The butterfly effect is a metaphor that describes how a small change in conditions can lead to a large variation in results. Meeting your future wife because you dropped your wallet in the shopping centre is a typical example. An insignificant event caused a ripple effect that affected your life, your (future) children and their grandchildren, your (future) wife, both families, friends and so on. Variations in those people’s lives then have the same effect on other people around them and the effect grows exponentially as a result of the original insignificant event.

Unplanned career paths are subject to the same fate. The smallest variation in workplace responsibilities can lead to a significant career shift over time. It is not uncommon in the IT industry to work with highly skilled, experienced managers who began their IT careers because they were the first in the office to buy a certain piece of hardware or PC. They instantly became the authority on the equipment and the rest, as they say, is history.

By the way, that interchangeable home to office skill set doesn’t seem to exist any more in the IT industry. Corporate environments are far too large and complex, but the lesson remains valid. And that brings us to the point of this article, career planning is about ‘dropping your wallet’ in a deliberate and planned manner in order to produce a ripple that presents favourable results to your career.

Because the Information Technology industry is so large and disparate, it is difficult for people to know when or where to start. This is the most common and challenging problem faced by students, graduates and career changers when attempting to enter the IT industry. There is plenty of information addressing one field or another but where is the 10,000 foot view of the industry? Who is looking at the entire picture to help future IT professionals find the IT career path that is right for them before they take the plunge on way or another?

Is it common knowledge that different fields have different skills and training requirements? Is it common knowledge that some fields pay better than others? We hear about IT skills shortages, but in what areas? Where are the hot jobs? And which fields should we avoid?

Just imagine what a large advantage any student, graduate or career changer would have over competing entry level job applicants if they had that insider knowledge! Believe it or not, this is not hard to achieve. With the right planning and guidance, anybody can present as an outstanding job applicant in the right field with the right skills. I’m not saying that it is easy, but it is certainly possible.