The fast-paced world is evolving rapidly due to the growth in Information Technology (IT) sector, the latest technological advancements, and foreign investments in the IT sector.
According to research, the IT industry in India accounted for 7.4% of India’s GDP in FY22, and it is expected to contribute 10% to the GDP by 2025. India is also a popular destination for outsourcing IT services.
This shows steady yet continuous growth, giving rise to ample career opportunities.
Speaking of career opportunities, as one progresses to become a manager at an IT company, the focus shifts from core technical skills to business and management skills.
Let’s take a look at the skills of an Information technology manager –
- Leadership – Successful leaders are the ones who get others to follow them. Hence leading a team of IT professionals requires one to stay calm in crisis situations, cope with performance pressures, be empathetic towards the team, understand the needs of the team, be open to communication, resolve conflicts, and maintain a healthy working environment.
- Communication – A manager has the important task of maintaining healthy, transparent, and strong communication between employees. Strong communication and interpersonal skills help to accurately deliver information, delegate tasks, and build & maintain a profitable relationship with clients.
- Time management – IT projects run on strict timelines, and hence preparing a project completion timeline and mapping and monitoring the activities accordingly is crucial for on-time successful project delivery. This responsibility lies with the manager.
- Problem-solving – IT projects are often in collaboration with clients outside one’s country, hence many cultural, time-related, communication, and language barriers may arise. In such cases, quick adaptability and a problem-solving attitude go a long way.
- Motivation – The manager is expected to boost the employee morale in case of bad performance and appreciate them if the team performance is as desired. Motivating employees to perform better through training, incentives, promotions, etc. requires the manager to develop a strong employee motivation strategy.
- Reporting & system security – Processing large amounts of data requires the IT manager to be careful and look out for any breach of security. The manager is also responsible for giving timely updates about the work progression, and estimated date of delivery, and highlighting any constraints or bottlenecks.
- Budgeting – Planning, mapping, and monitoring the allocated budget for the project is one of the most important tasks of an IT manager. The manager is responsible for aligning the operations and tracking progress and expenditure at each stage of project completion.
- Analytics – Forecasting the performance, trends, constraints, risks, and client behaviour and forecasting the results requires strong analytical skills. The IT manager is expected to possess these analytical skills to bring optimal results within the available resources.
Here are a few potential IT career opportunities –
- Chief Technology Officer
- Chief Information Officer
- Information Technology Director
- Information System Manager
- Project Manager -IT Software
- IT Security Manager
- Cyber Security Manager
- Ethical Hacker
Owing to the demand of this sector and the Government policies, employment opportunities are expected to grow, thereby providing job opportunities to 14 million people and adding USD 380 billion to India’s GDP.
This is why one can expect to earn salaries in the range of Rs. 5 LPA to Rs 30 LPA, with an average of Rs. 12 LPA.
To have a flourishing and rewarding career in the Information Technology sector one must possess the perfect blend of technical as well as business skills.