The IT world is vast and gets bigger every day. Over time, you might want to advance your career and specialize in a particular area. This chapter will show you some roles that would allow you to develop your career.
System and Network Administrator
The next step for an IT technician is usually becoming an infrastructure administrator.
A system and network administrator has more responsibility for the IT equipment and service implementation than an IT technician.
Their primary role is designing internal or cloud infrastructure and setting up and maintaining services on server machines.
The administrator makes the required resources available to the organization, manages data backups, creates technical documentation (backup policy, continuity plan, installation, and troubleshooting checklists), and leads projects to optimize and improve IT systems.
As a technical expert, they monitor the whole IT system to ensure that it’s functional and secure, and they also look after more complex system failures.
DevOps Engineer
If you like the idea of being a developer and have some systems and network knowledge, you could consider becoming a development and operations (DevOps) engineer. This profession is in great demand.
The role blends development and administration activity.
Originally, DevOps was an approach that brought together developers who design products with operational staff responsible for implementing, running, and monitoring the product within the IT infrastructure.
These teams don't have the same objectives, which means there are often complications that lead to delayed product implementation.
The DevOps approach has become increasingly popular over the last few years. It gives IT professionals a common goal in delivering projects successfully across disciplines rather than on one side.
The role of the DevOps expert is to design systems architecture, including making tools and services available to developers enabling them to automate an application’s lifecycle (i.e., build, test, and implement).
And as a system and network administrator, they are responsible for the system’s availability, performance, and improvements, while maintaining a DevOps perspective.
IT Project Manager
Another possible career path is to become an IT project manager.
They are responsible for steering projects from start to finish through requirements analysis, feasibility, planning, costs, implementation, and success!
In addition, they work with the different stakeholders impacted by the project (i.e., users, IT specialists, managers, and suppliers).
A project manager is like an orchestra conductor in charge of improving and developing the infrastructure. They rely on technical teams to ensure the integrity of the IT systems.
They must guarantee the project’s success by considering all of its different elements.
Becoming a project manager requires technical knowledge of the subject matter, an understanding of the bigger picture, organizational skills, and the ability to manage a budget and a team.
Cybersecurity Expert
Is IT security your thing? You can become a technical expert in cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity experts analyze the IT system for reliability and ensure it’s secure. Their main objective is data security, and their sworn enemies are hackers and viruses!
In addition, they must apply security policies, establish network access rules, lead audits, assess risks, and carry out penetration testing on the infrastructure to identify weak points within the IT system, applying reliable solutions to fix them.
After a few years of experience, they can become an IT security manager and manage a team of experts.
Cybersecurity experts are responsible for defining the security strategy according to the organization’s needs and data protection regulations.
Cloud Architect
Cloud computing services such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform are growing exponentially. As a result, there are a lot of job opportunities in this field.
A cloud architect is responsible for designing and creating cloud environments. They must have a deep understanding of cloud technologies and capabilities, from full migrations to hosted services.
Cloud architects will often work with a wide range of people across the organization as they will be responsible for technical and business requirements.
It’s common for cloud architects to specialize in one of the popular cloud platforms and become an expert in that product, but nothing is stopping you from learning about more than one!
Let's Recap!
An IT technician has many options for career development, such as:
System and network administrator
DevOps expert
IT project manager
Cybersecurity expert (eventually, IT security manager)
Cloud architect
So, that’s the end of this course about the IT technician profession. You now understand what makes a true professional who would be an asset to any organization. Thanks for taking this course, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Before you go, don’t forget to test your newfound knowledge in a final quiz. Good luck, and, who knows, perhaps we’ll meet out there in the field!
