How to start an IT career from scratch

Working in the IT industry is considered one of the most attractive fields in the modern world. Therefore, it is not surprising that many people dream of working in this area. But is it possible to work in IT without experience or a special education? The answer to this question is definitely "yes," and millions of men and women from all over the world who started their career as a programmer from scratch and achieved significant success can confirm this. These are the so-called switchers - people who decided to change their usual professional field and get a job in IT without experience.

The path to an it career can be quite challenging. However, it is worth remembering that not only people with technical education and mathematical mindset can work in this industry. You can always get a job in it as a lawyer, hr manager, or designer. There is also an opportunity to complete education or obtain basic knowledge on your own. How to do it and whether working in it without experience is really possible, we will try to figure out in this article.

What are the prospects of working in IT?

Today, IT is a rapidly developing field that requires diverse specialists. That is why the doors are open for everyone, including newcomers. Courses, webinars, manuals, and many other resources help to master a new profession even without experience. After gaining the necessary knowledge and developing hard and soft skills, finding the right job is not a problem. However, the absence of difficulties with employment is not the only advantage. Probably, the biggest attraction is that a career in programming without experience has great prospects for growth. This, in turn, has a direct impact on salary levels. It is quite high for everyone who works in IT, especially when compared to other professions. Also, salaries regularly increase, even when starting from the junior position.

What IT professions are available for beginners without experience?

Lack of experience is not a reason to give up a career in IT, especially if you have some knowledge and, particularly, higher education in any field. Offers can be obtained for both technical and non-technical specialties. In terms of technical specialties, building a career in this direction without experience can be a bit challenging, but it is possible. Typically, after completing courses, one can start working as a QA tester or frontend developer. In the future, the career can develop in various directions, as the main thing is to establish oneself well, successfully perform assigned tasks, and constantly learn.

Working in IT without experience is also possible for non-technical positions. The most in-demand vacancies include office managers and other administrative staff, finance specialists, lawyers, recruiters and HR managers, designers, and various marketing professionals.

Is age important for candidates?

It is believed that programming is a job for young people. And this was indeed the case in the early stages of IT development. However, now people of different ages work in the field, and the percentage of those who are over 40-45 years old is constantly increasing. Usually, these are switchers who have found work in IT without experience, or in other words, have retrained. Therefore, in general, it can be said that the age of the candidate does not play an important role, although in most cases, it is easier for young people to master a complex technical specialty. However, if you look at statistics, you can see that the average age of IT workers is approximately 30 years old.

Salaries of Junior Programmers

It is difficult for a beginner without experience to count on a high salary, usually, it ranges from $500-900 depending on the company and project. In this category, earnings do not differ significantly by specialty. The difference can be only 50$. The average values for the last six months are as follows.

Basic IT knowledge: how and where to get it

Working in IT without experience is a dream of many people. However, it is not realistic to expect to be hired off the street. To impress a future employer, you need a certain background in the form of knowledge and skills at least at the basic level. Without this, starting a career in IT is unlikely to succeed. There are several ways to gain the necessary knowledge today.

Vocational Education

Studying at a university in the computer and information technology faculty is the ideal option for people who are confident in their desire for a career in IT. Higher education provides deep technical knowledge that is essential for any specialist, which is why graduates usually have no trouble finding employment. However, higher education requires a lot of time and money, so this option is often chosen by high school graduates and young people under the age of 25.

Courses

Switcher, who is interested in working in IT, usually chooses this option because it provides an opportunity to gain maximum knowledge and information in a specific specialty in a relatively short period of time. Moreover, desired education can be obtained at home by studying online. Today, there are many professional courses that help to enter the IT industry. Here is just a small list of the most popular platforms:

• Udemy;
• CodeAcademy;
• Coursera;
• Prometheus;
• htmldog.

 Self-Education

Becoming a developer is also possible through self-education. Especially if you already have some education in a technical field, such as natural or engineering sciences. However, to independently master a new IT profession from scratch requires a very high level of self-organization and dedication. There are many materials available for self-education. These can be specialized sites like DOU or Рrogrammr. Additionally, a lot of interesting information can be found on the well-known platform Coursera.

For those who want to start working in IT without experience, special literature is also essential. The following books are particularly popular:

• "The Clean Code" by S. McConnell;
• "The Art of Programming" by D. Knuth;
• "The Pragmatic Programmer" by E. Hunt and D. Thomas;
• "Clean Code" by R. Martin.

Algorithm for finding your first job

Although there are many vacancies in the market, finding your first IT job without experience can be difficult. It's worth developing a clear plan of action and sticking to this algorithm. This will help you get the position you dreamed of, in the shortest possible time.

Choosing a specialization

Work in IT can be very diverse, so for starters, you need to choose a specialization. Future developers need to choose the technologies and programming languages they want to work with. Some people start learning them gradually, for example, in the order proposed by one of the Harvard University courses, namely:

• Basics of C.
• Arrays.
• Algorithms.
• Memory.
• Data Structures.
• Python (Basics).
• SQL.
• Basics of CSS, HTML, JavaScript.
• Flask.

But you can always develop an individual plan and choose what is easier to learn or brings more income. At the same time, consider the level of competition in the market. Typically, the easier it is to master a particular specialty, such as a tester, the more people will compete for a place. The same applies to programming languages.

In-demand skills

After you have chosen your specialization, it's time to find out what skills you will need for this position. It's worth familiarizing yourself with the basic syntax, frameworks, IDEs, and other technologies and methodologies. The essence of these skills is to learn to identify client needs, describe requirements, schematize, etc. This allows you to better understand the work process and see your role in it. A very important point is good knowledge of the English language, so learning it should also be a priority.

 Platforms for job search

You can find your first IT job fairly quickly if you know where to look for it. Today, in addition to websites with job listings and groups on social networks, there are many platforms where current vacancies are presented. The most famous of them are:

• LinkedIN. This is a real social network for IT professionals, so if you want to work in this field, creating a profile here is simply a must. After all, employers constantly review them and send offers to anyone who interests them.
• DOU.ua. On this site, you will find both current job openings and reviews of different companies, which is also very useful.
• Djinni.co. On this platform, profiles are anonymous, and recruiters can evaluate purely your skills and experience without being tied to a person. At the same time, when you receive an offer from them, on the contrary, you see who you are dealing with and can either accept or reject it.

 Participation in internships and internships

You can start working in IT with internships and internships. Today, many large companies provide such an opportunity after completing courses that they organize themselves. Usually, such work is paid minimally, but gives invaluable experience, which is much more important. In addition, in most cases, subject to a successful internship, the sweater gets a job on a permanent basis in the same company.

Tips on how to get the first offer

Getting the first offer is the most desirable scenario for someone who dreams of a job in IT without experience. And although there is no shortage of vacancies in this field, it is still very important to interest a potential employer. In this case, the most important thing is your resume and how well you pass the interview.

 How to write an effective resume

A resume represents you as a professional, even if you are a beginner. Therefore, it is very important that it is effective and catches the attention of recruiters, especially if you are a candidate without experience. Writing such a resume is quite simple, but you need to consider some nuances.

• Include all your work experiences, even if they were not related to IT. If there are gaps in your work history, try to justify them.
• If you have even minimal IT work experience, such as an internship, be sure to mention it. Specify in detail what responsibilities you had during this period.
• When describing hard skills, only provide real data. Do not try to deceive the recruiter if your knowledge is very superficial or absent altogether.
• If you have no experience at all or lack hard skills, pay special attention to the Soft Skills section. Before that, think about which qualities are most relevant to the position you are applying for and indicate them.
• Include a cover letter with your resume, in which you justify why you would be a valuable employee for this particular company.

How to pass an interview successfully

If you are looking for a job in IT without experience and you have been invited to an interview, be sure to prepare for it thoroughly. This will help you feel less nervous and more confident. Don't act too formal or pretend to be someone you're not. In the IT sphere, a more informal atmosphere prevails, so sincerity and openness are valued here. It is best to dress casually for an interview.

Think ahead about how you will answer standard questions, such as "Why did you switch to IT?" or "What attracted you to our company?" Be prepared for less typical and unexpected questions as well. For a switcher without experience, it is important for HR to focus more on Soft Skills and see genuine interest in the future position.

Don't forget about all the formal details as well. For example, when you are ready to start working, what format you prefer to work in, and so on. It is also important to mention the salary you expect. You can indicate the average value for a beginner in your region.

When going through interviews, don't be afraid of rejections as they happen even to experienced professionals. The main thing is not to give up, and you will definitely achieve what you want, even if not on the first try!