Whenever most people think of careers in IT, what comes into their minds is the software development role. That is, we mostly associate IT careers with the actual coding done during the development of software packages. This is understandable since it is actually what is taught in most schools. However, careers in the IT industry spun a far much wider field than that.
Let us start by cracking an IT jargon that will give as a clearer understanding of the scope of roles in the IT industry; the SDLC or System Development Life Cycle. This is a cycle that each new software package undergoes before being released into the market. The cycle has five stages namely analysis, design, development, testing and implementation. In each of these stages, there are several roles which describe different careers in the IT industry. Let us take a closer look at these stages and the resultant IT careers.
The analysis stage
This stage involves seeking out information about the requirements of the system to be developed and documenting that information. If you choose to pursue an IT career focusing on this stage, you can either become a Business Analyst or a Technical Writer. The role here will be to talk to end users to find the requirements of the new system needed and document what you find in a format that designers will understand. Both Business Analysts and Technical Writers need to be good in documentation and communication to be successful in this career.
The design stage
In this stage, the findings of the analysis stage are used to come up with information in a format that can be used by the system developers. Here, more technical knowledge is applied and the focus is usually on the actual solution for the system. The two main IT careers available here are System Architecture and Database Architecture. A System Architect is someone who can determine how the system will work and come up with the design for it. A Database Architect designs a system’s database that will enable it to perform at maximum efficiency. Technical knowledge and analysis skills are essential here.
The development stage
So this is the stage mostly associated with careers in the IT sector. The careers here involve the actual writing of the codes for the new system. Here, you can either become a Software Developer or a Database Developer. As a Software Developer, your role will be to develop the actual program based on the requirements communicated from the design stage. You will have to think logically and use your technical skills while doing this. The Database Developer has almost similar roles in that he writes the codes for a specific database. They also have to use logical thinking and apply technical knowledge relating to databases.
Testing stage
This is the stage at which the Software Tester works. In this career, you will be checking the developed systems to see whether they work well and meet all the outlined requirements. This is a bit versatile IT career since you will need to test units or specific pieces of codes. Logical thinking and documentation skills are critical here.
The Implementation stage
This last stage carries with it the most roles and IT careers. It is at this stage that Project Managers, System Administrators, Network Administrator, Database Administrators, Team Leaders and other players in the IT career sector come in. The various managers and leaders mostly oversee the running of the project, ensuring that an adequate budget is in place and communicating with the various stake holders. Administrators are charged with the responsibility of ensuring their parts of the system are properly installed and running in harmony with the rest.
This is only an outline of the careers in the IT industry to help you get a clearer picture of their scope. Of course, the details of the roles and requirements of each career described here is much more than we have been able to cover.