How Does Learning IT Compare with Other Skills?

Learning IT can be worthwhile and lead to an exciting new career, but you may be wondering if there are other skills that could prove more valuable to learn. It’s also helpful to research other topics and skills that would be useful to you as an IT professional, allowing you to have a wider and more versatile repertoire. Investigating complementary skills will help you make more informed decisions about what you want to learn, and will help you decide whether or not learning a specific skill is the right decision for you. You will also learn what kind of skills will complement your training later on. Read on to learn more about related IT training options such as programming languages, web development, data analytics, and machine learning. 

What is IT?

The field of information technology (commonly referred to as IT) involves working with the computer systems, hardware, software, and networks related to the processing and distribution of data. The umbrella of IT also encompasses things like networking hardware (servers and routers) and applications that allow communication over a variety of networks and the internet. 

The term “information technology” was first used in a 1958 publication of the Harvard Business Review, which divided IT into the following three categories: techniques for processing, the use of statistical and mathematical methods to make decisions, and the simulation of higher-order thinking through computer programs. Businesses devote entire departments to information technology, assembling teams to handle these tasks. 

Data processing plays a significant role in a variety of business practices, including product development and design, marketing and market research, sales and invoicing, customer development and retention, accounting and taxes, human resources and payroll, and regulatory compliance. IT has become an essential part of nearly every modern industry, so it is a wise choice to become an expert in information technology.

What Can You Do with IT Skills?

Learning IT can be useful in many ways, both professionally and personally. If you currently work in an adjacent or similar field, learning IT can help you develop new skills that can either advance your current career or help you launch a new one. On a personal level, you could use your IT savvy to troubleshoot your own computer and networking problems or create custom systems, networks, or computer programs. 

Skills Related to IT

There are many subjects that are considered complementary to IT, but below are a few of the most common. These four fields will use your IT knowledge as a foundation for more advanced skills training, creating new employment opportunities. Read below for a basic explanation of each, as well as ways to pursue further training in these fields.

Programming Languages

Several programming languages like Python, JavaScript, and CSS, in addition to HTML and CSS, would be helpful skills to learn after or in tandem with IT. You can use HTML to create the basic structure, CSS to stylize what you’ve already built, and JavaScript to make your page more interactive and functionally complex. Knowing how to use these tools will provide a deeper layer of insight into your work as an IT professional, especially while identifying troubleshooting errors. 

If you decide to pursue further education, Noble Desktop’s JavaScript Certificate will build upon existing HTML and CSS skills (so you’ll want to have the basics down) and teach you to create websites, web apps, and database-driven apps. You’ll also get familiar with React, Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB, further expanding your knowledge of industry-standard tools. 

Web Development

As an IT professional, you may find yourself identifying and fixing errors in a company’s internal emailing system or on a company’s actual website. Understanding at least the basics of web development will be extremely helpful and can expand your career options to include web-related roles.Plus, if you decide to transition fully into web development, most positions will require either a degree or documented training in IT, so you’ll be well-suited for that career change. 

Noble Desktop’s Web Development with HTML & CSS will teach you how to develop websites with HTML and CSS, the coding languages used to create web pages. Using HTML, you’ll learn how to create webpages with text, images, and more. Then you’ll use CSS to style the content, create centered page layouts, add background images, style navigation, and make the page responsive so it adapts to various screen sizes using media queries. Finally, you’ll upload files to FTP to make your site go live.

Data Analytics

Data analytics can be considered the next step. Understanding HTML and CSS also allows you to develop web apps to showcase your analysis and aids in better communication with web developers, ensuring seamless integration of data projects into web platforms. If you’re a numbers person, learning data analytics next can open up new, exciting career pathways for you. 

The Data Analytics Certificate from Noble Desktop will help you gain practical experience through real-world projects and hands-on learning. You’ll gather, wrangle, analyze, and visualize data using various tools and technologies to help businesses with decision-making and strategy. You’ll also study predictive analytics and use regression models or forecasting techniques to examine past data to predict future outcomes. Finally, you’ll use prescriptive analytics to help optimize decision-making with constraints with such tools as Scenario Manager and Solver.

Machine Learning

Machine learning, a part of AI, features software systems capable of analyzing data and offering actionable insights based on that analysis. It also continuously learns from that work to produce more refined and accurate insights over time. This has obvious benefits for IT professionals, allowing you to streamline your processes and create better efficiency. Plus, with AI at the forefront of nearly every field in the future, mastering machine learning will help keep you relevant in an evolving professional landscape. The 2024 IT Outlook Report (commissioned by Rackspace Technology in partnership with Dell Technologies and VMware) found that 34% of the 1,420 IT professionals surveyed said machine learning will be a priority at their organizations in 2024.

Noble Desktop’s Python Machine Learning Bootcamp will teach you the fundamentals of machine learning, including regression analysis and classification algorithms. Focusing on practical skills, you’ll begin with linear and logistic regression, and then progress to algorithms with a very different theoretical basis, such as k-nearest neighbors, decision trees, and random forest. This will bring important statistical concepts to the forefront, such as bias, variance, and overfitting. You’ll also learn how to measure the accuracy of your models, as well as tips for choosing effective features and algorithms.

Learn IT Skills with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop’s Data Science Certificate prepares you for entry-level data science and Python engineering roles. You’ll learn how to manipulate databases and perform data analysis, read and write complex database queries, prepare and clean data for analysis, and use Python to automate everyday tasks such as aggregating, updating, and formatting data. This course also covers how to clean and balance your data with Pandas, apply machine learning algorithms with the scikit-learn library to solve real-world problems, and analyze the results to detect areas for improvement. Finally, you’ll build and present dynamic dashboards and other data visualizations and deploy your projects online with GitHub to demonstrate your analytical abilities to employers.

Their Software Engineering Certificate is another option for aspiring IT students. Divided into front end development, React Development, and Django (Python) Development, you will learn HTML to mark up web pages and CSS for styling; the fundamentals of JavaScript and Git; and how to use Flexbox and Grid to layout, align, reorder, and adapt web page content to different size screens. You’ll then move on to the fundamental JavaScript programming concepts, including variables, data types, loops, and DOM. Plus, you’ll cover topics like React, a powerful JavaScript library for web development, and master Node.js, MongoDB, and Express.js to round out your JavaScript development skills.

By creating a portfolio of projects, preparing for common interview questions, and polishing your resume and LinkedIn profile, this course will have you ready to pursue a new job in software engineering in as little as 20 weeks (on a full-time schedule). One-on-one mentoring and a free one-year retake are included in the cost of this course. Payment plans and tuition assistance are available, and this training requires no previous experience, making it great for beginners.

Or, you could try your hand at Noble’s Python Developer Bootcamp. This three-week online course teaches Python for software development with Django, Django REST, and other developer tools like Git and SQL. You’ll start by learning the basics of Python, including its lexical syntax, then move to more advanced topics like dictionaries, custom functions, and sorting algorithms. In week two, you'll learn object-oriented programming, how to work with APIs, and get an introduction to web databases using SQL. By creating projects that can be added to your portfolio, you’ll master URL dispatchers, querying models, and automating tasks with Django, as well as how to work with images, authentication, and use API endpoints with Django REST. 

It’s recommended that you are comfortable coding HTML and basic CSS. You should possess equivalent knowledge of Noble Desktop’s Web Development with HTML & CSS class, and mastery of another programming language is helpful, but not required. Payment plans and financing are available, in addition to extra perks like one-on-one mentoring, a free one-year retake, and a verified digital certificate are included with your purchase.