A career in tech is without boundaries and have of tons of opportunities. The opportunities are enormous, whether in software development, web development, product design, Artificial intelligence, etc.
In order to have a successful career in tech or other career paths, it is important to have a career roadmap to guide you. A good tech career roadmap serves as a strategic communication tool that defines one's goals and the steps taken to achieve them.
Here's what I will cover:
- How to design a career roadmap?
- Evaluating your Present Situation
- Define your Ultimate Goal
- Choosing a Specialization
- Get Started!
- Share your Work
How to Design a Tech Career Roadmap?
How can you decide on which area to choose when you are just starting out in tech? An expert opinion is one of the best ways to navigate through your IT career.
In the video "Designing a Tech Career Roadmap", Yewande the founder of Startup plug and a senior software engineer shared multiple tips on how to design a tech career roadmap.
STEP 1. Evaluating your Present Situation
The first step in designing a tech career map is to carry out an in-depth evaluation of your present stage. Before starting out, it's important to spend some time considering your strengths, skills and passions, weaknesses, skill gaps, and anything else that may hinder your career growth.
Some questions to ask may include:
- What motivates me?
- What am I good at?
- What things have I accomplished that I am most proud of?
Do not lie to yourself and write down every question you want answers to. A detailed evaluation of yourself and your current situation will help you develop a better idea of what your long-term goal is and how to get there.
STEP 2. Defining your Ultimate Goal
Your career roadmap must be detailed and specific. It must contain all you want to achieve and the time frame to achieve them. You can also make your roadmap adjustable. You are allowed to transit to another career path in tech if you want to.
Again, you need to be detailed and specific when determining where you want your career map to take you. If your objective is to move into a particular position, identify what this means in terms of the job description and person specification.
You might be able to find this information through your own research, careers advisor websites, or companies you would like to work for. You may also need to interview people in similar roles to find out exactly what they do.
A career in tech is not an isolated journey. it's a combined effort of yours and other people's.
STEP 3. Choosing a Specialization
You have made up your mind and you know what you what to do. It's time to choose the IT career path which appeals to you after making appropriate research. Major career paths in tech include:
Product Design
Software Development
Data Science
Web Engineering
Product Management
Information and Cyber Security
This list is not complete. You can make more research here if none on the list appeals to you.
STEP 4. Getting Started!
Now that you know what career path you want to take, it's time to get to work!
Learn! Learn! Learn! Make sure to learn the right information, take an online course, read about your career field, join online communities in your proposed field, get a learning buddy, etc. No matter what you do, make sure you are in the learning stage. Create a schedule that works for you, you can learn for 1 hour every day. Consistency is key if you want to grow in a career in tech.
STEP 5. Share your Work
“If you want people to know about what you do and the things you care about, you have to share.” ― Austin Kleon,
Do not make your tech journey an isolated one. Writing about what you do is a great way to digest and process the information you take in. It's also a great way to document your career journey. You can also find potential employers by sharing your work. It gives you access to so many opportunities and can also help you achieve recognition in the tech ecosystem. It can also inspire someone who is also trying to understand tech as an ideal career path or the concepts you know. You can create a blog where you can share your work, and join related online communities or social media platforms.
Summary
The beautiful thing about tech is that you don't need a college degree to kickstart your career. An IT career is not easy but it's doable. If you learn the right information, engage in supportive communities, and remain consistent, you will find it easy and enjoyable as time goes on. An IT career provides excellent earning potential. It's very rewarding because of the opportunities that come along with the job. You get to work on a variety of projects and gain experience in many areas.
Resources.
Designing a Tech Career Roadmap, Yewande Odumosu.