You’ve had your job interview, and your qualities really shone through. You got the job. Well done! Now you need to apply everything you've learned up to this point —and keep updated on technical advancements.
Here’s some advice to perfect your knowledge in your role.
Stay Up to Date With Technological Changes
Engagement and dedication are two highly-valued attributes for an IT technician.
You will impress your supervisors if you stay informed on new technology developments, software improvements, the latest security loopholes, etc. In addition, they see that you are interested in your area of expertise and willing to learn new things for the organization’s benefit. It could lead them to asking advice on buying new hardware for example.
It's quite common for software providers or other suppliers to contact an IT department to promote their products, offering free trial periods. So, why not give it a try? You’ll get to sample a new application or device that might significantly improve your work, your colleagues’ work, or the IT system itself.
Major providers, such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Scaleway, provide regular free webinars to present their cloud services and other services. Make use of them!
Podcasts and YouTube channels are a new way to follow and stay updated with IT news. There is a huge amount of choice. Some cover specialist subjects, others have a more general overview of technology. Browse the technology category of your favorite streaming platforms and see what you can find! Here are a few to start your journey, Ted Tech and The WAN Show.
The internet provides many options to stay informed about technological innovations—use it to supplement your knowledge.
Broaden Your Knowledge
Studying certain subjects more in-depth can also contribute to your knowledge base.
When you need to research a product or service, an error message, or how to resolve an issue, the information you learn will stay with you. So the next time you come across a tricky problem that you’d previously researched, you’ll already know the solution.
Similarly, you can use some of the many online courses available or MOOCs to learn new things or delve into subjects that interest you.
You’ll expand your knowledge and bring added value to your organization. Specializing in a particular area or being inspired by something new will help you progress in your professional role. Your superiors may assign you new tasks because they’ll have confidence in your ability to work things out for yourself.
Learn From Your Colleagues
You can also use your colleagues to help you grow as an IT technician.
When I started in IT, I learned so much from my colleagues. They involved me in their projects, included me in their teamwork, and put their trust in me, which enabled me to progress quickly and become more autonomous. I owe a lot of what I know today to them! If you regularly discuss issues and work with senior technical experts, they’ll share what they're doing, their goals and problems, and their experience.
Learning from your peers is a highly effective form of training and will help you shine in your role.
Let's Recap!
An IT technician can make progress in their role by:
Continuing to monitor technological advances and staying informed of IT news.
Attending webinars or listening to podcasts to find out about different products.
Taking self-paced online training courses or tutorials.
Creating test environments.
Learning from colleagues’ experience.
Being proactive and stepping outside your comfort zone will allow you to move forward in your career. I will give you an overview of possible career development options in the next chapter. 😉
