Career Opportunities in Information Communication Technology(ICT)

This blog post is for folks who are looking for career opportunities in Sri Lankan ICT (Information and Communication Technology) sector. I referred the presentation slides by Mr. Samantha Senarathne, visiting lecturer from Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Moratuwa. The presentation was created for the ICT awareness seminar series which was organized by my batch mates last month.

Not only in Sri Lanka but also around the globe there is a huge demand for ICT related academia. But still the supply of skilled IT graduates is not sufficient to cope with industrial demand in Sri Lanka. So there is a huge competition for jobs as well.

If you want to be successful at what you do there is a universal truth for the success on any thing. That is "Decide upon Your True Dreams and Goals". So if your true dreams and goals don't deal with ICT, the final outcome won't be that you expected.

These are few reasons to choose ICT field

• Good job opportunities
• Demand across the world
• Higher economic benefits
• Different career development paths
• Traveling opportunities to other countries

If you are really good at what you do, you'll have the demand across the globe.

There are many paths you can consider

• Software Engineering
• Network Engineering
• System security
• Project Management
• Quality assurance and Testing
• System administration
• Wed site development
• Database administration
• Technical support
• Client management
• IT consultancy

There are seamless opportunities in this field across the globe. But considering our country, above have significant opportunities. For more information just Google them, you'll find plenty of stuff. Here are some details specific to our country on choosing an IT degree.

Engineering fields require a strong mathematical background. So most of the times if you choose physical science stream for your A/L examination, it'll be a strong foundation to go forward. Then if you pass A/L well and eligible to enter to a University for Engineering you can choose Computer Engineering degrees offered by Moratuwa, Peradeniya and Ruhuna Universities.
Or there are other degrees like Physical Science and Computer Science from Universities like Colombo, Peradeniya, Kalaniya, Sabaragamuwa, Sri jayawardanapura, Rajarata and Eastern etc.
As well there are IT degrees offered by University of Moratuwa. But apart from your A/L qualifications you need to pass another aptitude test as well.
There are some other external IT degrees offered by Open University (Bachelor of Software Engineering), Moratuwa University (Bachelor of Information Technology) and Colombo University (Bachelor of Information Technology).
As well there are private institutes like SLIIT which offers degrees related to IT and some other areas. But you need to pay for those.
As well there are several private institutes which offers IT degrees with the support of overseas Universities. Some of them are Informatics (IIT), APIIT, IDM, ESoft etc.
Or you can go overseas like Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, USA, UK, and India and study there as well.

How you can start

1. Initial level jobs
2. Professional Training
3. IT degrees

You may not have specific educational qualifications or training. But with a small training you can apply for professions like computer programmer, web site developer, graphic designer etc. But essentially you need to have some skills related to those. If you are capable of self learning and to grab something quickly that will be a little challenge.
But if you want to go to a higher level, educational qualifications and experiences are highly recommended. So never stop learn.
There are certifications related to this sector like Microsoft certifications, Sun certifications, Cisco certifications etc.
There are diplomas offered by BCS, ACS, NIBM, HND, IDM, ESoft etc. You also should consider the quality and the recognition of the diploma.
I have mentioned about IT degrees on a previous section.

Requirements

• Dedication
• Self-confidence
• Commitment
• Positive attitude
• English language skills
• Good communication and soft skills
• (Money - only if to have a degree, diploma or certification from a private institute)

Hope you had some idea regarding the career opportunities in SL ICT sector. Good luck!