What it’s Really Like to Work in IT in 2024

For those with the qualifications, finding work in IT has rarely been better. In 2024, IT work represents a larger percentage of employment than ever before, with an increasingly broad range of IT roles out there.

But what should you do if you’re just starting out? How can you go about finding work in IT and which jobs will be right for you?

Today we’ll be exploring three key roles IT workers play in shaping and running modern day companies and what it’s really like to be an IT worker on the day-to-day. We’ll also be discussing how beginners to the field can work their way towards lucrative IT roles.

IT Departments

In 2024, it’s almost impossible for a company to avoid having an IT department and that’s a trend that’s only going to continue into the future. As a rule, most IT departments are concerned with managing internal systems. This can mean everything from ensuring that the network has good cybersecurity to helping individual employees with tech issues.

In practice, working in an IT department tends to involve a lot of time spent keeping things running smoothly. While it certainly can involve a fair amount of helping people recover their passwords and connect to the internet, IT workers often have to respond to problems of varying complexity.

Although it might not always be the most technically challenging IT role, when something goes badly wrong, it’s the IT staff who spring into action and that’s where having a strong skill set really shines.

Development Teams

Much like IT departments in general, development teams are increasingly becoming a staple of modern companies. In a business landscape where a good app can make all the difference both in marketing and customer interaction, many development teams have found themselves responsible for being their company’s primary liaison with customers.

Working on a development team can be particularly satisfying because it’s a chance to blend your IT skills with your creative muscles. After all, development teams are often left to make important design decisions about how customers will interact with an app/webpage.

Those might sound like minor choices but they can have a major impact on the customer experience. For example, if an online store makes it difficult to purchase items, a customer will be more likely to defer or delay that purchase – particularly if it’s an impulse buy.

If, on the other hand, the app is intuitively designed, that customer may be far more inclined both to purchase the item and to continue shopping with the app.

Of course, one of the best parts about working on a development team is the huge potential for career progression. You might start out working for a small startup but with every success you’ll have the potential to find a bigger and better role. After all, there’s a huge demand out there for competent web and app designers and that demand doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon.

If working for major corporations doesn’t appeal to you, why not transfer those skills into your own tech startup? As a developer, your potential is almost limitless.

Specialists

The third and final type of IT role we’d like to talk about today are the specialists. These tend to be people with major expertise in one field. To put it simply, specialists prioritise depth over breadth. Common specialist fields are data science, cyber security, and networking.

Becoming an IT specialist requires a huge amount of dedication but, in the long run, has the potential to be even more lucrative than a career as a developer.

When you’re a specialist, you’re part of a select pool of people with the expertise to do what you do. That means you’re heavily in demand and the more experience you build up, the more companies will be clamouring to work with you.

Many IT specialists choose to take contractor/consultant roles. As IT work in 2024 goes, these are some of the most lucrative jobs available but they do also come with a fair amount of risk compared to traditional employment.

How to Work in IT

That’s all well and good, you might be thinking, but how can I get an IT role without first-rate qualifications?

Here at Career Navig8r, we believe that anyone should be able to work their dream job with enough time and dedication. By working with a mentor, you could get advice directly from someone who’s worked in the IT field, guiding you through everything you need to do, and introducing you to their network of contacts.

Sign up to Career Navig8r today and start your journey towards an incredible career in IT!