If you're interested in a tech career, but don’t have experience or the educational background, you might feel overwhelmed about the many different lanes and career options available to you. Don't let these feelings discourage you from unlocking your potential in tech.
You have what it takes to start a rewarding career in tech. Most importantly, when you develop the necessary skills to launch your tech career, you'll open the door to a wide range of benefits including an improved work life balance, competitive salaries, and various opportunities for growth and advancement in your career. Whether you choose to specialize or continue building your tech skills, there are so many ways to move forward in tech.
As you envision what your rewarding tech career will look and feel like, it's important to recognize that having the right plan of action is what will help get you there. Today, we're taking a closer look at three different avenues new-to-tech learners like you often take when starting their tech career. We’ll also take a look at different roles in these tech lanes, and how to start planning for your next move.
New to tech? Stary by exploring these three tech lanes
As you think about what a technology career looks like for you, it's important to recognize what your interests are and your current skill set. This will help you better understand what tech roles work best with your natural abilities.
For example, certain soft skills like problem solving and logical thinking can help you succeed in various networking roles. Meanwhile, being a strong communicator and being able to work well in a team can set you up for success as a Tech Support Specialist.
If you're new to the industry, before you dive too deep into job roles, it's best to take a step back and understand the difference between the three main lanes many new tech learners explore first.
Understanding what these lanes entail and the job roles that fall under them will make it easier for you to find the right tech role. Once you narrow down the right tech role, you can start purposefully investing your time and energy into making your tech job dream a reality.
IT Support
The IT Support workforce has a strong understanding of foundational technology skills, making it a popular choice to explore if you’re new to tech. Plus, these roles have a strong projected growth of 7% between 2023-2028, and strong earnings potential with an annual median salary of $58.000 according to CompTIA’s Career Explorer. IT Support Specialists are responsible for analyzing, troubleshooting and evaluating technology issues, among other entry-level skills. In this role, you might help internal clients with technology needs, or you might work with customers of a company, helping them resolve technology issues over the telephone or through video chat.
Some entry level titles that fall in this tech track include:
Starting your career on this track can help set you up for success if you want to continue growing in tech. You’ll build foundational technical skills that can help you explore more specialized roles or grow in different tech tracks.
IT Support might be a good fit if you like:
Problem solving
Have strong critical thinking skills
Collaborating with others and working within a team
How to start a career in IT Support
IT Support roles are true entry-level roles that can help you get your foot in the door of your new tech career. Start building your knowledge with CompTIA Tech+ certification, where you’ll learn the basics of technology. Then, obtain the CompTIA A+ certification where you build foundational technical skills in hardware, software, networking, and security. These certifications will prepare you for a role as a help desk technician. From there, you can continue building your skills and advancing in tech support roles.
Networking
While IT Support roles have a big focus on helping end users stay connected, networking roles are less people-oriented, and deal more with the systems that end users access.
Network Administrators are responsible for day-to-day operations. They might oversee analyzing, troubleshooting, and evaluating computer network problems. Despite being a more specialized track, there is plenty of growth in these types of roles as well. For example, more advanced roles in networking might involve building networks and keeping them secure through both hardware configuration and end-user training.
Some entry level titles that fall in this tech track include:
You’ll succeed in this track if you have a strong foundation of knowledge in technology fundamentals. This is something you can develop in an entry level help desk role or through CompTIA Network+ training. Once you’ve developed these skills, you can validate them when you become CompTIA’s Network+ certified.
Network Administration might be a good fit if you like:
Putting different puzzle pieces together
Working with a team on a common goal
Keeping track of the flow and access of information
How to start a career in Networking
When you have the foundational knowledge of the technical concepts and skills covered in CompTIA A+, you can obtain a role as a Help Desk Technician or IT Support Specialist. From there, focus on building your networking skills, and prepare to obtain your CompTIA Network+ certification. This will prepare to pursue more specialized roles in networking such as a Network Support Specialist.
Cybersecurity
One of the fastest growing industries in tech is the cybersecurity industry. Cybersecurity professionals detect cyberthreats and implement changes to protect an organization. Information security roles are projected to grow 33% over the next decade with seasoned professionals earning an annual median salary of $120,360, according to the BLS.
A security operations center (SOC) typically has several tiers of cybersecurity professionals. These professionals are responsible for monitoring, directing, containing and remediating tech threats. Different roles will take on different cybersecurity challenges. Entry level roles in this field will involve you monitoring the systems, using the latest threat detection tools, and educating end users both inside and outside of an organization on how to keep data safe.
Because there are many facets to cybersecurity, there are always new skills to build and varied, more specialized roles to fill. This means you’ll always have room for growth if you want to advance in your career.
Some titles that fall in this tech track include:
Cybersecurity Analyst
You’ll succeed in this track if you have a strong foundational knowledge base of networking and have a natural curiosity for how computer systems are infiltrated and what tactics hackers use to gain user trust.
Cybersecurity might be a good fit if you like:
Solving complex problems
Analyzing patterns
Have a natural interest for how things work and how systems are protected
Working within a collaborative team
How to start a career in cybersecurity
Build the technical skills required for roles in this track with the right CompTIA training and certifications. After you obtain your CompTIA A+ certification, gain experience in a help desk role where you can continue building foundational tech and security skills. Next, obtain your CompTIA Security+ certification and advance internally to build your security skills. Continue building your knowledge and skillset by acquiring more advanced certifications in the field.
How do you pick the right tech lane?
Picking the right tech career lane really depends on your interests, your current skill set, and what you're naturally good at. If you're someone who likes problem solving while also working with other people, you'd be a good fit as an IT Support Specialist or a Network Specialist. Meanwhile, if you like cracking codes, staying on the offense, and doing research into trending cyber threats, you'll thrive in a career as a Cybersecurity Specialist.Get started in your tech career
Narrowing down that tech track you want to explore is the first step towards your new tech career as this will help you pinpoint the tech role you want to start working towards.
With a tech role in mind, you’ll need to start learning the relevant skills that are required of that role. CompTIA training and certification can help you develop those skills. As a leading tech skills education provider, CompTIA certifications including CompTIA A+, Network+ and Security+ can help you build the foundational skills you’ll need to start your tech career.
Take the first step in your career by learning more about the CompTIA A+ certification. This certification will validate that you have the technical skills to launch into an early career tech role.
Ready to begin planning your path forward? Visit the CompTIA Career Path Planning tool to get started.
