For many years, the IT industry was associated by everyone with ‘nerds’ in plaid flannel shirts and flip-flops. Admittedly, in the era of the covid-19 pandemic, it is indeed the case that people of the IT world work in slippers, but this is forced by the situation rather than their own tastes. So are we able to learn anything from the bored-looking engineer? Yes, we can. The IT industry is one of the fastest growing industries.
Innovations appear every day. The market is competitive, both in terms of customers and colleagues. In order to stay on the cutting edge, people working in IT need to keep up to date with the latest technologies. Any lack of knowledge can result in getting ‘underwater’ and only your own development guarantees security. So what can you learn from the IT industry? The answer can be divided into two areas, or rather two types of skills: hard and soft.
As far as hard skills are concerned, it is the acquisition of knowledge and the ability to work in different technologies. It is now popular to combine similar technologies. This enables, for example, programmers to write code in different programming languages, consultants to be able to read basic code in addition to typical consulting tasks and business analysts to not only understand the client’s business processes, but also have basic technical knowledge. By combining these areas, it is possible to understand the client’s requirements and to skilfully explain them to the people who will be performing the various tasks on the client’s commissioned project.
The IT world is definitely a place where language skills can be improved. First and foremost, services are often provided for foreign clients, which in a way forces the use of a foreign language. Often, documentation for systems or tools used are written in English or German. Various online courses, especially those of the highest quality, are recorded in the language of our western neighbours. There is therefore no escape from contact with a foreign language, which helps to learn it and break down communication barriers.
Moving on to soft skills, let us also draw attention to such important competences as analytical skills and logical thinking. When we are given a task to do, we need to learn how to find the simplest way to solve it, because an hour’s work is expensive and companies are always interested in maximising profit. Taking an issue apart, looking for relationships between the components and taking an abstract approach to the optimal solution, develops precisely this analytical, rigorous side of our mind.
Among the common stereotypes of the IT industry, the one that keeps circulating is that IT specialists cannot talk, are closed-minded, unsociable and difficult to work with. Nothing could be further from the truth. Technology companies and their employees are and must be in contact with customers, even programmers are in contact with customers and repeated discussions about requirements, presenting options, explaining solutions and negotiating – lead to continuous development of communication and interpersonal skills.
Lastly, one of the most important competences for IT employees is the ability to work in a team. The practice of working in the IT industry shows that recruitment processes today place as much emphasis on this skill as on technical knowledge. It does not matter whether you are recruiting for the position of programmer, tester, architect or manager, because they all ultimately work in teams. Working in a team requires the ability to express oneself precisely and to actively listen to other people’s opinions and suggestions, teaches respect for different opinions and sometimes to accept solutions with which we do not always fully agree. As a result, it also leads to personal development through, for example, accepting feedback, which can be positive or negative. In this way, we learn about our strengths and weaknesses and find out what we can improve. In teamwork this works both ways, so we learn to give feedback responsibly – positive and negative. This skill is worth transferring to other spheres of life, because although people usually avoid giving feedback in relationships with others, feedback can translate into improving relationships, increasing team effectiveness and avoiding mistakes and misunderstandings.
In summary, IT employees are in a continuous learning process. Whether they are taking a course, learning a new technology or seeking answers to questions on industry forums, they are continuously absorbing knowledge. Technical skills are only half of the equation, the other half is being a team member, the best you can become.
There is plenty of inspiration to grow and learn from the IT industry. It is one of those industries that brings opportunities for continuous professional development, learning about cutting-edge technology, taking part in various types of training, courses, bootcamps. It also provides contact with other professionals – team members, but also clients. It allows you to make new, often international, acquaintances. If we add attractive salaries, non-salary benefits, flexible work schedules giving the opportunity to combine professional and private life, this industry becomes very attractive.
