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Switch Your IT Specialty |
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Allan Hoffman
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You might
think that changing your technology specialty wouldn't
be nearly as difficult as making a wholesale career
change. After all, expertise in one area of IT should
have some relevance in another, right?
That's true enough, but it doesn't mean that making a
transition within IT is easy to pull off. Far from it.
Changing IT career tracks -- technical support to
programming or programming to network administration,
for instance -- is often much more work than many
techies realize. (More typical progressions, such as
from help desk to network administration or programming
to project management, are another matter entirely,
because they are recognized routes of advancement.)
To make the transition to a new specialty, you'll need a
record of projects showcasing your new skills and
possibly additional training. Even then, expect to start
at the bottom, both in terms of pay and job
responsibilities.
Is it possible?asks Helen Campbell, chief technology
officer of Daata Group. Absolutely. Many things are
possible if you really want to make them happen, but
it's not easy.
Campbell cautions about the challenges of making a major
switch within IT -- even if you're doing so with the
help of a supportive employer. Campbell recounted how
one techie on her team, thanks to his logical,
process-oriented mind, had a fairly easy transition from
technical support to software development. But a similar
transition wasn't right for someone else, who missed the
troubleshooting aspects of system administration and the
level of interaction, she says.
Al Parvar, who switched from tech support to software
development at Daata Group's LaserShip division, says a
certain amount of initiative is necessary if you want to
change IT specialties. Soon after joining the company,
Parvar spoke up in a meeting on a technical topic
relevant to software development. His views were
noticed, thus setting the stage for subsequent
opportunities to work on software interfaces and
applications.
Where you work matters, too. This company gave me a lot
of chances to grow and learn, says Parvar, now an IT
business analyst at LaserShip.
If you're considering a change, these steps can help you
make a successful transition:
Switch Internally
Try to move within your company, where a manager may
give you the chance to try another area of IT. Such a
move often requires leaders who see the upside in
techies stepping out of the typical career trajectories.
I think you have to have an organization that's willing
to give you the space to try it, Campbell says.
Think Small
Bigger companies may offer a broader range of
opportunities, but a smaller company may give you the
chance to work in a jack-of-all-trades capacity to
develop skills outside your area of expertise. Also at
smaller companies, technical job roles may be more
flexible, thus allowing you to gain exposure to other
domains.
Make Your Mark with Projects
Wherever you make the transition, be sure you can
demonstrate your ability in your new specialty.
Additional training or certifications may help, but to
really prove yourself, develop a portfolio of
self-directed IT projects.
These projects might include open-source contributions,
volunteer work or Web projects technologies such as
LAMP. Personal projects are the way to go, says Dave
Messinger, chief architect at TopCoder, an online spot
for programming competitions. At TopCoder, we have seen
people move from MIS to development positions within a
company based on gaining experience at TopCoder and
proving they can create enterprise software.
Leverage Industry Knowledge
Expertise in a certain industry can also punch your
ticket to a transition. A company developing
industry-specific software may be willing to hire
someone with years of experience in that industry,
Campbell says. But the bar is high for such a
transition, so don't count on the company training you.
You must demonstrate your skills with your own projects
or consulting work.
Think It Through from the Start
For techies starting their careers, there's a lesson
here. When you decide to work as a programmer or network
administrator, say, you're choosing to develop one area
of expertise. Changing gears won't be easy once you've
developed your technical credentials. Better to think
through your choices at the start, rather than
regretting them -- and needing to backtrack -- several
years later. |
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This
article originally appeared on Monster.com. |
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