Feeling positive? Well it’s the New Year and no doubt you have made countless New Year’s resolutions to better yourself or your life in 2014. One common resolution year after year is to “improve my education” or “learning something new”.
A recent survey of 489 IT professionals showed that 62% of the respondents said that they have paid for training out of their own pockets in order to secure their careers. Some of the reasons for educating themselves include "keeping skills up to date” and "finding an appropriate new position for my skill set". Interestingly, 78% said education has been either very important or important for their careers. For those in the IT Industry however, it is seen as even more of an expectation with technologies becoming outdated so quickly.
"IT workers are right when they say this is an expectation, because given what IT jobs pay, the expectations from employers are high," says Jack Cullen, president of Modis, a global provider of IT staffing services."It's a very competitive field, and this is what you have to do to stay competitive."
So how does one know where to focus their education? Courses that are most in demand vary depending on the individual’s specialty skill set. Networkers seek certifications in Cisco, project managers are aiming to become project management professionals and developers are shifting their focus toward mobile app development. Joseph Kotlinski, a partner and manager in IT search at WinterWyman recruitment, says that among these popular fields of study in IT, everybody wants to learn about Cloud Computing.
And that makes complete sense seeing as cloud computing is listed in most (if not all) 2014 IT predictions as an absolute given.
Among Computerworld’s top ten predictions for Cloud Computing in 2014, is that the cloud will no longer be a maybe for most businesses but a definite. The cloud has put a lot of pressure on CIOs to remain relevant and get to the cloud faster. One way to achieve this is through educating themselves and their staff.
One of the main concerns however, is that IT budgets and work hours are not necessarily stretching far enough to allow staff to up skill at work. Various IT training providers now offer flexible courses to meet the demand of professionals learning in their own time via eLearning modules, leading to certifications, diplomas or degrees.
For IT professionals looking to up-skill in 2014 in the field of cloud computing, Cloud Academy offer their introductory modules online for free. Successful completion of these short courses (up to 30 mins per module) will be recorded and contribute to your Cloud Foundations Certification. Now there is no reason you can’t fund your own education and get the knowledge you need in cloud computing technology.
