Owen Powell, IT director at Arts Council England and Guardian Careers IT careers expert
Don't worry if you haven't got in-depth technical skills, these can be developed: Potential employers will want to know whether you have the ability to learn and develop (evidence of professional development — in any field — will be useful) as well as keenness, reliability and good communication skills. Think about what you can offer and be confident about promoting your skills and experience.
I had an admin job which required extensive PC use and I was able to join the IT department as a PC expert, just as they were undertaking a huge roll-out of PCs. I then was trained in programming and Unix, which gave me a solid technical grounding and allowed me to progress my career. More recently, the most useful training courses I've undertaken have been the non-technical ones; ITIL, Prince 2 (project management) and MSP (Managing Successful Programmes). These have all provided a set of generic skills which can be applied to any IT environment.
IT departments need people with good business skills: Often, the effectiveness of an IT function depends on how well it is integrated into the business, and business analysts have a key role to play. An MSc will definitely help, but in the meantime I would focus on your mix of skills, both technical and business-related. In your covering letter, explain what business changes you have made, or any projects you have run, and describe the beneficial outcomes. Business analysis is also about relationship management, so describe the people with whom you have worked to make improvements, and emphasise your ability to work with others. Finally, you may wish to say something about why you want to work in this area; explain that your business and technology experience places you in an ideal position to act as a bridge between IT and the rest of the organisation.
It is possible to change careers into IT if you have an analytical degree or experience: I'd say that it's not impossible, but as you are likely to be competing with experienced people, it may take some time and a bit of luck. Think about your USPs — what could you offer a potential employer? Do you have a website that you could show off? Do you write a blog? Do you have a special interest in any particular area of IT? In terms of entry-level positions, IT admin might be a good place to start, or perhaps working on a service desk; these are relatively junior positions, but would get you into an IT department. Online work does require technical skills, but you look into website design, or accessibility testing; some training would be needed, but it would be less onerous than learning development skills.
If your degree is evidence of analytical ability, a junior or trainee analyst role would be ideal. These don't come up very often though, and would commonly be internal secondments. Maybe you could try to get some experience within your current organisation and see if there is a project that you could help out with just to get your foot in the door.
Carrie Hartnell, head of industry strategy, Intellect Technology Association — body representing the UK technology industry
Research apprenticeships and training programmes in the sector; Skillset, e-skills and SEMTA all run schemes: e-skills has a number of very interesting programmes including Big Ambition, apprenticeships and the ITMB (Information Technology Management for Business).
Skillset has a Skillset Academy Network for people looking for careers in film and interactive media. As well as a number of direct career advisers that can provide both career advice and redundancy advice
SEMTA provides a lot of advice around apprenticeships across their large footprint, as well as providing in depth advice about available courses across the sciences, automotive, engineering, aerospace and marine industries.
Don't worry if your roles and career goals morph over time; technology is a fast-changing industry: My main piece of advice whether its the start of your career or trying a new path is to understand the potential goals and path you want to follow but don't worry if this changes over time. Technology is a great career with lots of potential to try anything you enjoy and are good at. It is so important to find a career that keeps you interested and that you enjoy. I would also say that it is important to understand that the technology is hugely diverse and offers lots of opportunities. Be ready to alter your career path and be given responsibilities that you have only a little experience in. Most CEOs or senior directors have had very varied careers sometimes moving around within a company at the same level and then suddenly being promoted a number of times quickly, others have had a straight direct line through promotion.
Networking is great to meet people in IT and find out about their careers: There are lots of online communities who hold local opportunities to get together whatever your technology background, Intellect has a young professionals network but there are many others, this is becoming increasingly common with freelancers. The British Computer Society is open to students and provides a number of different networking groups depending on your interest - www.bcs.org There is also a UK organisation called Open Forum Europe who are specifically interested in Open Source and could provide you with some interesting links.
Richard Seaton from the Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology, Open University
IT industry qualifications can help you break into the industry: For example CompTIA offer a Linux+ qualification which may help you stand out from other applicants. You can study at home and the curriculum and books are available through CompTIA. Microsoft and Cisco also offer specific qualifications, you may have studied them in your degree already. You should be looking at an area of IT-based work that interests you. That could be web design and authoring, thereby putting your existing qualifications and skill to good use while extending your knowledge with some additional qualifications. A local college or university may offer short courses and you can look online at distance learning as well. You don't say whether you've used IT in your work to date, if so the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) will serve as a good foundation.
Apprenticeships are a great way into the sector: I really believe apprenticeships have a great deal to offer young and not so young people as not only do you earn while you learn but you build up a network of colleagues and a reputation, hopefully good, right from the start. I have never felt I missed out by not going to a traditional university and now, with higher apprenticeships allied to foundation degrees which in turn can lead to honours apprentices, you can enjoy good opportunities without three to four years full-time study. Many ICT companies offer or are planning to offer apprenticeships. e-Skills is a good place to start.
These days business acumen and communication skills are as important as technical understanding, employers are wanting all-rounders to give them the lead. So I think it is what you can do to make the technology provide a competitive advantage that will win out. The SFIA Foundation can help in the identification of career paths.
Steve Roberts, public sector manager, NES IT specialists in the placement of project and programme management and IT services personnel to public sector clients
IT is competitive market place and you need to professional promote yourself: The industry is based on technological development, driven by the people who work in the sector. Pay attention to your business network. People who maintain links with a wide range of people — fellow students, lecturers, co-workers, business associates, friends-of-friends, recruitment agencies, as well as building up their social network — are the people who learn about good, relevant opportunities quickly.
Ask yourself why you want a career in IT? Then look at what area/sector want to work, this will ensure you have a clear understanding of your motivations and in turn this will enable you to better match suitable opportunities and ultimately promote your key skills and unique personality. While a career plan is a good idea, your motivations are likely to change over time and within any plan you need to be flexible to respond to opportunities/challenges as they arise. So it's a good idea to set and review your goals on a regular basis. Professional qualifications formally demonstrate your technical capabilities. I would suggest these are obtained and maintained throughout your career.
Identify specific companies you want to work for: Review these websites on a regular basis and register with specialist recruitment agencies as part of your job search. Tell them if there is a company you're keen to work for as they may have some good contacts there. Look at opportunities that do arise on merit (not just the salary) and assess training and development opportunities that are offered. Also find relevant blogs that will help you keep up to date with trends in the market as well as potential opportunities.
Vanessa Gough, professional development manager (PDM), IBM UK Foundation, a multinational computer technology and IT consulting corporation
Expect continual change in the IT sector: I started work over 30 years ago when IT (for the end user) really didn't exist. I came from a secretarial then sales background, and have had roles in my current company such as software tester, trainer, project manager, then people manager and now manage students and graduates. One thing I would like to emphasise though, the jobs I once did no longer exist, and the ones I've done recently didn't exist when I first started; expect continual change, especially in the IT environment.
