109K AUD.

Seeking out a new tech career?

Whether you’re exploring new options in IT or looking to specialise your skills – Lumify Learn offers a generous range of online courses suited to varying skill levels and IT sectors. From bootcamps to fully-fledged diplomas spanning across in-demand areas such as cloud computing, cyber security, and data analytics; we offer the comprehensive training you need to pursue the IT career you’re after.

Best of all, with our all-online delivery, you can flexibly study at a time, place, and pace that suits you best.

Step into a new IT field today, and enquire with us on a course.