Table of Contents
Introduction
The main reason why working professionals switch is due to a higher salary package. However, there are many other reasons such as wanting to experience a more fulfilling job role and wanting to become satisfied with one’s career. Some individuals wish to switch because they want to join their dream company and a few do it to face new challenges.
This is especially true if your current job becomes too stressful or dull, thus not allowing you to be passionate about your job anymore. Switching to companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google is easy, especially if you have the required skills and if you have prepared yourself thoroughly.
You must always take care to keep up with current trends and upgrade your skill sets. There are always new advancements in technology that you might not be aware of due to working with older tools in your current company.
What you will Need for Switching as a Working Professional in IT
Here are the skills you will need if you wish to switch to an IT company as a working professional or when applying for senior positions:
- Advanced knowledge of programming languages such as Python, Java or C++ – This is especially important if you plan to switch to an IT company or if the job role of your choice requires coding. Most senior SDE or Project Manager roles require extensive knowledge of programming as well. You must be able to write clean code and find out errors in code or programs if you are applying for IT companies.
- System Design and IT Architecture – System design is essential for IT companies as technical interviews will almost always ask you to design a system that is similar to Swiggy, Telegram or an e-commerce website. Knowing IT Architecture and knowing what kind of tools are required to support systems is also important. You must also be able to identify the kind of data you will need for the system.
- Operating Systems such as Linux and others – You must have a good understanding of Operating Systems and how development processes are conducted in different OS environments. Companies expect their recruits to know about topics such as concurrency, I/O devices, storage structure and memory management.
- Computer Networks and Cloud Computing – Most large corporations are highly invested in the cloud and run many of their processes or services with the help of cloud computing. It is essential to know cloud architecture and other networking concepts.
- Database Management System and SQL – Most IT processes revolve around databases and all IT companies work with massive amounts of data. It is very important to know how to access, modify and utilise data from databases, especially if you get assigned to a job role that requires you to work with applications or services that access and use data from databases. You can also learn more about NoSQL databases or distributed file systems such as Hadoop.
- Tools and Suites such as Microsoft Excel and the Microsoft Office Suite along with Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server – These tools and suites are used extensively by organisations across the world and it will never be a waste to learn them.
- Good business communication skills, logical reasoning abilities and quantitative aptitude.
- Additionally, you can learn business process automation, concepts such as CI/CD and Automation or DevOps tools such as Jenkins or Ansible.
Tips for Switching Jobs as a Working Professional
Here are some additional tips you can use when you are planning to switch your job roles:
- Evaluate your current job. Identify what you are lacking in your professional life and understand how satisfied you are. If you wish to not code or program, consider joining a job role that suits this requirement.
- Assess your current skill level and find out what skills you lack. After this, try to upskill yourself or upgrade your skills. Enrol on programs such as the Job-Switch program by Coding Ninjas to learn the subjects and skills required for a job switch.
- Figure out your alternative careers and what job roles suit you. Decide if you wish to change your industry or if you wish to join a senior role in the same field.
- Start checking out job options and do your research. Plan out a strategy for cracking nationwide placements tests or recruitment drives. List out companies you can apply for directly as well.
- Follow people who are working in the same job role you are planning to take up. This will help you understand if you will enjoy your work life. Try to contact alumni from your college or other working professional examples working in the company of your choice from Linkedin.
- Stay up to date with current technological trends and advancements in the industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can prepare yourself by learning more about the jobs you want to apply for and then upskilling yourself accordingly. You must learn all the skills required to take care of your job responsibilities in your new organisation.
You are advised to stay at your current job for at least a year before switching. You can also stay for two years as that will make employers view you as an employee who will stick with the organisation for longer.
You can prepare for a switch to the IT sector by applying to IT companies directly and by sitting for nationwide placement tests.
You can switch to an IT career by learning programming, computing fundamentals and tools of the trade such as development environments, operating systems, DBMS and various libraries (such as Numpy or Pandas).
You can prepare by learning the skills and subjects required for the job role of your choice. You can also opt for a course for product-based companies or service-based companies according to your needs.
There are many companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, Intel, Amazon and Google that you can switch to.
The Job-Switch program by Coding Ninjas is a great program that will help you switch to desirable working professional jobs.
The product-based course by Coding Ninjas is one of the best courses for cracking product-based companies.
The service-based course is definitely one of the best courses out there for cracking service-based companies.
Key Takeaways
There are many reasons why a working professional might switch. It can be due to wanting a career upgrade in the same industry or trying out a completely different field. There are many job roles that are for working professionals only and it is highly recommended that working professionals with skills take their chance and make the switch when given the opportunity.
