Tech jobs offer more than salaries

Tech jobs in the U.S. can offer salaries of up to $100,000 and above, and recruiters are in a rush to find those with the skills needed to fill open positions across the country. The job market has never been better for IT: they unarguably offer the best type of employment opportunities, with high wages, generous benefits, and the comfort of job security.

Entering into IT workforce can reap the great rewards of a growing field. Based on job satisfaction, position openings, and earning potential, tech jobs are the most worthwhile.

The even better news, however, is that many, if not most of these jobs, do not require a four-year degree, let alone a PhD in Computer Science or Data Analytics.

Nationwide, accelerated IT-training programs have sprung up, to meet the need to train workers for the IT-heavy workforce. Often low cost, or even fully funded by entities like the U.S. Department of Labor (through such initiatives like the TechHire Grant), these “bootcamps” can take people with non-technical backgrounds and set them on the path to financial and professional success.

Some colleges and universities are starting to understand the need to teach tangible tech skills, but specialized training organizations have begun to fill the gap, and are starting to show a solid track record of getting graduates into the tech workforce.

The growth of technologyrelated jobs is heavily influenced by the fact that many businesses, that do not necessarily consider themselves to be traditional tech companies, now need workers with IT skills. Sectors like healthcare and finance now require staff with the capacity to maintain technological infrastructures, organize databases, and protect customer information from hackers.

The problem is how and where to find these adept workers. The solution, especially here in Connecticut, is in these training bootcamps currently meeting the needs of employers, for the following reasons:

These bootcamps are often located within or near emerging tech-hubs, the so called “Next in Tech Cities”: Nashville, New Orleans, Portland, Cleveland, Denver, Charleston, and even here in Connecticut, especially New Haven and Hartford. The talent-pools created by these training programs feed directly to the employers who need software developers, network specialists, cyber security analysts, etc.

The specific IT skills that employers seek are being taught in these bootcamps, at an intensive level. Four out of five companies, according to Course Report, have hired graduates from coding bootcamps, and are more than willing to do so again. In fact, 72 percent of employers think bootcamp graduates are just as prepared and likely to be high performers as candidates with computer science degrees.

IT-training bootcamps help a region’s economy prosper, by keeping tech jobs and tech talent local. These programs helps Americans learn the skills needed to fill open positions, and, ultimately, create better lives for themselves and their families, and improving their communities. It is now becoming a badge of honor to graduate from coding bootcamps, for example, based on the sense of pride and accomplishment that students often express after training.

The tech sector is booming, and hundreds of thousands of IT jobs exist nation-wide, waiting to be filled. In Connecticut, especially in cities like New Haven and Hartford, a growth in the tech industry is evident, and will not be stopping anytime soon. Now is the time to enroll CT residents who are interested in rewarding careers in technology into these accelerated IT training programs, and start them on paths to the middle class.