IT promised land

Recently, in a casual conversation, an acquaintance asked me which course I would recommend for her to pursue in order to get into IT. At first, this question puzzled me because she has been working in interior design for about a decade, which is what she studied for, and it's considered a creative and potentially profitable profession. Furthermore, we are no longer in our twenties when one is "finding themselves" and trying to determine their career path; by now, we should have built a career and gained experience in it. When I asked her why IT specifically, she replied, "Because IT is the promised land."

This made me ponder whether IT is truly a promised land worth retraining for in one's forties.

The fact is that IT has infiltrated virtually every industry, and optimization, process automation, and digitalization have become the norm in business strategy. The demand for IT professionals is increasing worldwide, with a growing number of job listings requiring expertise in this field on employment websites. The global pandemic has accelerated the pace of digitalization and revealed the direction in which the business world is heading in the future. As a result, the demand for IT professionals has exponentially increased. While employees in some industries were losing their jobs during the pandemic, there were no such disruptions in the IT sector, which offers a certain level of security in a world of constant change and uncertainty. Moreover, those in this industry enjoy certain benefits not available to others, with flexible working hours and remote work being the most prominent, allowing employees to work from anywhere in the world with internet access. Adding to this, IT professionals typically earn significantly higher salaries compared to other industries, making a career in IT an attractive prospect.

Where does Serbia stand in all of this?

It seems that there is a high demand for various IT roles in our country, from programmers, mobile app developers, and network administrators to IT managers and designers. This observation is supported by data from the job listing website for IT candidates, "HelloWorld," where the number of job postings in this industry increased by 26% in the first six months of 2022 compared to the same period last year.

According to data from the same website, the average salary in the IT sector in Serbia in 2021 was over 1500 euros, with the highest salary being for senior software developers (on the "IT Insider" platform) at 8500 euros.

Considering that the IT profession encompasses a wide range of jobs, you can use the "HelloWorld" website to help you decide which specific career path to pursue based on position, city, company, and seniority, all based on the experiences of former or current employees in those companies.

Is IT really a promised land?

Newer data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia show that the average salary in the category of computer programming, consulting, and related activities in the first five months of 2022 amounted to 234,000 dinars, which is three times higher than the overall average salary in Serbia during this period.

The Serbian government has recognized that the economic strength and future of the country lie in the development of the IT sector. To this end, a program has been designed to retrain citizens for work in this field. The project was initiated based on the proposal of the Ministerial Council for Innovative Entrepreneurship and Information Technologies, with the program for unemployed candidates being conducted by the National Employment Service and the program for employed individuals being conducted by the Office for IT and eGovernment in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister. The program's goal is to provide free training to individuals who meet specific industry needs.

For candidates who do not pass the selection process in this program, there is still the option of retraining at one of the numerous academies that offer successful requalification into IT experts. These academies claim that completing their programs opens up a wide range of well-paying positions at high levels, all in a very short time, regardless of previous work experience or education.

This type of training is considered informal education, which is one way to overcome crises, reduce unemployment, and enhance existing competencies while acquiring new skills.

Can anyone successfully retrain and become an IT expert, or is it not for everyone?

Is the reality as promising as the advertisements from these academies suggest?

Expectations may have been set too high. Like in any profession, there are successful and less successful individuals. Profession in IT primarily requires analytical thinking and a willingness to continually improve. No matter how much experience you have in this profession, there is always something more to learn and improve because it's an area that is rapidly growing and evolving. To excel in what you do, you need to grow and stay updated with the trends. Experts say that individuals who are willing to learn, adapt, and work in teams are better candidates for requalification, while those who are less flexible or resistant to change have fewer chances of successful development in an IT career. In IT, learning is expected to continue throughout one's entire career.

It is precisely the willingness of people to invest time and effort into their advancement that companies value most in those who have gone through the requalification process. Although their experience in the IT field is just beginning, the knowledge and experience they gained in previous jobs can contribute to the long-term development of companies in various business areas.

Certainly, it should be kept in mind that achieving significantly high salaries takes time through gaining various experiences, knowledge, and skills over several years. Therefore, some requalified candidates may experience disappointment if they expect to achieve extremely high incomes immediately after requalification. Nevertheless, regardless of how attractive a particular profession is, success requires time, effort, and hard work. Based on all indications, the IT community will continue to grow over time. The number of people attracted by its opportunities and benefits increases every year.

One inevitable question and dilemma that arises is whether the expansion of digitalization and the development of the IT sector will lead to the disappearance of some of the currently existing jobs in other sectors. It undoubtedly will, but experts say there is no reason to worry, as the improvement of the IT industry will lead to the creation of more jobs than it eliminates. For example, twenty years ago, digital marketing didn't even exist, and today, it's estimated that around 12 million people work in this field worldwide. Similarly, self-driving cars, which autonomously operate vehicles, were unimaginable just fifteen years ago, and although they may reduce the demand for driver jobs in the future, they will require a significantly larger workforce to create a safe autonomous driving system.

It is estimated that in the future, the highest demand in the IT domain will be related to cybersecurity, software development, and cloud technologies.

In conclusion, addressing the question from the beginning of the text: Is the IT industry truly a promised land? All indicators suggest that this industry indeed offers significant potential and opportunities to individuals, and now is the right time to make the most of them.