Working in IT: Myths and Reality

Convenient schedule and income without a ceiling – these and many other legends have long been associated with the most promising industry of the 21st century – IT.

The ins and outs of the romanticized were discussed in Vladimir Morozov's podcast – "We got together and figured it out: Working in the IT sphere – myths and reality." The guest of the episode, Kirill Shiryaev, went from an IT specialist to a recruiter, so he is familiar with the intricacies of the mythical sphere like no one else. Today he heads the Center of Expertise in HR Management at Kaspersky Lab.

Working in IT. Myth 1: “Learn to be a programmer and work in Bali”

Working in Bali as a programmer is entirely possible. The only thing that is exaggerated is the number of people who have chosen this life.

"It's hype. If you think that you'll study and then immediately start drinking smoothies in Bali – no. Most often, this is how freelancers who interact with different companies structure their work."

You can get closer to such a life by working, for example, in a company with a representative office in Bali. However, even large IT corporations generally do not have such offices. The giants of the sphere interact with large layers of confidential information, which it would be incorrect to send to the other end of the world.

Myth 2: “You work for two hours, and the rest of the time you rest.”

This story is not about IT. Information technology is a very dynamic industry. It requires specialists to constantly learn, because knowledge here instantly becomes outdated:

"You graduated, completed the courses, and six months later a new aspect of programming language came out. If you want to grow and become an expert, then be prepared for the fact that IT is a very unregulated industry . "

This is why it will be difficult for you to create a clear schedule, as, for example, in production.

Myth 3: “There is no place for mature employees in IT”

The emergence of this myth is connected with the “age” of the industry – it emerged relatively recently.

Initially, IT development was started by young enthusiasts – students and postgraduates who got access to the first computers. Today, they do not assemble system units from improvised means and do not break Windows out of interest, as they did in the 90s. Thanks to constant study of the world of innovations, former "TechnoGeeks" have become real experts in the field.

But a promising industry is always open to anyone who is ready for continuous learning.

"It's not a question of age, but whether you are ready to invest in yourself and develop. You can't learn something quickly and then forget it right away. In this way, IT is somewhat similar to the medical profession . "

Read more materials on this topic in Compass CIO

Myth 4: “There is no place for girls in IT”

Eat.

Historically, it was men who preferred technical universities, so it was they who learned the basics of the new IT direction. But today the figures have changed significantly: there are many girls among experienced industry experts, and their number is increasing every day. For example, more than 30% of Kaspersky Lab employees are women.

"There are no purely female professions. Want to develop? Study, comprehend. At the same time, it is not necessary to do development, there are many areas within IT in which you can be in demand: systems analysis, business analytics, project management ."

Myth 5: “Non-technical specialists are not valued in IT”

"Not by development alone ."

Regardless of the industry, a company is a large and integral mechanism that needs multidisciplinary experts. Any business will not be able to withstand competition without competent maintenance of the financial system, effective sales, correct work with clients or effective marketing.

"Try yourself in a niche, even if you are not a classic IT specialist. I like my field, I know the company's products and am fully immersed in them, although I am a humanities student."

You can get into the industry even without the required experience. The only thing that matters is your willingness to learn new technologies. For example, a marketer who previously worked in finance will have to start from scratch: delve into unfamiliar acquisition channels, analyze complex competitors' products.

Myth 6: “IT specialists are spoiled by the attention of employers”

At the moment, the trend is declining, but all market needs are still not met. Companies are growing at an incredible speed, hence the demand for qualified personnel. And this concerns not only IT corporations:

"Even banks are now, in fact, large IT companies with thousands of people on staff. The demand has increased many times over, and fewer guys are graduating than we need. Employers really want to get themselves great staff, the competition in this field is quite high."

We can talk about 5 particularly in-demand IT professions: information security specialists:

• virus analysts and pentesters;
• Java, Go and C++ developers;
• DevOps engineers.

Professionals in these fields are truly spoiled by the attention of employers due to their exclusivity: some are responsible for the fundamental language, some develop a new one, and some are valuable due to their expertise and versatility.