Upscaling your tech career takes up a solid foundation in education, thorough and practical experiences, networking, and strong adaptability in different environments. In order to succeed, not only do you need to know the basics of programming, but it is necessary for you to stay up to date with the latest technology trends that can help you continuously enrich your knowledge and skills. Sharpening your soft skills also plays a crucial part in helping you stand out in a crowded field of professionals.
1. Specialise in a specific tech scope
The tech world is vast. Consider specialising in a particular area of technology, such as a specific programming language in software development, cyber security, AI, or cloud computing. Specialisation enables you to take ownership of your niche on the market and demonstrates the added value you will bring to your potential employers.
2. Expand your professional network
Keeping an open mind and building your professional network is a great way to learn from your peers and mentors outside of your workplace. By attending tech conferences and networking events, or open-source projects and hackathons, you can connect with other like-minded professionals in your field and gain more exposure and insights, as well as guidance and support. You can find great events wherever you are. Such as the RISE conference and HKTDC Tech Fairs in Hong Kong, and Infosecurity Europe in London, London Tech Week or Singapore Fintech Festival.
3. Sharpen your soft skills
As you gain more experience, you may want to consider transitioning into a leadership role, embracing change as an opportunity to grow is important for advancing your career too. For instance, taking up the position of a technical project manager or a team lead. This will require developing stronger soft skills like communication, collaboration, and management skills through team work, project collaboration, and stakeholder management.
4. The importance of lifelong learning
Lifelong learning will help you stay relevant and increase your versatility in the IT world. Keep up with the industry's latest programming languages, frameworks, and emerging technologies. For example, the adoption of Waterfall to Agile methodology is on the rise in software engineering projects. You can also take online courses, attend workshops or boot camps, or earn certifications to learn new skills and gain new credentials in any specific areas. Ranging from mastering a cloud service to a new programming language, or gaining a project management certificate, and getting the hang of different ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems and certification.
Advancing in your career takes continual dedication and effort, by taking these small steps with perseverance, you can position yourself for success in the fast-paced and constantly evolving global tech industry.
