Do you need a bachelor’s degree to work in IT?

An IT-related bachelor’s degree can be very helpful when looking for work in this field. This is because a long, focused course helps you build your IT knowledge and skills, as well as make contacts in the industry.

However, a bachelor’s degree is not a requirement. If you can demonstrate the skills and aptitude relevant to performing an IT job, then you can be competitive in the job market without a bachelor’s degree.

Stephen Charlton

How can you gain IT job skills without a bachelor’s degree?

You can gain IT job skills by completing vocational education and training, short courses and gaining practical experience in the field. Practical IT experience can be gained by freelancing, volunteering, working in related entry-level jobs and building a portfolio of projects. You may wish to publish your projects or contribute to collaborative open-source projects. Many IT professionals publish both types of projects on GitHub.

Projects that produce something that is used by you, or ideally other people, will be viewed most favourably, as they demonstrate the ability to solve real-world problems.

Stephen Charlton

How can vocational education and training help you find work in IT?

Vocational education and training can help you gain hands-on IT experience and expand your network. Together with a portfolio, such qualifications can be used to gain an entry-level IT job or freelance work. Such work experience can then allow you to move into more senior IT roles.

Vocational education and training can also provide an alternative pathway to meet entry requirements for higher education courses such as a bachelor’s degree, as opposed to year 11 and 12 coursework, and form the basis for entering the workforce with a higher qualification.

Stephen Charlton

How can networking help you find success as an IT professional?

Networking in IT can advance your knowledge of the field and allow you to source recommendations for open positions.

There are various IT professional bodies in Australia that can offer networking opportunities through events and programs. Examples include the Australian Computer Society (ACS), Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), Tech Council of Australia (TCA), Australian Web Industry Association (AWIA) and Women in Technology (WIT).

Stephen Charlton

Do you need to know how to code to find work in IT?

You don’t need to know how to code to get a job in IT. Many jobs in IT require coding skills, but not all. IT is an expansive field that crosses over many disciplines and industries. Therefore, numerous jobs in IT do not require coding skills and instead rely more on interpersonal and creative skills such as project manager, business analyst, user experience (UX) designer, user interface (UI) designer and customer experience (CX) designer.

Stephen Charlton