Switch Career to IT

Last Updated: 14/10/2026

Career Change Advice: How to Change Your Career to IT & AI

Good career change advice is surprisingly hard to find. Search online and you’ll get a mix of motivational quotes, vague “follow your passion” platitudes, and listicles that tell you what to do without ever explaining how. What most people actually need is more practical: a clear-eyed look at what works, what trips people up, and a plan they can actually follow. This guide pulls together the advice we give as a matter of routine, based on what consistently helps people move into IT and AI, and what tends to hold them back. It’s written for anyone somewhere between “I think I want a career in tech” and “I’ve started applying but I’m not sure I’m doing this right”, which, in our experience, covers most people at the start of a career change.

Why Do Most People Change Career Without Support?

Most career changers make the move with little or no outside input, and it shows in the quality of their decisions.

Career decisions are often made without expert guidance

Good career change advice is surprisingly hard to find. Online, you get a mix of motivational quotes, vague “follow your passion” platitudes and listicles that say what to do without explaining how. What most people need is a clear-eyed look at what works, what trips people up, and a plan they can follow into a field like IT or AI.

Nearly half of would-be career changers use no external support at all. Among those who do ask for input, friends and family are consulted far more often than anyone with professional career expertise. That is not necessarily a mistake, because people close to you know you well. But it means many decisions are made without structured guidance, up-to-date market information or an honest outside perspective. Awareness is part of the problem too. Over half of workers aged 45–54 say they don’t know what careers advice services exist, even though relatively few in that age group have used any. That gap is where practical advice earns its keep.

What Skills Do You Already Have for a Career Change to IT?

Start with a skills audit, not a job title. Most people begin by browsing IT job titles, which is backwards. List what you are actually good at first, then look at which tech and AI roles value that combination.

Useful experience can come from things like:

Writing clear notes, reports or handover documents
Working with customers, suppliers or internal teams
Improving a process at work, even in a small way
Handling spreadsheets, records or basic data
Coordinating tasks, deadlines or small projects
Solving technical problems for colleagues or family
Spotting repeated problems and suggesting better ways to handle them
Training or supporting other people to use a system
Managing people, rotas or budgets
Completing online courses, labs or personal tech projects

A career change into IT doesn’t mean starting from scratch. The key is to connect what you already do to the work a tech or AI role actually involves.

Hamna Ahmad

Digital Content Manager

Ready to make your move into IT?

Book a one-to-one call with a career consultant to discuss your experience, goals and the right path to start your career in IT or tech.

Fact: Most Career Changers Still Go Without Professional Input

47% of would-be UK career changers have drawn on no support at all, and 49% say their biggest obstacle is working out what else they want to do (Career Shifters, State of Career Change Report 2026, 11,567 respondents). For a move into a specialist field like IT or AI, an outside view helps you choose a direction using current market information.

47%

Receive No Support

Skills You Need

To get hired in IT or AI, you need a mix of communication, problem-solving, process thinking, basic technical confidence and curiosity. Remember, you do not need to be perfect at everything before you apply.

A lot of success in tech comes back to clear thinking and communication:

Problem-solving
Written Communication
Verbal Communication
Stakeholder and Customer Service
Project Delivery
Attention to Detail
Teamwork and People Management
Willingness to Keep Learning

You do not need to be a developer, but basic
confidence helps:

Networking basics: IP addressing, DNS, routers and switches
Operating systems: Windows, Linux and command-line basics
Cloud fundamentals: AWS, Azure or Google Cloud
Security awareness: access control, firewalls, common threats
Data skills: Excel, SQL basics, dashboards
Python or scripting basics for automation

I would not advise waiting until you know every tool before applying. That can become another way of delaying yourself. A better aim is to build enough practical proof that you can learn quickly, work with real problems and explain your thinking clearly.

Build a Stronger Starting Point With Training and Certification

Some retraining is almost always part of a move into IT or AI, whether that is a certification, a structured course or a formal qualification. A recognised certification shows employers that you have started learning the discipline properly. It gives your learning structure, helps you understand the language employers use, and gives you something credible to add to your CV and LinkedIn profile.

Choose training with a clear route to employment, such as recognised certifications, practical projects and career support, rather than content volume. Career changers who pursue targeted, focused training tend to move into their new field considerably faster than those relying on networking alone. Budget for the whole transition, not just the course fee, so a short-term dip in earnings or the time needed to build a portfolio doesn’t force you to stop halfway.

Certification plus project work is the strongest starting point. You have learned the theory, practised the methods, and can talk about what you have built.

Apply for the Right Entry Routes Into IT and AI

There is no single entry-level job into tech. Look for roles where your existing experience counts and where you build technical experience through support work, documentation and project exposure. Rewrite your CV and LinkedIn around your destination, not your history: lead with a summary that states your target direction, group experience around transferable skills, and put new training and projects near the top. Don’t wait until you feel fully ready, because confidence tends to follow action. Entry points in growth sectors are often built with career changers in mind.

Job titles to consider include:

IT Support Engineer

Service Desk Analyst

Junior Cloud Engineer

Junior Cyber Security Analyst

Network Support Engineer

Junior Data Analyst

Business Analyst

AI Operations Assistant

Project Support Officer

Fact: A Career Change to IT or AI Always Pays Off

Tech is one of the UK’s best-paid fields. CompTIA’s State of the Tech Workforce UK 2026 report puts the median salary across covered tech occupations at £52,840, which is 53% higher than the median wage across all UK occupations. UK tech employment reached 2,148,205 workers in 2025, with 539,857 active job postings for tech occupations.

£52,840

Median UK Tech Salary

Talk About Your Career Change With Confidence in Interviews

Interviewers know you are changing career, so tell the story on purpose: why you are moving, what you have already done to prepare, and how your past experience applies. Use short, specific examples from your current work and your training projects rather than general claims.

The STAR method can help you structure your answer:

Interviewers do not expect career changers to know everything. They want to see how you think, how you handle uncertainty and how clearly you can explain your decisions.

Take the Next Step Towards an IT Career

A career change into IT does not mean starting from scratch. Your existing experience can provide valuable transferable skills, while the right training and certification can help you build the knowledge needed for a career in Tech or AI.

Tech and AI offer a range of career paths for professionals looking to build new skills, use their existing experience and move into a growing industry. The right training and certification can strengthen your CV and give your career change greater direction.

Not sure which tech or AI career is right for you? Speak to a Fortray career consultant to explore your options and plan your next step.

Got Questions?

How to Change Your Career to IT & AI FAQs

Clear answers to the most common questions from people planning a move into tech or AI.

Is career change advice from a professional worth it if I already have a plan?

Often, yes. Not to replace your plan, but to pressure-test it. A short conversation can catch gaps around training routes, timelines or realistic entry points that are easy to miss from the inside.

What's the single most useful piece of advice for changing career to IT?

Do a proper skills audit before choosing a destination. It reframes the process from "starting over" to "applying what you already know, differently."

Should I quit my job before or after training?

For most people, training alongside a current role is lower risk than resigning first, even if it takes longer. It preserves income and reduces pressure during the transition.

How many people should I speak to when networking?

Aim for 10–15 people already working in your target field. Short, low-pressure conversations about how they got there and what the role is like day to day are more useful than broad outreach.

Should I wait until I feel ready before applying?

No. Confidence tends to arrive after action, not before it. Apply once you are reasonably prepared, with training and projects to show.