1. Be Prepared For
Obsolescence
Whatever you learn are taught
in college will probably be partly or completely obsolete by the time you get
near technology in industry. The technology industry is generally so fast
moving that items that are invented today are superseded by newer improved
versions in no time at all. The lesson is not to focus on learning about too
specific a technology as a new one will overtake it.
The exception is that some
technologies are long-lasting cloud computing for example, or electric circuit
design – knowing which they are, is a tricky prospect though sometimes!
2. Find A Niche
The latest technologies are
protected heavily so if you want to work at the leading edge, you will have to
find a niche career and possibly learn a lot of the technology details
on-the-job; colleges are unlikely to have access to such new technologies
except in those that have funded research departments. Not all have that
luxury.
3. Realize The
Technology Industry Isn’t For Everyone
The careers in this field tend
to be relatively fast moving and constantly evolving as new innovations come
along. Those who prefer a more sedentary pace and a longer term prospect must
look to the technology giants for a career.
Those interested in exciting
business ventures might prefer technology start-up companies. These expand
fast and tend to have very steep promotion curves for those companies that
survive the first year or two – these are precarious careers though and
dependent on technological and marketing success of often new unproven
products.
4. Know That Computer
Programming Is A Lucrative Career Prospect…
…but unless you are really
happy to sit and pore over lines of coding – some of which can take months to
write, then this may not be the career for you. If you like to program a little
and tinker about then many web-programming careers are a lot more appropriate.
There still a lot of code but it is a different process to that of mainstream
programming in C+ or other languages that create more complex software.
This is not to say that
programming is mundane – far from it – there are many other activities related
to coding that are nothing to do with line after line of programming, including
graphics and animation work to name just a couple.
5. Check Out Trends
Using The Internet
Computing technologies such as
cloud computing are rapidly taking over the world of storage and networking.
These emerging technologies will become mainstays of the Future; these experts
in the future will be paid very well for their knowledge and experience.
6. Avoid Trying To Go
It Alone With A Technology Project
…particularly software
development. Collaboration and interaction with others makes for far superior
and more robust products. Get help wherever necessary – you will be surprised
as to how much help is available free. Raising money for a project is a
particularly arduous task – don’t expect investors to come rushing to your
door, they have many fish to fry and your project needs to be something special
in most cases to get any interest.
7. Don’t Spend All Of
Your Time Programming
Those with programming skills
need to be wary of spending all their time programming and none with the
sales/marketing that will be required when the job is done. A launch delay
while you start a marketing campaign simply allows competitors to have the same
idea and get there first so make sure you have a viable business plan that
starts from the day you write the first line of code.
8. Choose Technologies
Related To Your Training
If you are already pre-trained
in a niche and simply moving towards the technology industry for a change of
career, you can get on very quickly when you choose technologies that are
related to your other training. For example, if you worked in security or
government post and like investigation work, a career working in a data
recovery services might suit you.
If you worked in a hospital as
a nurse, working in the healthcare software might be your thing. It really
helps if you can do this because the learning curve is much shorter.
9. Stay Up-To-Date
Make sure you stay up-to-date
with the technologies you are trained in otherwise you will get passed by when
a younger person turns up with less experience but more knowledge about leading
edge technologies. This does not necessarily mean nipping back to college every
few months although some training courses may be required; it can simply mean
keeping up to date with the latest developments in the technology area you work
in – read the journals of the industry, try out new coding techniques –
whatever it takes to stay ahead!
10. Learn Something New
Learn a number of related
technology skills rather than just a single programming language or a single type
of circuit design; most large technology companies have a broad spectrum of
jobs and functions they need to fill – the more you are able, the more
opportunities you can pursue!
Now that you’ve found out more
about technology industry careers, which one will you choose?
