Whether you have graduated recently, or you are simply gearing up for a change in career as part of your 2018 New Year’s Resolutions, there are countless reasons to consider a career in the IT or tech sectors. The benefits of working in IT cover everything from being paid well to being in high demand in various industries; particularly in the UK, but also if you are interested in an IT job overseas. With the Tech Nation 2017 report stating that the digital sector is creating jobs 2x faster than the non-digital sector, now is definitely the time to start considering working in IT.
1. IT professionals are in high demand
It goes without saying that people working in IT are in high demand; no businesses will be entering 2018 without some form of digital presence in their workforce. Whether it’s as basic as needing someone to manage a standard website and internal email communications, or an entire IT department, in-house software development and DevOps staff members – the demand for IT professionals is consistently on the rise.
2. There’s a skills gap in the UK IT sector
The IT skills gap is a worldwide matter, and the skills gap in the UK’s IT sector is still very apparent; there’s a shortage of approximately 40,000 people with the required STEM skills to meet the growing demand of the digital sphere. In early 2017, the British Chambers of Commerce released the results of a study, highlighting that 75% of businesses in the UK claimed to have a shortage of digital skills in their employee base. This means that if you possess, at the very least, basic digital skills – your chances of being hired will vastly increase. People in IT support, web design and programming roles are even more sought-after.
3. IT jobs are well-paid
Generally speaking, as an industry, IT is a sector that pays above-average salaries (and day-rates, if you’re a contractor). For graduates, IT jobs pay well in comparison to many other entry-level roles, with most salaries starting at over £20,000. With the average UK salary being £27,600 (inclusive of all levels of seniority and sectors), a starting salary in an IT role is a good place to start in your career!
4. There’s a huge variety of IT roles and industries to choose from
If you don’t currently work in the IT industry or know anyone who works in an IT department, you may assume IT professionals are simply the members of the team who fix your computers when they’re not working. Technically speaking, this isn’t entirely wrong – but the huge range of IT jobs you can decide between when starting your career in the sector might just leave you spoilt for choice.
For example, some of the IT jobs that Evolution recruits for include:
…and that’s just naming a select few!
In addition to this, you will be required anywhere and everywhere you can imagine. Want to work in the education sector? They’ll need IT professionals. Interested in working for the NHS? They too will need IT staff. As will digital agencies, councils, recruitment companies, banks, online retailers, legal firms and everything else you can think of! Almost any industry you come across will require IT professionals – so the choice is yours.
5. You don’t need an IT degree
An increasing number of employers are now hiring graduates with backgrounds in a variety of degrees; not just IT. Obviously, if you have an IT degree it’s an advantage because you’ll have a good knowledge of the role you’re going into; however, many businesses hiring IT staff are now happy to keep an open mind. Different people think in different ways, so employing people from a variety of backgrounds and training them to fit into the IT team is an approach taken by a growing number of employers.
