Pursuing an Information Technology Career Path? 5 Things to Know

If you are looking for a career that offers strong salaries and work-life balance, information technology could be a great choice. IT professionals are responsible for running, maintaining, and protecting digital systems and usually work nine-to-five, with the potential to work remotely depending on the company.

Salaries vary depending on the specific role and your level of experience, but the average annual salary sits around $63,000. This sector offers many different options, from software development and coding to help desk administration and cybersecurity analytics.

What To Know Before Pursuing an IT Career Path

Here are five things to know about careers in information technology.

1. Pace of Change

Information technology is a relatively new field that took off at the end of the 20th century and has been growing ever since. Technology is always changing — new software, computer programs, and cybersecurity threats are always emerging, not to mention the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The fast pace of change means you will need to be open to learning new things constantly. If you have a curious mind and a flexible approach to different ways of working, you will feel right at home in the IT profession.

2. High Demand

IT professionals are in high demand in a range of different companies and, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 260,000 new jobs were added to the IT market in 2022. That same year, salaries increased by 5.61%, and they could rise by as much as 8% in 2023.

However, because of the appeal of high job security, there's also a lot of competition. To give students an edge on the job market, MedCerts's IT training certifications offer a dedicated career center with career coaches who help with resume drafting, job interview preparation, and applications.

3. Earnings Potential

The salary range for IT professionals varies depending on the specific role. For example, help desk administrators often start around $46,000, but can progress to earn a median average of nearly $90,000, according to Comparably. Meanwhile, IT network technicians start at around $42,000, which rises to a median average of $84,000.

Your education and level of experience can affect your salary, as well as the role, location, size, and stage of the company.

4. Specialization

Since the IT sector is broad, there's plenty of opportunity to specialize in specific areas. Specialization often requires dedicated training, so you might need to re-train if you want to switch to a different area of IT. These areas might also overlap with other sectors such as business, communications, or analytics.

Potential areas to specialize in include:

• Software development (programming)

• Cloud computing

• Website design

• Database Administration

• Network Administration

• IT support or help desk

• IT project management

• Cybersecurity

• Data science

5. Ease of Entry

MedCerts offers a broad range of IT career training programs, all delivered online at a maximum cost of $4,000. Some community college courses could cost up to $20,000, making MedCerts a more accessible option.

Our programs take between six to 12 weeks, and you can complete them at your own pace from the comfort of your own home. We also offer one-to-one mentoring, career coaching, and more to help you stand out from the crowd. Take our online quiz to find out if short-term career training is right for you.