Not many of us know what jobs are available after completing our degrees. After I completed my accounting degree, I knew I can only work as an Accountant or Auditor. Only these two positions struck my mind. After attaining my first job, I came to know the depth of accounting and the various positions held within the organisation for Accounting. Even though I had skills, experience and knowledge, I started from an entry level job in Australia. If I had better guidance, I would have started my job from mid-level which could have boosted my career bit faster.

Hence, I want to share as much information as I can to help you to chose your career better.

Information Technology is a broad industry with number of opportunities. Now-a-days, no organisation works without a computer and a software.

Never ever think you are late to the industry, there are always opportunities exists especially new graduates. Number of organisations recruits fresh talent and encourage them to grow in their career. All you need is to know which path you should choose.

I tried my best to explain the role of IT in an organisation. This may not be applicable to all companies as some outsource certain functions.

1. Software developer develops an application and hands that over to testing team (testers) to test the application. Any bugs are reported back to software team to fix.
2. Once the application’s core part is fixed, web designers make it look pretty and attractive.
3. After successful application development, it rolls out to various employees within the department.
4. For regular maintenance and upgrades of the applications, there are application support engineers.

(This is one section in IT, you can choose what you want to be in the above roles)

Every employee has a computer these days, from a cleaner to the CEO of the company. Number of staff required to maintain these computers. Solution or network Architects are the network specialists who design the Local Area Network (LAN) of the organisation. Then the Network administrator takes over to maintain the existing structure.

Along this process, there are servers where the huge data relating to the daily activities of the business are saved. To maintain and solve the issues with servers, requires system engineers and system administrators. These positions work with data storage and cloud based technologies and work closely with Network Administrators.

If you cascade bit further down, there are level 1, level 2 and level 3 IT support staff who deals with trouble shooting of various IT problems. Level 1 to 3 are the expertise in handling the issues.

Business Analyst is a broader role. This positions analyses the organisation and design of technical systems, business models, processes and strategic business needs.

IT auditors provide independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve organisation’s operations. They analyse the existing systems, test the controls and processes to provide assurance to senior management that the operations are working effectively.

To protect the data from hackers and external bad sources, Cyber security professionals come on board.

For large projects like introducing ERM applications into a large/medium sized organisation, then Change Managers take the lead in managing that change. This position involves co-ordinating with number of stakeholders within the organisation to achieve smooth transition.

IT trainer train the employees to update the employees on new features in the existing technology or a brand new technology. 

In broader terms, the jobs are classified into software, hardware, maintenance or project management.

 

Let’s look into some of the jobs that are currently recruited by organisations:

 

#1. Software Programmers

This role is also called Software engineer, developer or IT coder.

In this role, you will be mostly working on writing code or a program to develop various applications. In other words, brains behind the robust applications that we see on daily basis.

Programmers exist for each software that is available in the market. If you good at mathematics and logical thinking, this job might be yours. Nowadays, there is lot of scope in developing mobile applications, web applications and Artificial Intelligence. Search for programming languages you are interested in and start as a Junior/intern in a company.

Salary range: $65k to $150k

 

#2. Website Developers

The brains behind beautiful looking websites are web developers. They use creativity in building user friendly websites. The advantage of this role; you can work from anywhere in the world. If you are good at HTML coding, then this role is for you.

Sometimes, you can make this job as a side gig working as a freelancer while working in any other field of your choice.

Salary range: $69k to $90k

 

#3. IT Support Officers or Technical Support

These roles technically support the physical computers and software  like upgrading software to a new version, assembling computers, setting user name and passwords. This provides basic support on the issues occurred by the employee in using the PC.

These employees are the first point of contact when you have issues with the systems. There are 3 levels of support provided. As experience grows, you will be promoted from level 1 to level 3. The levels are categorised on the type of issue encountered by the system.

Salary range: $45k to $75k

 

#4. Systems Administrators

If you like working on servers, this role will interest you. This position is responsible for configuration and reliable operation of computer systems. They ensure the servers’ uptime, performance, resources and security are meeting the needs of the users, within the budget allocated.

Salary range: $60k to $135k

 

#5. Network Administrators

This role manages computer infrastructure within the organisation, dealing with routers and switches. Diagnose problems related to network-attached computers.

Salary range: $50k to $120k

 

#6. Systems Engineer, Infrastructure/Cloud

IT professionals responsible for any technological duties associated with cloud computing, including design, planning, management, maintenance and support are Systems Engineers: Cloud. The major web services in demand Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google cloud etc.

Similar functionalities of a professional who manages, design and maintain physical infrastructure is called a Systems engineer- Infrastructure. These engineers deal with server’s maintenance, servers set up etc. Knowledge of microsoft and other major servers like Linux, Apple etc.

Salary range: $62k to $140k

 

#7. Cyber Security

The world is changing to a better place with technology (hope so!). During this transformation, there are some challenges that needs attention. So Cyber Security Officers are one of them. These jobs are related to maintaining and addressing the cyber security issues. This means identifying and mitigating the risks in breach of personal information of the clients of the company and company itself.

Salary range: $52k to $120k

 

#8. Application support specialists

Duties include supporting and maintaining the existing applications. They provide technical support to the applications using variety of database systems, middleware systems etc.

Salary range: $50k to $110k

 

#9. Quality Assurance or Test Analyst

The duties include testing the websites, identifying the problems, documenting the issues and fixing them by co-ordinating with the Developer’s team. They play an important role in software development process. These positions are majorly recruited by a software development companies like Cognizant, Microsoft, Google, TCS and others.

Salary range: $52k to $103k

 

#10. Hardware design engineers

The name says it all. This engineers create and design computer hardware components, including circuit boards, microchips and scanners. They draft different designs and make prototypes to test for accuracy. Some hardware design engineers get involved with manufacturing hardware, whereas others supervise the installation process.

Salary range: $54k to $145k

 

#11. Graphic Designers

This is an artistic role using computer software. Graphic Designers create visual concepts, by hand or using a computer software. These roles are used to create logos, visual displays for advertisements, brochures, magazines and corporate reports. These roles are available in marketing consulting firms, major retails organisations and marketing agencies.

Salary range: $39k to $72k

 

#12. IT Auditors

Duties include working on number of projects, testing the controls, identifying issues and recommending the solutions to the management to fix them. This job involves 70% of report writing and 30% of testing and communicating to the stakeholders.

Salary range: $60k to $120k

#13. Big Data Analysts/scientists

You see data everywhere. Have you ever imagined how much data is generated on daily basis? Look at all the ecommerce websites, social media website, banks and other internet based websites, all these hold huge data of customers, their preferences and tastes. Big Data scientists take this enormous messy data (unstructured and structured) and use their formidable skills in math, statistics and programming to clean, manage and organise them. 

Salary range: $61k to $135k

 

#14. Business Analysts

This is an analysing role and it can come in various forms and shapes. Business Analyst is the one who analyses the organisation and the design of technical systems, business models, processes and strategic business needs. This role is also responsible for discovering the actual needs of stakeholders and not just what they desire. Business Analyst can be for a particular application/software or strategic business need.

Salary range: $58k to $121k

 

#15. System Architects

An architect who designs the computer infrastructure (both software and hardware) for an organisation is a systems architect. This is an expert role in the world of information and communications technology.

Salary range: $88k to $183k

#16. Database Administrators

Large companies use databases to store their data. The data could be related to sales, purchases or employees. To maintain the data integrity and keep the data secure, Database Administrators (DBA) play an active role. They are specialised computer systems administrators who manage this functionality within the organisation.

Salary range: $53k to 137K

 

#17. Change Managers

Recently my company has gone through a major deployment of a new software to over 10,000 employees across Australia. For doing this, they had to temporarily recruit managers who had experience in implementation of the systems. These managers are those who have experience in project management and information and communication technology. Change manager facilitate the change with internal users, vendors and the senior management to have a smooth flow of the deployment.

Salary range: $74k to $213k

 

#18. IT Trainer

Information technology is  volatile. Technologies get outdated very quickly with the invention of new ones. so, the companies invest in updating their employees with the new technology on regular basis. For this purpose, IT trainers are recruited to train the employees within the organisation. Some companies recruit fresh graduates and train them to their needs.

Salary range: $49k to $110k

 

What jobs are in demand in Australia?

Australia is short of some IT professionals and these are listed in short, medium and long term skills list on the immigration website. In other words, the below professions/careers are high in demand in Australia and experience in them makes you easy to migrate:

Analyst/Software Programmer

Chief Information Officer

Computer Network and Systems Engineer

Database Administrator

Developer/Software Programmer

ICT Business Analyst

ICT Business Development Manager

ICT Customer Support Officer

ICT Managers

ICT Project/Change Manager

ICT Quality Assurance/Test Analyst Engineer

ICT Sales Representative

ICT Security Specialist

ICT Support and Test Engineers

ICT Support Engineer

ICT Support Technicians

ICT Systems Test Engineer

ICT Trainer

 

How can you get your first job in Australia?

Whether you are a fresh graduate or new immigrant or changing your career into IT, cracking the first job is bit difficult at the start.  But I am sure it is not achievable. The below techniques may help you to secure one within short time:

1. Prepare a good resume with all your qualifications, achievements and skills.
2. Develop employability skills while you are in college. Employability skills are those skills that are required to perform the specific job. Attend career expos to understand what employers are expecting. Career expos are posted on lifeisezy facebook page when available.
3. If you have previous experience, highlight your achievements and core competency skills on your resume. Attend networking events.
4. Undertake certification courses required for your area of expertise. This helps you to stand out from the crowd.
5. Keep applying, learn from the rejections and improve.

More info:

Writing a job winning resume

Internship opportunities for students in Australia

Some of the jobs require an experience of one year in an IT area even though you are applying for a fresh graduate role. Internship and volunteering is a good way to get that experience. For example, if you like to be Network Administrator, the company may need some prior experience as a junior network administrator.

There are some positions that cannot be performed without prior experience like change managers, System architects, cyber security etc.

Whichever career path you have chosen from the above list, remember continuous professional education is highly required in this field. This is due to the change in technologies and invention of new ones. Now, the trend is Artificial intelligence and invention of new softwares around it, may take place soon.

Let me know in comments which one impressed you the best!