Working in IT Industry

A Career in IT offers you the opportunity to be involved in one of the UK’s hottest rising careers. There are at present 1.4 million people who have a career within the IT industry. We talk to the British Computer Society about routes into the IT profession.

Routes to Becoming an IT Professional
A career in IT can involve working across many sectors from telecoms and communications, to finance and construction. However, there are several main routes into the IT profession.  With IT touching more areas of business than almost any other discipline many companies are interested in recruiting well-rounded staff.  They are looking for people who have business focused skills and can demonstrate an understanding of how IT can benefit the business as a whole, and an understanding how implementation of IT systems will impact on the organisation.  People skills, self management and an ability to see IT as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself are all equally important as the traditional core IT skills.

Routes To A Career In The UK IT Industry

Routes to a career in the UK IT industry include full time study, part-time study whilst in employment and on the job training.  The following are just some of the options:

• Graduation with a non-IT related subject
• An accredited degree
• Training in a specific IT skill which is in demand
• Transfer to an IT department within a company
• A year in industry/gap year experience prior to University
• Non IT related degrees and ISEB qualifications

Many companies are happy to recruit candidates with non IT related subjects who are willing to undertake additional IT specific training through post-graduate or professional training courses such as those offered by Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB) – a BCS subsidiary. 

ISEB qualifications are internationally recognised and measure competence, ability and performance in many areas of IT, with the aim of raising industry standards, promoting career development and providing competitive edge for employers.

ISEB qualifications are designed to be both accessible and relevant. They cover all major areas of IT including projects and business change, legal compliance and security, assets and services, solution development and delivery and IT infrastructure, Thanks to close links with industry representatives and subject sponsors, they also encompass the latest technological advances and new methodologies.

ISEB qualifications are created by the very best in the industry – IT specialists who know how the industry works and where it's going. So IT professionals learn relevant and practical skills that will make an immediate impact on their career.

The ISEB portfolio covers key areas such as software testing, project management, business analysis, IT law and systems development. It also includes a range of qualifications based on ITIL (the IT Infrastructure Library, which is regarded as the world standard in IT best practice), including service management, infrastructure management and application management essentials.

A recent survey showed that ISEB participants were from all levels in their organisation’s career structures, taking foundation level to build key knowledge and moving up to manager level for senior staff – a testament to the increasing importance of ISEB qualifications. The business sectors represented were broad, including communications, retail and wholesale, public administration, health and social work, financial and banking, and education.

A Degree In Computing
Study for a degree in computing is perhaps the more traditional route into the “hard” IT roles such as software development, infrastructure and research posts, is a degree in computing, usually followed by an application to a graduate recruitment programme. 

Careful consideration of the content of any course prior to selection is key as course titles may not accurately reflect the content.  IT is continually evolving and developing and degrees are subject to annual review and adaptation.

An accredited degree offers a core of studies seen as the minimum necessary for the foundation of a professional career in the industry, together with specialist content in one or more areas studied in-depth; it will include an appropriate mix of engineering principles, design and problem-solving, and practical work. BCS accredits honours degrees in the IT area for Chartered Engineer (CEng) status and professional membership. BCS also accredits degrees for Chartered Scientist.

In addition, there are four-year MEng courses in which the fourth year both broadens and deepens the study. Work experience is gained in vacations and the course includes more material on management and costing issues than a BSc.
Many courses include a placement year spent in industrial training in a company with a computing environment prior to the final year.

IT Training For Specific Skills
IT training courses in specific skills which is in demand offers a quick way to enter the industry.  Internet website design and enterprise resource planning (ERP) are just two examples of skills currently in high demand, although the market is continually changing.  However, as demand for particular skills can be short-term, it is advisable to continue developing additional skills and gain broad experience.

Organizations such as Microsoft (for Windows), Novell (for networking) and Oracle (for databases) offer vendor certification courses. The Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB) offers qualifications in systems analysis and design and project management and learning can be done via classes, computer-based training or distance learning.

Training In IT Contact Information
More information on a career in the IT industry contact the British Computer Society at:  www.bcs.org  or for IT training qualifications log onto: www.bcs.org/qualifications, you can also email qualifications@hw.bcs.org.uk
or call 0845 300 4417.

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