Pivoting during the pandemic? A high-performing career in IT could be for you

"Be water, my friend." Bruce Lee's iconic speech about the importance of flexibility may have been directed at people whose goals were to break concrete blocks with their hands, but decades later his speech seems to apply to life itself.

As Bruce Lee so eloquently put it, water takes the shape of whatever it is poured into, be it a cup or a teapot. And now, more than ever before, many cups in our society are having to ask themselves: can I really turn into a teapot?

The Covid-19 pandemic has been tough on many. Unemployment and retrenchment peaked in the third quarter of 2020, and while recent numbers show that we are on the path to recovery, we are still not back at numbers seen at pre-pandemic levels.

However, there are some silver linings for those looking to find employment. For example, it stands to reason that employers are hiring more locals and those based in Singapore due to travel restrictions, for positions that require new skills as a result of business restructuring.

So how does one pivot into working an entirely new career, in an entirely new industry?

Picking a rock-solid industry

The very first question to ask when figuring out what to do next is — who's hiring? While unemployment and retrenchment are at an overall high, certain industries and roles were more harshly affected. According to a report, the food and beverage services, construction, and manufacturing (excluding electronics) were the three hardest hit sectors.

On the plus side, some of the sectors that saw employment numbers hold up include health and social services, information and communications, and electronics manufacturing.

MOM also stated that roles that could be worked remotely saw the least negative impact.

Based on these reports, careers in IT, including the many that can be done from a home office, are more likely to be future-proof, making them solid choices for a next career.

The IT boom never stopped booming

An article published in November 2020 stated that over 12,000 jobs are available in Singapore's ICT sector. Software, Web, and multimedia developers make a median salary of $6,000, and sales, marketing, and business development managers make a median $5,500.

And while numbers show that IT student intakes at higher learning institutes like Kaplan in Singapore have been growing, a survey by the recruitment consultancy Michael Page shows that employers just can't get enough tech talent, with demand for technology jobs in Singapore rising by 20 per cent over 2018 and 2019. They're so hard pressed to find the right person for the job that the average salary for a specialist has risen to $9,600 a month.

Even without looking at statistics, it's easy to see the logic behind why IT companies continue to thrive despite the ongoing pandemic. Food delivery and other similar services are doing better than ever, and they operate based on an intricate system that allows you to watch your delivery driver go in circles around your block in real time.

Different strokes for different folks

If you are flirting with the idea of transitioning into an IT career, perhaps one of your worries is that you are starting from near zero. Sure you may have written in your resume that you are proficient with Microsoft Word, but really, isn't everyone?

The good news is, you probably already possess many skills that will allow you to easily transition into one of many secure and lucrative IT roles. After all, there are so many of them. Here are just a few common roles:

Forensic Computing: if you're a logical thinker and someone who loves solving mysteries, this may be the right career move for you. The more connected our world becomes, the greater the potential for cybercrime to exist, and every company therefore needs a strong approach to cybersecurity to safeguard their precious data.

Courses offered at Kaplan in Singapore like the University of Portsmouth (UOP) Bachelor of Science (Honours) Cyber Security and Forensic Computing (Top-up) will provide you with the skills you need to become anything from a cybersecurity specialist who builds virtual walls, to a penetration tester whose job is to figure out how to tear them down in order to make them even stronger.

Data Analysis: no three words bring more confidence to a person running a business or corporation than data-driven decisions. Why rely on your gut when you can be handed a chart showing you exactly how to make the optimal moves leading to the greatest success?

As a data analyst, your job will be performing the research that leads to the creation of the aforementioned magic chart. If you are someone who thinks data is beautiful and loves making sense of numbers, UOP's Bachelor of Science (Honours) Data Science and Analytics (Top-up) will allow you to become someone who gets to work in his/her industry of choice including banking, retail, and advertising. Because there isn't a person alive who wouldn't want to peer into the future.

Software Engineering: evident by the occasional swarms of people you may see swiping and tapping on their phones in public landmarks, these days everyone from the young to the old play video games. It's entirely possible that the next video game to zombify the world's population will be made by you, isn't it?

While programming requires a cool and logical mind, it is creative flair and the simple will to create something fun that make a great game designer. UOP's Bachelor of Science (Honours) Software Engineering (Top-up) could be the final stage you'll have to clear to start a new, exciting life making video games.

Something in IT for everyone

IT is a very wide field, meaning that there is almost certainly a career that's the right fit for your interests, personality, and strengths Pivoting into a new line of work can be a scary prospect for many — isn't it normal to feel uncertain if your move is going to pay off?

Fortunately, for the many reasons stated above, a career in IT is often a safe bet. Still, It's important to pick the right school that can give you more than just a paper qualification, and properly prepare you to be the best in your field. University of Portsmouth's Bachelor's Degree programmes in IT offered by Kaplan in Singapore, are designed to appeal to everyone from those starting out, to those looking for a change for the better.

It's never too late to start something new!

The University of Portsmouth is among the top 70 universities in the UK with educational offerings underpinned by innovative and business-relevant research. Through programmes such as Cyber Security and Forensic Computing, and Software Engineering, students will be armed with skills that will be highly prized by technology companies, businesses, education, healthcare, agriculture, media, retail industries, and research and development.

​​This article is brought to you in partnership with Kaplan in Singapore.

editor@asiaone.com