Are you planning to start a career in IT? It is well-known that the IT specialists are among the most in-demand professionals and are usually very well-paid. Let’s have a look at the most demanded IT positions, what they actually mean and what qualifications are required:

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  • Business analyst – the connection between the business and the development team. The business analyst works closely with the client, gathers her requirements about the product and then turns them into specifications for the developers. A big percentage of the time is dedicated on traveling to the clients site, meetings, emails and calls. On the other side, the business analyst assists the developers with understanding the requested functionalities. To be a business analyst, you don’t need to have a technical background, although it would help you considerately.
  • QA(Quality assurance) – performs tests of the system following test scenarios. There are 2 types of QA – manual and automated. The manual tests are simple scenarios that involve simple clicks. On the other side, to perform automated tests the QA needs to have some programming knowledge. You don’t need to have technical education to start working as junior QA, although to understand the software development process is a big advantage.
  • Developer – creates and maintains the company’s software. To land a job as a developer, you have to a take at least a programming course, if you don’t have the time to enroll at university. A programming course usually takes at least 3 months and is not cheap. Currently the most demanding specialists are those who have knowledge in Java, PHP, Javascript, SQL, mobile development, C#. 8202704277_43c213fb8a_m
  • Customer Care Representative/Support – communicates directly with the clients via email, phone or chat. The tasks of the support specialist are limited to resolve simple issues reported by the clients. All complicated problems are escalated to other teams – developers, consultants, level 2 support. To start as a support specialist, you don’t need to have a technical background. Companies usually look for specialists who speak foreign languages and train them.
  • HA0521 - Bedford staff and M1. A set of images of HA staff in the Bedford office and new section of M1, north of junction 9. March 2010Project manager – manages all teams involved in the project. Responsible for creating and maintaining the project schedule, elaborates reports about the project progress, manages the project finances, organizes meetings with the client and with the development teams. The project manager is the person who takes the responsibility in front of the client for all the problems that appear. To become a project manager you need to have solid organizational, communication and negotiation skills. To be successful in that role you need to have at least a few years of professional experience within IT industry.