What takes to be an IT Professional?

Being an IT professional is more than just learning a programming language and getting a job. A complete IT professional has many traits – and they use these traits to stand out from the crowd and become a better employee – and ultimately make more money!

A big part on how to become an IT professional is to have good people skills. Sure, talking to people can be simple to do, but to be better at your job and stand out from the crowd, you need to build on these skills and get better at them.

         * Asking the right questions. This comes with practice and experience, but to know the answer to something you need to learn how to ask the right questions. Practice this on the job by asking questions of people.

        * Knowing how to talk to different audiences. Different groups of people and different types of workers have different levels of understanding of the IT field. One of the best ways to be seen as a good communicator is to know how to adjust your language and method when talking to different people. Generally, managers don’t need to know about technical details of your work. Business users usually prefer a real-world explanation instead of an overly technical explanation. Database administrators or other technical people like details relating to their field or area of expertise. This comes with practice, but it’s something to realize and start developing.

A great IT employee (which is you, or will be you soon!) is someone who knows how to be professional. Essentially, being professional is doing a job well and acting in a mature and considerate way. A couple of articles on Five Professional Things You Should Be Doing, and Five Unprofessional Behavior to Avoid things you should and shouldn’t be doing.

This point involves treating others with respect, acting professionally, and speaking well. If you’re acting like a professional in the workplace, then others will recognize this – and you’ll stand out from the crowd of other IT employees! And you know what that means – better chance of promotion, more money, and more opportunity!