Get into IT Without a Degree: It’s Easier Than You Might Imagine

Get into IT Without a Degree It’s Easier Than You Might Imagine

Get into IT Without a Degree: It’s Easier Than You Might Imagine

Getting a job in the IT industry is a dream of many professionals around the world, and a significant number of those people are concerned about the academic requirement to get a job in the IT industry, as many of them do not have the degree required to be eligible for an IT job. There are some common myths available in the market related to the job placement issue in the IT Industry. The followings are some such myths that made most of us confused about getting a dream job in the IT Industry:

  • A four-year computer degree is compulsory to get a job in the IT industry.
  • A technical degree is a must to get an entry-level tech support position.
  • The technical knowledge required for an IT job is only delivered in college education.
  • Hiring personnel in the IT industry are more concerned about your academic credentials than your professional skill and knowledge.

Facts

When you are searching for a job on online career portals like monster.com, glassdoor.com, indeed.com, and looking forward to the position of software development, help desk technician, mobile application developer, and/or higher positions, you may not miss that in the academic qualification section they simple mentioned ‘High School Diploma or GED required. A significant portion of IT jobs is not looking for a candidate with a four-year college degree unless that post is sophisticated and a bit senior level. In most cases, hiring personnel are looking forward to seeing if you have the required skill and knowledge to carry on with your job responsibility or not. A four-year college degree could be an added advantage, but that is not mandatory in pursuing an IT job. If you are good at something, a four-year college degree can never be an obstacle holding you back from pursuing your dream career.

Stats of IT Professionals Without Degrees

In the United States, a survey report shows that:

  • About a quarter of the IT workforce do not possess a bachelor degree or higher.
  • Around 69% of CompTIA certification holders do not possess four-year college degrees.
  • According to a survey in 2017, around 2.3 million IT jobs posted did not ask for a four-year degree as a minimum requirement for the job.
  • In 2017, IT job positions with an approximate requirement of around £64,170, never asked for a bachelor degree or higher requirement for the degree.

Transferable Skills in IT

IT jobs are not stereotypical; it means such positions are not suitable for anyone obsessed with physics or mathematics. Rather, the paradigm of the IT industry has changed over the last few decades, which made such jobs more versatile compared with other jobs. The key point of getting an IT job is to earn the required skill and have adequate knowledge and experience on the relevant subject matter. Good knowledge and understanding of mathematics can help any IT job candidate have a better job. Most IT-related jobs require sufficient knowledge on mathematical calculation for design and develop codes, algorithms, apply logic, and so on. It does not imply that you have to become a master in mathematics to become an IT professional. You do not have to be a master in mathematics, but a basic to some advanced level of computing and the concept of programming language is good enough for you to look forward to your dream IT job.

A four-year college degree would definitely be considered an added advantage, which is not necessary for an IT job candidate. There are many vendor-specific and vendor-neutral certification programs now offered by many well-reputed training centres and even from colleges and schools. Individuals interested in IT jobs can find a better placement through recognition of their capacity and knowledge. Certain years of work experience in an IT company will keep you many steps ahead of other candidates in the competition. Your creativity, communication skills, attention to detail of the subject matter, and problem-solving attitude are the key factors that your employer will try to find and assess. You must also possess a ‘work with a team’ attitude, which is mandatory for almost every IT industry while mostly working on a project base.

Which Jobs You May Apply for Without Having a 4 Years Degree?

1. Computer Support Specialist

The key job responsibility of a Computer Support Specialist is to troubleshoot and monitor computer components and the Computer Network of an organization. Remote support providers must know the details of the problem by asking the client about the issue before solving the problem. They are also responsible for assisting new customers in showing the installation process and use procedures for any kind of new hardware and/or software. Sometimes, computer support specialists may have to repair computer components, as well. Adequate knowledge of troubleshooting computer components is good enough to apply for this position. Basic knowledge of computer Operating System (OS) and programming will be an added advantage for this position.

Computer Support Specialists are Getting Paid Nearly £27,980 per annum.

2. Junior Data Analyst

Junior Data Analysts are responsible for co-operating with the senior analyst for retrieving, refining, and organizing data. Another task of a Junior Data Analyst is to insert data in a database and take necessary measures to process those data with an approach to help the customers. This job is pretty similar to a data analyst. Without a college or university degree, you must work hard to know the pulse and tone of data analysis through self-education and self-earned validation. Data Scientists need to have a grip over at least one programming language relevant to the subject matter. A tremendous amount of data is generating almost every day from different businesses, financial institutes, social media platforms, and many more. So, it is important for you to have strong knowledge on this subject matter if you are not a certified professional to work in this field.

Usually, the average salary of a Junior Data Analyst is £34,863.

3. Help Desk Analyst

Providing support to the end-users over the phone or e-mail is the primary task of a Help Desk Analyst. They are responsible for keeping the logs of the customer’s issues and take the required measures to resolve those issues ASAP. Another of their job roles is to collaborate with the senior IT staff and the support team to install and deploy the technical solutions. In most cases, the help Desk Analysis serves the customers by remote troubleshooting facility from either software and or hardware issues.

The average salary of Help Desk Analysts is around £35,609.

4. Computer Programmer

It is hard to define the concept and applications of Computer Programmers in brief. It is so vast that several options and opportunities are there under the same umbrella. Computer programmers are responsible for using and utilizing to write, update and troubleshoot codes of existing software. Debugging, coding, developing computer architecture, and maintaining the operating system are also considered the computer programmer’s key responsibilities. A career as a Computer Programmer has huge potential if the programmer has enough passion for developing their career as a computer programmer.

The average salary of computer programmers is around £38,289 per annum.

5. Web Developer

According to the job role, web developers can be classified into three categories, namely front-end developer, back-end developer, and full stack developer. The role of a front-end developer is to concentrate on the design of the website for the end-users. Usually, they prefer working on a web template or with graphic designers to do the graphics work. The responsibility of a back-end designer is not that simple as their task is to ensure that all the features of the site infrastructure work accordingly. It includes the implication of application, troubleshooting and maintaining the database, and so on. A full-stack developer carries on both responsibilities. Some web developers might have college or university degrees, but many prepared themselves for online, self-study, and intensive self-learning processes. Obviously, the more skills and experience you have earned as a developer, you will be able to offer more services to the customers.

Web developers are usually earning £55,835 per annum.

6. IT Manager

IT Managers have a comprehensive view of the technology and the operations of the IT staff on the business. One of the important roles of IT managers is managing and organizing both hardware and software to evaluate the need for electronic Infrastructure. Analyzing and installing the Computer Networks is also a part of the job description of the IT Manager. It recommended having at least five years of working experience in the relevant field with proven skill and knowledge to become an IT Manager. Associate of Bachelor level certification could add as an added advantage to secure this position.

The average annual salary of IT Managers is £69,5550.

7. Computer Software Engineer

Software developers develop software for versatile sectors like marketing, finance, academic, management, customer relationship, and many more. Software developers are responsible for developing software for multiple industries. Documenting the software using flowcharts, coding patterns, instruction details, and layouts is also part of their job responsibility. For Computer Software Engineer, there is no alternative to dedicated practice, participating in online and local courses, and seeking help and guideline from a professional and skilled mentor.

Computer Software Engineers are paid around £82,288 per annum.

8. Cybersecurity Specialist

Cyber Security Specialists have a special role to play by monitoring data transmission over the computer network and detecting any potential threat to the organization’s business data. Data Protection is the key concern for Cyber Security Specialists, and they are supposed to develop and deploy effective strategies to protect the data. There are many online learning platforms where you can be a certified Cyber Security Specialist and move forward to get your dream job.

Cyber Security Specialists are getting paid around £88,246

9. DevOps Engineer

The primary role of DevOps Engineers is to design, develop and deploy application-based solutions for internal systems. They work in collaboration with the software developers and monitor the overall condition of the provided service. System Engineers and IT Professionals are responsible for deploying new code and find new opportunities for improvement. DevOps Engineers are expected to have at least five or more years of experience working with real-time software development processes, which is an integral part of the regular operations of the business infrastructure.

Usually, DevOps Engineers earn around £96,806 per year.

10. Software Architect

Through analytical and technical skills, Software Architects are using their knowledge and experience to design the application system based on the clients’ requirements. These professionals are continuously collaborating with software engineers, application developers, and business leaders to make the customized software easily understandable to non-tech users. Software Architects are always looking after the development code and the standards of the code, and one of their major concerns is to move along the time to keep the software development lifecycle plan. Software architects are extremely good at developing code and configuring the Operating System (OS), as per their requirements. It is always recommended to find and get help from a skilled and professional mentor to become a good software architect.

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