10 top ways IT and data pros are boosting their careers
What do IT pros hope to accomplish in their careers? To find out, job site Spiceworks polled more than 1,000 of members of the Spiceworks Community for their IT career resolutions.
1. Always keep learning (54 percent plan to) It’s often been said that with technology, the only constant is change, notes Peter Tsai, a B2B technical marketer and IT content writer at Spiceworks in his blog. Therefore, if you’re not consistently learning, you’re standing still while the world of tech passes you by. It’s no wonder that the majority of IT pros we talked to said learning new things will be a priority this year.
2. Stay Employed (46 percent plan to) They say the best things in life are free, but it’s also true that money talks, Tsai explains. Staying gainfully employed was probably the second most popular response in our poll, because you need cash to pay for things like food, shelter, video games, and Star Wars tickets.
3. Earn a tech certification (44 percent plan to) In a Spiceworks career study, 67% of IT pros said that tech certifications can help increase job opportunities, Tsai explains. Additionally, 55% said that having a tech certification can help you negotiate a higher salary. Also, some IT recruiters screen candidates based on certs. Therefore, many IT pros want to earn credentials that give their CVs a better chance of moving to the top of the stack.
4. Update documentation (29 percent plan to) In Spiceworks, there are a few pieces of advice that get repeated often, Tsai says. One of them is to “document everything.” Documentation is important because no one can remember everything, writing out the steps to processes reduces the chance for human error, and having written instructions helps ensue tasks can still get done if someone goes on vacation or leaves the company.
5. Update work resume / CV (27 percent plan to) Speaking of documentation, having an up-to-date record of your qualifications and accomplishments at work can help you advance your career, Tsai notes.
