Embark on a rewarding IT career path by availing of comprehensive and structured training. Discover the many subcategories of IT, such as data science, cybersecurity, and cloud computing, and learn how to navigate your way towards highly sought-after positions in these fields.
Key Insights
- Information Technology (IT) roles, which typically involve utilizing technology to solve business-related issues, offer a wide range of career paths and opportunities.
- IT careers are projected to grow by 15% until 2029 and offer lucrative salaries, with the average being around $100,000.
- IT subfields like cybersecurity, which boasts a 0% unemployment rate, can offer even higher earning potential, up to an average of $130,000.
- Structured and certified IT training, which can cost between $5,000 and $10,000, is highly recommended for those seriously considering an IT career.
- While free online resources can provide basic IT concepts, hands-on training and live instruction provided by institutions like Noble Desktop offer more comprehensive knowledge and skills.
- Jobs such as Full Stack Developer, Cybersecurity Professional, and Data Analysts are highly ranked and in-demand across the US, making them excellent career paths for IT professionals.
Looking to learn IT?IT is a massive job field that includes any role which combines technology and business. You will want to decide which IT career path you want to pursue. Certifications and certificates can add costs, although they are highly recommended for people serious about becoming an IT professional. Beyond this, you’ll want to consider the cost of IT training. You will need to pay for structured training if you’re serious about launching a new career in IT. You will most likely spend between $5,000-$10,000 on IT training. However, you should keep in mind that IT careers pay lucrative, sometimes six-figure, salaries. Read on to find out more about how much you can expect to spend on learning IT.
What is IT?
IT stands for Information Technology. IT is an umbrella term for many job roles that combine business with technology. People who work in IT use computers and technology to solve business problems, make business decisions, and keep businesses running smoothly.
Many companies have IT departments that manage computers, networks, software applications, and other technical aspects of running a successful business. The IT department could include providing technical support to employees, server maintenance, network security, software development, data analytics, or maintaining hardware and network infrastructure.
People often think of IT as a support role. While support is a role within IT, IT has many subcategories beyond support, including data science, cybersecurity, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, DevOps, and blockchain. IT professionals might ensure the network is secure, analyze data to help make business decisions, or develop a new software product.
Jobs requiring IT skills are in high demand, with growth expected to continue at around 15% until 2029. IT can also be a lucrative career path: the average salary for IT professionals is around $100,000. Some IT subfields, such as cybersecurity, have a 0% unemployment rate. Training in IT could lead to an exciting career with an excellent salary.
Read more about what IT is and why you should learn it.
What Can You Do with IT?
IT describes jobs that combine technology with business, which makes it a huge field with no single job role or learning path. You’ll need verifiable technical training to become an IT professional. However, the size of IT adds a lot of flexibility to its career options and increases the number of opportunities.
Being knowledgeable about technology is critical for working in IT. You’ll need a combination of intuitive and learned tech skills to excel, especially if you choose a role that requires troubleshooting, such as a support role or cybersecurity. People often underestimate the soft skills necessary in IT jobs, such as logical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, or critical-thinking skills.
IT skills are also highly prized because they improve your work process. Some of the most in-demand IT skills include cybersecurity, cloud computing, data analytics and data science, networking, software development, machine learning, and project management. Skills in these areas can get you hired in almost any industry.
In-Depth Review of the Training Cost
There are many free online resources to help you start learning. However, suppose you’re serious about starting a new career in IT. You’ll want to seek more structured training with live instruction, mentorship opportunities, and a means to demonstrate your skills, such as a certificate.
Taking a bootcamp or certificate program will cost more than self-directed study, but probably less than you think. Some IT career paths are more expensive than others. You should remember that the average IT salary is around $100,000.
Professionals working in high-demand IT subfields, such as software development or cybersecurity, typically earn even more: Software Developers earn around $110,000. You should keep your potential salary in mind when evaluating the costs of IT training. Despite any training costs, given that the average salary in the U.S. is around $45,000, training in IT could potentially double or even triple your salary.
Let’s explore how you might determine the costs of pursuing training in IT: for example, you might be doing research on which IT subfields are lucrative, in demand, and might be a good fit for you. You might find that Cybersecurity appeals to you as a career path, has a 0% unemployment rate, and people with cybersecurity skills earn an average salary of around $130,000. If you then decide to pursue Cybersecurity as a new career, you might use a tool to find cybersecurity courses in your local area. You’ll be able to compare the costs of various cybersecurity courses, bootcamps, and certificate programs to find the right match for your budget and goals.
Free Introductory IT Course Online
Free online resources are a great way to explore your interests if you want to test out a few different IT career paths. You can learn some basics without making a significant financial or time commitment.
For example, Glassdoor has ranked Full Stack Developer in the Top 3 jobs in the U.S. Noble Desktop’s free Intro to Full-Stack JavaScript seminar can give you insight into whether it's a career path you’d like to pursue more seriously. You’ll also get a sample of Noble Desktop’s unique hands-on, project-based instruction method and if a live online bootcamp is the right choice.
Coursera offers free online IT courses, such as the popular Crash Course in Data Science by Johns Hopkins University. Universities often have great free introductory resources, such as MIT OpenCourseWare, which you can use to familiarize yourself with basic IT concepts.
Read about more free IT videos and online tutorials.
Learn IT with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop
IT is a large job field with many career paths and nearly limitless opportunities. There are many paths to working in IT. However, there are recommended training paths based on your goals.
To become an IT professional, you’ll need verifiable job skills. Many tech and coding schools offer IT training, but you’ll want to choose one that focuses on technology and business since IT demands skills in both. Bootcamps are highly recommended for launching a new career in IT or pivoting to a different job role because they offer comprehensive technical training in the least amount of time.
Many bootcamps offer a live online training format which is an excellent option if there are no in-person IT courses in your area. Because the class is live, it works like an in-person class. You can ask questions and interact with your instructor and classmates in real-time. You can collaborate with classmates or receive direct feedback on your work using screen-sharing software. One advantage of live online classes is that they give you the interaction of an in-person classroom without any commute time. You can train in IT skills from your home or from anywhere.
Noble Desktop is a coding, business, and design school that offers live online bootcamps and certificate programs in some of IT’s hottest career paths, including data analytics, full stack development, and cybersecurity. All their classes have guaranteed small class sizes, so you get extra guidance from an expert instructor. Noble Desktop uses a unique approach in all its classes: instructors teach a “micro-lecture” and immediately guide students through applying the concept they’ve just learned. They also have a “learn the skills guarantee,” which includes a “free retake” option in which graduates can retake a course for free to continue developing their skills.
Noble Desktop’s Data Analytics Certificate provides comprehensive training in data analysis, data visualization, business intelligence, and databases. Data Analysts use data to help businesses make good decisions. Students are guided through real-world, hands-on projects to develop skills in using Excel for data analysis, working with Python, SQL and database operations, data interpretation, business forecasting, machine learning, and using Tableau for data visualization. Graduates earn a New York State Licensed Certificate in Data Analytics which is shareable on Linkedin.
You can earn a New York State Licensed Certificate in Cybersecurity by taking Noble Desktop’s Cybersecurity Bootcamp. Students work with an expert instructor to develop skills in network security tools, evaluating network security using penetration testing, Security Operations Center (SOC) principles and practices, understanding attackers, security monitoring and logging techniques, information gathering techniques, and understanding application vulnerabilities.
Full Stack Developer is listed as a Top 3 Job in the US by Glassdoor. Noble Desktop’s Full Stack Web Development Certificate provides comprehensive training for becoming a Full Stack Developer who creates both the front end (what you see) and the back end (how it runs) of websites and applications. Students learn to create layouts using HTML and CSS, program in JavaScript, create web applications using Node.js, use MongoDB to work with databases, API development using Express.js, work with Git to track changes, and use JavaScript libraries.