Learn More About IT Classes in Los Angeles
While information technology (or IT) is best known for its enthusiastic young tech support workers, this broad industry includes a myriad of other specializations, all dedicated to the creation and management of digital data. Like computer science, IT utilizes computers and networks to accomplish its goals, but rather than mainly building interfaces for digital products, IT focuses on solving business problems through tech. However, IT support is only one avenue through which the IT industry aims to solve problems.
It all started in 1958 when the Harvard Business Review first used the term “information technology” to discriminate between multi-purpose digital devices, such as computers, from single-purpose machines like calculators. The following years saw IT become an umbrella term used to reference all sorts of digital data procedures, from creation, circulation, and storage to protection and restoration.
The industry now includes three overarching branches, each with unique, profitable career paths. One popular path focuses on managing servers, networks, and data, while a second emphasizes digital security. The third path involves keeping digital interfaces and products running at optimum. By and large, however, IT specialists are the people who are responsible for ensuring that our digital systems, including networks, data, and applications, run smoothly.
Are There Prerequisites to Learning IT?
Despite the complexity of IT as an industry, the field is incredibly accessible to newcomers when compared to many other skilled occupations. Fortunately, when you choose an appropriate beginner-friendly class, you don’t need to stress about your lack of experience. Although some IT courses do have specific prerequisites for learners, others only require that you come willing to explore new territory.
Situations that may call for prerequisites include:
- Classes where you learn to work with thornier coding languages (like SQL, Python, and JavaScript) typically require at least basic comprehension of less complicated coding languages (usually HTML and CSS).
- While learning data skills, you’ll need a solid foundation in math to stand on.
- If your data course includes software like Tableau, it doesn’t hurt to have a firm grasp of Excel first.
To ensure the class you choose is a class you’re fully eligible for, don’t sign up until you have thoroughly read the course description. If you want to fully master a topic, rather than just dipping your toes in, pick a class that offers training in multiple skills. While a JavaScript-only class might seem like a more streamlined pick, you’ll learn JavaScript better if you choose a JavaScript bootcamp that also covers HTML and CSS. For clarification about a vague class description, you can always message or phone the school with questions.
Is It Difficult to Learn IT?
As technology gets better, so does IT education, which is great news for anyone worried about accessibility. Be that as it may, IT does present a few challenges for new learners, but these are 100% surmountable when you have a solid educational strategy to fall back on.
Faced with a gigantic and briskly changing industry, many beginners in IT are overwhelmed by how much there is to learn. The IT industry places such a high value on skills (as opposed to formal education) that skills may need to be upgraded almost as fast as they’re acquired. If you plan on tracking a long-term career in IT, opt for comprehensive bootcamps that offer experiential training in your specialization’s most current tools and techniques.
The second challenge that many beginners face is indecisiveness about which of IT’s manifold career paths to take. If this sounds like you, consider taking some short introductory IT classes to get a feel for the topics you’re interested in and help you figure out where your true passion lies. As an alternative, you can also explore the basics of most IT topics through free online resources.
What Will You Learn in an IT Course?
Even though every IT niche aims to bring tech solutions to business problems, each one does so with different methods and tools. Consequently, your learning journey will be unique to your subject of interest and may differ drastically from that of a future colleague. That said, no matter what your focus is, all IT professionals need a solid foundation in skills relating to software and hardware. As an appendage to these skills, you may study mathematics, coding, user experience (UX) design, user interface (UI) design, or project management. You may also try to understand the workings of another industry, such as finance or business.
Los Angeles Industries That Use IT
IT is so paramount to Los Angeles’ businesses that companies are allocating anywhere between three and six percent of their gross sales to IT services. The industry looks forward to a promising future, with demand for IT services anticipated to rise by 23-32% before 2032. This high demand has led to zero percent unemployment rates for IT professionals working in fields like cybersecurity.
While IT is considered a key industry of its own, its services have also become staples in Los Angeles’s other top-performing industries. This is as true of industries like entertainment and fashion as it is of practical industries like finance, education, and healthcare.
Entertainment
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Los Angeles hosts America’s densest cluster of entertainment professionals. As a result, the local entertainment media industry generates billions of dollars for the city’s economy. As Hollywood’s base of operations and the filming location for 50% of all movies, the city is full of entertainment media companies that are producing content for the big screen and TV. Of particular interest to developers and IT professionals, however, are the city’s many game development companies, like PlayStation and Mythical Games, currently working on exciting projects in gaming, VR, and AR.
Healthcare and BioTech
The life sciences provide more than 202,000 jobs for LA residents and generate $61.5 billion each year for the local economy. Weighing in at over 80 hospitals, LA’s healthcare industry is well in need of IT professionals who know how to safely manage data, preserve online security, and create user-friendly patient interfaces. Major hospitals in Los Angeles include Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, UCLA Health, Kaiser Permanente, and Keck Medicine of USC. In addition to hospitals and patient care facilities, LA’s life science organizations include hundreds of biotech companies that focus their attention on creating digital solutions for problems that often come up in the biomedical world.
Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics
Producing more than $31 billion in products throughout 2021, Southern California has made a name for itself as an aerospace manufacturing hotspot. Along with traditional airplane components and weapons, LA’s manufacturing industry is pioneering advanced robotics machines for research conducted in space and on the sea floor. With over 85 companies bidding for programmers and Machine Learning Engineers, there’s plenty of variety to choose from when it comes to jobs. Here in LA, robotics companies like Honeybee Robotics face off against well-known aerospace companies such as SpaceX and the world’s number two military supplier, Northrop Grumman Corporation.
IT Jobs and Salaries in Los Angeles
Thanks to the IT industry, it’s perfectly possible to earn a modest living in Los Angeles despite the city’s notoriously high cost of living. Nearly 17% of the local population lives in poverty, and still, LA’s IT professionals are earning salaries that average $70,000 every year. Along with higher-than-average wages and the promise of job security, LA’s IT industry provides an inclusive spread of career paths that allow each professional’s unique talents to shine.
Although there are jobs that don’t fit the traditional mold, the bulk of IT roles fit into three classes.
Development and Software Engineering
Masters of coding, development professionals generate digital products like software, apps, websites, and video games. Rather than covering all of these topics in one, most developers narrow their emphasis to web development, mobile development, or software engineering. LA-based Full Stack Developers brandish several coding languages for a salary of $88,000 to $214,000, while Software Engineers generally collect between $83,000 and $216,000. Programmers who choose to highlight only a single coding language, like SQL or JavaScript, can vary significantly in terms of income but generally range between salaries of $39,000 and $137,000.
Data
Keepers of all the local servers and networks that enable you to transmit or access data online, data professionals are experts at managing and processing data. For their handy interpretations of digital information, LA’s Data Analysts are paid between $59,000 and $112,000, while the city’s System Administrators earn between $49,000 and $134,000 for keeping the online world buzzing. As artificial intelligence and robotics software become more sophisticated, Machine Learning Engineers merit greater demand along with annual salaries in the range of $115,000 to $251,000.
Cybersecurity
Each day, cybersecurity experts defend against digital data breaches that could expose private information. In LA, the average Cybersecurity Engineer can look forward to an income of $56,000 to $156,000, similar to $93,000 to $133,000 for Cybersecurity Analysts. Meanwhile, top-dog IT Security Specialists in LA can bank anywhere between $123,000 and $203,000.
Are you on a quest to obtain one of these IT jobs? Streamline your online job search with keywords such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), FinTech, DevOps, EdTech, Machine Learning (ML), Big Data, Blockchain, EdTech, Cybersecurity, AdTech, Internet of Things (IoT), and HealthTech.
IT Classes in Los Angeles
One of the best resources for live online IT education is Noble Desktop, a training school that offers beginner-friendly classes for both early-stage exploratory learning and comprehensive career preparation. With bootcamps like the Data Analytics Certificate and Full-Stack Web Development Certificate, you’ll receive skills-oriented training from an industry expert who can mentor you one-on-one and coach you through your career plan. You can access the same real-time support in Noble’s single-subject classes. In addition to Excel for Data Science, these popular classes explore subjects like Tableau, WordPress, Python, SQL, and JavaScript.
Are you a teen preparing to graduate from high school and enter the workforce? While college is a great option for some, learning IT at a bootcamp is one of the quickest routes to a higher income and lasting job security. NextGen Bootcamp offers IT summer classes that won’t interfere with your high school schedule, making it possible to earn the experience and skills to get a job soon after you graduate. While their course catalog includes a diverse mix of IT topics, alumni favorites include the FinTech Summer Program, the Java Programming Course, and the comprehensive Python: Data Science & Machine Learning Bootcamp.
Corporate IT Training in Los Angeles
Corporate IT training is a streamlined solution for companies that are ready to train an in-house IT team or maintain the competitive edge in an existing one. Noble Desktop’s IT training is available onsite and online to give your workforce customizable training in topics like data science, data analytics, machine learning, development, and coding. To learn more about discounted group training in your preferred class format, contact Noble Desktop.
Learn From Noble Desktop’s Experienced Certificate Instructors in Los Angeles
Those seeking a chance to sharpen their skills in tech, design, business, or data can look no further than the opportunities in Los Angeles. The city is more than just Hollywood; it’s a collection of professional services and companies that stretch from the innovative companies in Silicon Beach to the more corporate areas of downtown L.A. To enter the L.A. workforce with confidence, it's worth it to explore certificate courses. In a certificate course, you get a thorough education on skills relevant to your preferred field, getting you one step closer to your goals. For those interested, Noble Desktop’s partner school, VDCI, offers classes taught by industry experts who are passionate, willing, and ready to impart their knowledge to students and professionals alike. They offer insight based on their real-world experience, which makes all the difference when learning a new skill from scratch or while looking to advance in your field.
Los Angeles-based learners can take advantage of the training at 3904 Groton Street, San Diego, California, located directly in the Point Loma neighborhood. Driving from Los Angeles, you’ll take I-5 South all the way. Those who prefer public transportation can hop on the Amtrak and commuter rail services connecting to San Diego from L.A., making it a quick way to access the campus. The facility is designed for interaction, offering students access to top-rated instructors and modern workstations.
Deanne Larson
With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Deanne Larson has built a reputation as a pioneer in the Los Angeles data science and analytics world. As the founder of Larson & Associates LLC, she has partnered with Fortune 500 companies and FinTech firms to help shape AI strategies and implement solutions through machine learning. She’s worked with global enterprises, particularly in designing their data systems. Her accomplishments go beyond the norm, however, as she’s also been part of projects that serve 225 million customers worldwide and others that require developing cutting-edge data governance frameworks for cloud and blockchain technologies. She’s a seasoned instructor as well, having taught at City University of Seattle, where she mentored doctoral candidates and designed data analytics programs. She holds several doctoral degrees that, paired with her extensive experience, position her to teach subjects like AI, Python, data, machine learning, and project management.
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson is a Licensed Architect in the State of California and an Autodesk Certified Platinum Revit Instructor, one of only 20 professionals worldwide to hold this title. With over 25 years of experience in architecture, Michael has contributed to award-winning commercial and municipal projects, including facilities for pharmaceutical companies and landmarks such as the El Cajon Animal Shelter and the Mission Hills Library. Michael teaches and develops Revit courses that emphasize real-world application through project-based learning. Over the past decade, he has trained thousands of students in the Los Angeles AEC community, helping them master workflows. Michael is also an Autodesk Certified AutoCAD and Revit Professional, specializing in Revit certification and interior design software.
John O’Malley
John O’Malley is a Registered Architect with more than a decade of experience leading Los Angeles teams through all stages of design and construction. His professional background spans different sectors, where he has earned recognition for his technical precision and leadership. A licensed architect in California, John also holds LEED AP BD+C certification and is an Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI Silver). Most recently, he teaches AutoCAD courses that prepare students to apply drafting and design principles in real-world settings. John is passionate about mentoring the next generation of design professionals, contributing to the ACE Mentor Program.