A lifelong career as a technology professional means change – from your first job all the way to retirement. Different technologies and skills combine with additional responsibilities throughout each stage of your career path. In short, the job title you hold at the beginning of your career likely won’t be the same at the end.
Let’s take an inventory of job titles spanning a typical IT career. This provides some valuable food for thought to ensure you make the right decisions to keep things always heading upwards.
The Emerging Technology Professional
Soon after graduation your technology career begins, assuming you didn’t parlay an internship into a full-time role before earning a degree. At the dawn of your professional life, expect standard roles such as, software developer, computer support specialist, network administrator, and so on. You may even have “junior” tacked on to the beginning of the job title.
Nick Espinosa, CIO of the IT services firm, BSSi2, commented on what entry-level IT pros can expect. “IT is an excellent field for advancement. An entry-level IT employee who works to broaden his or her skills and shows leadership initiative may find many advancement opportunities on their career path,” said Espinosa.
Growing into Mid-Career Maturity
As your tech career matures – with 3 to 10 years of experience – expect additional opportunities for technical growth and advancement. If you display leadership potential, your employer might ask if you want to move into a managerial role. The option for senior technology positions with additional responsibilities also exists, depending on your chosen career path.
Typical job titles at this point in a tech career include: senior software engineer, systems architect, database administrator, or lead quality analyst. Some IT pros become project managers at this stage, especially those with business acumen and strong communication skills.
A Senior-Level Tech Pro
After a decade in IT, your career path is likely well-defined. Software development, IT project management, network management, databases, and QA all provide areas of specialization and growth.
Professionals consistently displaying success at higher levels of responsibility are likely to move into higher levels of management. Vice President of Development, QA Manager, and Chief Information Officer (CIO) are the job titles residing at the pinnacle of a technology career. Is this where your career path is headed?
When you need further insights on building a lifelong tech career, talk to the experts at Synerfac. As one of the top IT staffing agencies on the East Coast, we help IT pros no matter the stage of their professional life. Connect with us soon!