How to Change Job Roles in Technology Field
Technology keeps evolving. It's normal to see people in this field consistently update themselves since the field is also competitive. You either grow up or you go home.
So changing roles in technology is simple but it needs careful consideration planning, skills update, and future trends. Here are the important fact you should take note of.
Cultivate your present skills: By this I mean you should improve on your skills and gather experience at least for a minimum of 2 to 5 years. This will serve as a foundation for the basis for any job role you choose to change to in the future. Improve on them, have works or products that showcase your skills. For example, let's assume you are a software developer looking to cross into Cloud Engineering filed or Data science field. My advice to you is to build your skills, build your portfolio, gather experience, join open source community and leverage on your connections.
Change into a related field: Imagine a software developer who wants to change to accept IT manager or Business Analyst job positions. Not that they are not sought of related, but they will only reduce your opportunities for getting such roles because of your past job experience. Also If you’re able to change into such roles, I will advise you to stay for a minimum of 2 to 5 years to garner experience.
Whilst it's good to not be stereotyped to some certain areas of technology neglecting other areas, It's better to cultivate our area of specialization or interest. Jack of all trades does not pay off in this technology field. It's rather good to have little ideas in every area because of the evolving nature of technology and to avoid extinction.
Research the Market: According to research by Forbes, The reality is that jobs and careers evolve over time, requiring you to adapt your ideas about ‘career.’(1). Don't just do it because others are doing it, do your due diligence, seek advice from career experts and be ready to bring on the dynamics of change that the system requires into that market place.
Cheers. Hope this helps someone.
Reference:
- Margie Warrell. 2014. February https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2014/02/03/learn-unlearn-and-relearn/#4529c029676f
