There are several IT jobs available in the industry, including but not limited to IT technician, network engineer and database administrator. There can be several degrees of overlap between the IT, data science and software engineering industries, with crossover typically being divided between engineering jobs, data analysis roles and networking support. However, most businesses will consider the primary responsibility of the IT department to be administering technological and networking solutions throughout the organization.

Information security, computer technical support, business software development and database and network management are four core IT concepts. Information technology is the use of any computer-based technology that discerns its value from data. Accordingly, there are several different technological areas that IT encompases. The four most basic and primary elements involving the use of all information technology include: information security, computer technical support, business software development and database and network management.

There are many different types of IT certifications available and each may take anywhere between three months to a year to complete. There are a wide variety of certifications available to IT professionals of all skill levels, with each certification helping to grow their skill sets and expand their career opportunities. Foundational exams are intended for entry-level IT techs to learn the skills needed to begin their careers, such as the CompTIA IT Fundamentals exam, CompTIA Cloud Essentials exam and Cisco Certified Technician (CCT) exam. Preparation for these tests can take up to twelve weeks. On the other end of the spectrum, many exams will require six to twelve months to prepare for, but provide certifications that can prove qualifications for high-level IT roles. These exams tend to be more specialized and focused on specific technology from Microsoft, Cisco and AWS, among others. Some of these exams include the Cisco CCNP Routing and Switching exam, CCNP Security exam, CCIE Data Center exam and CCIE Wireless exam. Earning additional certifications will help increase IT capabilities in the workplace and open doors to new career opportunities in the IT field.