From the factory to IT. A Quick Guide for a Beginner in 2024

Today I will talk about entering the IT world in 2024. I am sure that many of you who have never worked in this industry have at least sometimes thought: "Maybe I should change my field of activity?" And even if you have not decided to make such significant changes in your life before, do not think that now everything is lost.

Read on and I'll tell you how to successfully get into a new professional field even now, when the task has become somewhat more difficult. Let's go!

What do you need to enter IT? 

So, to begin with, let's list what a potential whitesmith needs to become real.

1. Decide on a specialization. It can be development (frontend, backend), testing, business analysis, design, data analysis, DevOps, etc.

2. Get the necessary knowledge. To do this, you can use any means, including self-study

3. Gain practical experience. Alas, you can't do without practical experience in IT, and for successful employment, you first need to get it somewhere. We will talk about this in more detail below.

4. Write a resume (CV) and build a portfolio. Include projects, code, maybe a link to GitHub in your CV.

5. Have soft skills: Communication skills, the ability to work in a team, solve problems, and adapt to change are key soft skills in IT, important for any role and specialization.

All these components are mandatory for successful employment in IT. If someone was lucky enough to jump into this industry without any of the above components, it was more of a market luck. Let's talk about it further.

Demand for IT specialists: was...

Until recently, the demand for various IT specialists greatly exceeded the supply:

— Programmers, testers, business analysts, designers, and project managers are used to receiving offers from recruiters by the dozens every day.
"If desired, any such specialist could double his income almost annually thanks to more and more attractive offers.
"The process of training and gaining experience with new personnel was put on stream.

… And it became

But times have changed and now the market is completely ruled by employers. This means that now they dictate their terms to the candidates.

• Outsourcing companies, which used to be a talent foundry, have now curtailed most of the related activities. On the one hand, due to a drop in revenue, which forces you to cut costs. On the other hand, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, which showed the whole world that it is possible to work remotely and hire freelancers with the same efficiency as full-time employees in the office.
• Product companies and startups have not sought mass training of specialists before, preferring to hire experienced and established ones.
• The Belarusian Hi-Tech Park (HTP), which has long been a driver of industry growth, after the events of 2020, 2021 and 2022, was blown away by almost a quarter in terms of the total number of employees of its residents. And it continues to deflate.

In total, now is objectively not the best time for juniors: to get a job in IT, you need experience, but to get this very experience, you need to work somewhere.

Is there any point in trying?

A completely natural question arises: is it worth trying, if everything turned out this way?

The answer is quite definite: if you are interested, then you definitely should. A slight drop in demand does not mean that there is nothing to do in IT now. On the contrary, the field of technology continues to develop rapidly, so there will always be work. The only question is how to get into this very IT.

Where to get experience

So, juniors, write down: to get that very valuable experience, you can:

– Go for a paid internship (for example, IT Academy has a "lab");
– Stir up your own projects;
– Work as a volunteer;
— Sign up for a bootcamp.

Bootcamps are something like an intensive training program for future IT specialists. In a few months, you get maximum practice and can then safely go to an interview.

And the most important thing

I would like to say a few words to IT companies and old-timers. Guys, let's not forget about social responsibility. The transfer of experience and the development of the industry is not only a matter of profit, but also concern for the future.

We all want to share knowledge, so why not channel that desire into hands-on training for beginners? After all, if we do not help each other, then who will?