Cape Town - With almost daily rapid advances in technology, the opportunities provided in the IT sector continue to expand and evolve at a similarly fast pace.
This means that prospective students – regardless of their major field of interest – should do careful research to determine whether there might be a match between their aspirations and strengths, and a career opportunity in this expanding industry, an education expert says.
Nola Payne, head of the information technology faculty at the Independent Institute of Education, a private higher education institution, says prospective students will often only be exposed to more traditional options.
However, there is a world of new choices where skilled graduates are highly sought-after. “Careers now exist which were non-existent five or even two years ago,” says Payne.
“With this shift, forward-looking education providers are incorporating new technology and new careers into their curriculums, and future students would do well to investigate new growth industries in their field of interest.
“Furthermore, even working adults are now more than ever required to commit to lifelong learning. And adding an IT strength to your repertoire in a field could help future-proof your career.”
Payne cites the example of someone interested in studying education, or already working in the sector. “That does not mean that you only have the option to become a teacher and stay one for the rest of your life. Because, as education adopts technology, new professions are emerging. You could, for example, consider specialising in the exciting, very new field of instructional design,” she says.
Instructional designers help subject matter experts improve the learning experience by analysing learning needs and processes, and systematically developing learning materials to address those needs.
“To some extent, all competent lecturers and teachers design their instruction.
“What differentiates instructional designers in the digital education space is their use of technology and multimedia to enhance learning.
“An instructional designer will match a learning theory to technologies that add value to the content to be learnt, and enhance skills that need to be developed,” she says.
There is a strong demand for instructional designers due to the specialised skills required.
They can work across any discipline with appropriate subject matter experts to bring learning to life on a digital platform.
They need to have a solid educational background – normally a postgraduate qualification in education – as well as experience working in the industry concerned, such as education or corporate training.
Payne says it is also worth noting that, even within the IT field, rapid technical advances have demanded swift adaptation by workers. “Enterprise technology has shifted to include mobile devices, access to some data and software to the cloud, and social networking.”
IT employees have had to make this shift and learn how to incorporate these technologies into their careers.
Education providers have had to review their IT qualifications to develop their students into these emerging careers. “If you are in an IT career, or intend to pursue one, it is imperative that you constantly upgrade your skills and adapt to ensure longevity in your career.
“It is impossible to predict the future of IT, but the one certainty is that it will change and that change will happen quickly.”
Likewise, someone considering a career in sales or marketing may not be aware that they could actually specialise in the fast-growing field of social media marketing, which is no longer just a sub-function of being a marketer.
Payne says the current technologies and trends to be taken into consideration are:
l Social media mobile technology and the various platforms such as smartphones and tablets.
l Cloud services and virtualis-ation.
l Big data and real-time data analytics.
l Gamification of business.
l The internet of things.
l Networking for these technologies.
l New hardware such as 3D printers, drones and robotics.
And some of the hottest new careers include:
l Business architects, strategists and analysts.
l Data scientists who are proficient in big data.
l Security strategists and architects.
l Social media architects and user experience gurus.
l Mobile technology experts in mobile application development.
l Cloud integration specialists.
l Game developers.
“As technology takes over even traditional fields of study and specialisation, it is especially important that future students carefully investigate all their options, because there may be many more than they, their parents or teachers imagined,” says Payne.
“Then it is also important to carefully consider the best match of course or combination of courses to the envisioned career, and finally the best institution at which to study.
“Many of these new fields and career options rely heavily on the ability to do, rather than just theoretical knowledge. It’s a new world out there with lots of exciting new choices to make.”