Information Technology

A New World

The computer revolution that began at the end of the 20th century led, by the mid-1990s, to the creation of the internet (the web). And it gave an even bigger revolution a boost. The impact of the internet's emergence is comparable to the impact of industrialization. But the best part is that this process is still only at the very beginning.

The number of websites exceeds 900 million. Internet users: 5.5 billion. Internet auctions, internet sites, online stores, internet services. The IT economy is growing by 20% to 30% annually. These are monstrous rates. But they still are not slowing down.

Over the past 10 years in Silicon Valley, the center of the IT world, a company that later became worth a billion dollars was founded every 2 months. And that is not even mentioning internet giants such as Facebook ($1.8 trillion), Amazon ($2.4 trillion), and Google ($2.2 trillion). None of these companies would have existed if there had been no internet.

All this leads to high demand for IT specialists. The global IT economy needs programmers, designers, testers, architects, managers, system administrators, and other specialists.

It Is Good to Be a Tech Professional

If you are an IT specialist, your golden age has come. You can work for a cool foreign company while living in a small town or even in another country. Your income will, of course, be lower than theirs (usually by about half), but higher than on the local labor market (by 3 to 10 times). The smaller your city, the more noticeable the difference.

You will gain valuable work experience, good money, and excellent prospects. Sometimes you will go on business trips to your employer's office. And if you like it there very much, you can even move there.

A rising tide lifts all boats. But why not be that boat that happens to be in the right place at the right time? That is also a skill.

Immigration Prospects

In developed countries, IT specialists are among the three highest-paid professions, alongside doctors and lawyers. The average salaries of programmers are around $90,000/year. But the most interesting thing is that IT professions are a great fit for the global labor market.

What happens if a doctor wants to change countries? Another country means different medical standards. With a diploma from their home country, they will most likely not be allowed to work in the new one. They will have to learn the language, retake exams, complete training — a long road.

Lawyers have it even worse. One country has one set of laws, another has different ones. In one place, connections matter more; in another, it is precedent-based law. Good lawyers from one place will be of little use in another.

IT specialists. Very often they work directly or through intermediaries for large Western companies. The same technologies, the same business processes. All documentation is on the internet in English. A resume is in English. You can move to any country in the world and nothing will change. Even the clients/employers are often the same.

And the salaries of tech professionals in California are incredibly good. That is why you need to keep developing all the time.