Career stories

How many different types of job in ICT?

The beauty of the ICT industry is that the scope of jobs is almost endless. From the slightly less glamorous (such as IT infrastructure) to the currently more popular (such as game development) it covers such of a variety of different roles – and different skill sets. If you are a great organiser and good with people, you can become a project manager, if you are process driven and logical you might become a back end developer. But what else?

Take Rena from Biteable, for example. Rena has a Bachelor or Arts and was working as a marketing and communications consultant before she joined the team at Biteable.

“I started out as a copywriter, but I am responsible for social media management and social media marketing now. In a small company like ours, it’s a matter of doing what your skill set is and mine is in communication.”

In Rena’s role it is very important to be clear when she don’t understand something or when something becomes too technical and “goes go over my head, from a technical perspective… because the team that I work with is always happy to slow down and explain something to me in more depth, that I can’t google myself of course.”

Understanding and being heavily involved in the technical aspect is important for Rena as she must be able to send that message out to clients.

Rena didn’t set out to work in the ICT industry necessarily, and her skills can certainly be applied to many fields, but she is a natural fit, and it is a natural fit for her. “I would say that my experience working with a business in the field of ICT is really positive; everyone is very welcoming and really looking to provide opportunities to people who may not have felt that this was a natural fit for them,” Rena, Biteable.

When you think about it that way, it is almost impossible to count the different types of role in the ICT sector in Tassie … If you are interested in getting started, it’s a matter of thinking about where your skills and interests lie because there is certainly a job out there for you.

We’ve put together information on training and education pathways to get you started in your new career.

Top 7 reasons to get into ICT

After chatting to a range of different ICT professionals – from project managers and developers, to support desk and creatives – we’ve pulled together at least seven great reasons to get into the ICT industry.

1. Everyday is different

“I love that everyday is different,” – Rena, Biteable

“What I love about my job is that everyday is completely different. So I never know what’s in store and I like being able to adapt to change to each new demand that’s thrown upon me,” – Jason, 2PM

“Everyday is different, new challenges present themselves and I think that makes me a better person, because every day I’m having to find new ways of dealing with things in order to keep the plan in place because that’s ultimately my job,” – Abby, 2PM

2. Working in a great team

“What I also enjoy about software development is the collaboration … software development by nature is a collaborative effort,” – Alex, Biteable

“I love the atmosphere of the place, I love that the people are very supporting – the people are so nice here,” – Katherine, DXC

“ I love about my role is working with people and getting to meet people across all different types of organisations and different roles within those organisation,” – Abby, 2PM

3. Work from anywhere

“I enjoy that software development provides different working environments so you can work remotely and that aspect of it always appealed to me as well so later in life I could be more flexible,” – Alex, Biteable

“You can … be anywhere, and in theory produce something that’s used by people on the other side of the world,” – Cameron, Biteable

4. Flexible working conditions

“I like the flexibility as my role as well – that it’s not about coming in at 9 and leaving at 5, but it’s about getting the work done,” – Rena, Biteable

“I really love the Variety and you can plan your day around you might do the more difficult task in the morning and then leave the easy one for the afternoon and we have the flexibility to do that.”

5. We get to make ideas happen

“We’re always using the latest technologies it’s always great to see how they can be applied to doing that,” – Andrew, ISW

“I work people whose skill set is different to mine and that’s very exciting to have a big idea that can actually be implemented because there are people in my team who know how to,” – Rena, Biteable

“It’s a fast moving industry that we work in it’s always evolving and I love learning new things and taking on new technology, it’s great,” – Nicky, ISW

“What I love most about my job is that IT can be very challenging there are so many technologies and so many devices that are available these days it’s staggering what’s out there and all these challenges are fun really,” – Nigel, DXC

6. Global language

“What I love best about software development and program in general is being able to build something yourself that in theory can be used by millions of people,” – Cameron, Biteable

7. I love my work

“I would say that my experience working with a business in the field of ICT is really positive everyone is very welcoming and open to diversity as well and really looking to provide opportunities to people who may not have felt that this was a natural fit for them,” – Rena, Biteable.

“I think it’s a really great environment and I think the IT community especially the development community is a really friendly one I think it’s a really nurturing environment to learning,” – Beth, Ionata

Read more about how to get started on your ICT career pathway.

Advice for aspiring ICT professionals

Here’s some advice to keep in mind as you travel your own ICT career path.

“Focus on your passions. Think about what you want to do in the long term and don’t necessarily rush into the first job you can find just for the money. Do something that you love and what you are passionate about, so that you don’t even feel like you’re working.”
– Beth from Ionata

“Don’t be afraid to keep on training. Follow your interests and study everything you can that relates to that. Don’t wait until you feel like you are too old or have left it too late. It’s true that you can always gain new skills and mos workplaces support that, but formal training and recognition will help you getting jobs. And keep you up with technology.”
– Katherine and Nigel from DXC

“If you are passionate and want to do something just try it. Anyone can start programming at anytime. And get as much agency experience as you can because that gives you a good grasp of problem solving and resolving real world issues.”
– Alex and Cameron from Biteable

“Take risks. If you think you can do a job just apply for it and give it a go. Often you’re more capable than you think you are, and if you don’t get the job it’s a learning opportunity. Spend time really learning your craft and keep on learning as your career grows and changes.”
– Abby and Jason, 2PM

“Take advantage of every learning opportunity. You can learn so much, even if you change what you do, and you can meet so many great people. Every path you choose brings something.”
– Nicky, ISW

Take their words for it – after all, they’re the professionals! And if this advice does inspire you, consider signing up for the It’s Your Career program, which offers students the opportunity for work experience in the ICT sector.

Tassie’s ICT industry

Tasmania’s ICT industry is rich and varied, and moving and changing very quickly. And when it comes to working in the ICT industry in this state, there are two main ways to do it: as an ICT employee in a business, or as a specialised ICT provider.

What does that mean?

First of all, many businesses keep a lot of their services ‘in-house’ – this might be anything from support services to web development to user experience. In a place like this, you might work in the IT department, or provide that service as part of a team. The benefit of working in ICT in a large organisation is that you can really learn about your area of business and gain in-depth knowledge.

Or you might work in a specialised business providing ICT services: in Tasmania this includes web and software development, ICT support, gaming, project management and a whole lot more. This type of work gives you the opportunity to deliver your skills across a range of clients and business areas. For example, as a front end web developer you might build an ecommerce website for a local food producer one week, and an information heavy instructional website the next.

Then of course, sometimes these specialised businesses become big businesses themselves, so you may end up working in HR, or marketing, or finance in an ICT organisation.

The diversity and growth in ICT in Tasmania means that there are plenty of opportunities for people who want to work in the industry.

(For an example of these two main types of employment, just take a look at the places of business of our TasICT board members.)

If you want to know more about Tassie’s ICT industry, we know exactly what is happening. Find out more about TasICT or, better still, why not become a TasICT member?