Best IT Classes in San Francisco
Introduced by the Harvard Business Review in 1958, the term “information technology,” or IT, applies to a variety of work roles involving both technology and business. Through the use of networks, computers, and other technology, IT professionals guide business decisions and help companies operate more efficiently. While related to computer science, IT is distinct in its focus on business, while computer science emphasizes creating digital products and systems. Many companies today even have dedicated IT departments full of workers who maintain the company’s applications, computers, networks, and cybersecurity.
IT is a wildly diverse field encompassing numerous electronic activities, but it can be broken down into several high-paying subfields. In the cybersecurity division, workers focus solely on the upkeep of electronic security, while IT support professionals troubleshoot problems with software and hardware. Others work primarily with data: analyzing, processing, safely storing, and transmitting it. While some work alone, the majority of IT professionals work with a multi-talented team who can solve problems from multiple angles.
Planning for a long-term IT career? Give yourself the best shot at success by attending a local IT class or bootcamp. In addition to learning how to work with both hardware and software, your class can even get you up to speed on additional subjects you’ll need to know for your career. Depending on your chosen path, these might include network administration, business analytics, telecommunications, or database design and management.
Best IT Classes & Schools in San Francisco
San Francisco’s incredibly gifted IT community has made learning IT skills easier than ever by providing classes for every IT topic and learning style. Whether you’re simply looking for a brief beginner introduction or hoping to start an intensive career training program, you’ll be able to choose from a huge variety of courses offered both online and in-person.
As one of the top resources for remote learners, Noble Desktop is your one-stop shop for every type of IT class. With shorter courses, such as the popular Excel Bootcamp, focused on one topic, and comprehensive certificates that explore many skills, you can take your training at whatever pace you need to succeed. In thorough courses like the Software Engineering Certificate and Data Analytics Certificate, you’ll build skills through hands-on practice while working one-on-one with an expert mentor.
If cybersecurity is your dream career, you can prepare to become a Cybersecurity Analyst or Microsoft Security Operations Analyst by attending courses at TLG Learning. In addition to their online career training courses, they offer classes designed to train professionals to succeed at certification exams such as the CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam and the Network+ Certification Exam (N10-008). If you’re interested in exploring outside of cybersecurity, TLG also offers courses on other IT subtopics including Architecting on AWS and Excel.
Training for a career in big data? You can develop data analysis skills without leaving home when you participate in live online seminars through The American Management Association.
After completing their beginner course, Data Analysis Fundamentals: A Hands-on Workshop, you can start utilizing Advanced Tools and Techniques for Data Analysis in their upper-level class.
Are you wondering if you can start preparing for an IT career before graduating from high school? With NextGen Bootcamp, you can begin building marketable skills by participating in online summer courses such as the Python: Data Science And Machine Learning Bootcamp.
If you prefer a formally structured style of class, consider taking an online course at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. There, you can just as easily explore software in courses like Linux+ as you can learn about hardware in Introduction to Computers (A+ Certification). Additionally, you’ll have no trouble finding classes on all sorts of IT subtopics, from machine learning and Python Data Analysis to (AWS) Academy Cloud Architecting.
San Francisco Industries That Use IT
There are thousands of businesses across San Francisco that are looking for IT professionals to help them smooth out operations and increase sales. Because of the positive impact IT services have on profits and data security, IT has become an essential building block in San Francisco’s key industries. You’ll find IT professionals working in industries like tech and business services as well as finance and healthcare.
Technology
Host to household names like Apple, Microsoft, and Google, San Francisco supports over 300 IT firms and more than 70,000 IT professionals. This incredibly gifted workforce is the reason San Francisco was selected as a Tier One city for tech talent, next to Seattle and New York City.
HealthTech
Surpassed only by the internet sector of IT, healthcare receives more investments than any other industry in San Francisco. The city’s thriving HealthTech network offers plenty of work for IT workers who can manage data, provide natural language processing (NLP), and prevent cybercrime. San Francisco proudly claims its heritage as home of biotech by hosting more than 300 Life Science firms, along with research institutions at UC Berkeley, Stanford University, UC San Francisco, and the University of San Francisco. In addition to working one-on-one with healthcare facilities such as UCSF Medical Center and Abbott Laboratories, many IT professionals find work at local HealthTech companies like Vir Biotechnology.
FinTech
San Francisco is the West Coast’s most important focal point for financial services and entertains 30 of the largest international banks in America. Along with locally prestigious institutions like Silicon Valley Bank, IT professionals can digital systems, manage data, and provide cybersecurity for major banking organizations like JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs.
IT Jobs & Salaries in San Francisco
Since IT solves problems in all industries, IT professionals are needed everywhere. In 2020, demand was so high that companies paid over 3.6 trillion dollars for IT services, and that demand will likely continue to swell by 11% through 2029. Furthermore, Jobs in IT fields are generally high-paying, flexible, and come with plenty of job security.
The average IT worker earns approximately $100,000 each year, roughly $55,000 more than workers in other industries. However, IT is such a manifold industry, and it’s not uncommon to see workers with different job titles earning different salaries. For example, most Business Analysts in Seattle yield salaries of $99,000 per year, while Data Engineers earn $155,000. Additionally, more experience also equates to higher pay. Thus, IT Support Technicians who start at just $84,000 per year can raise their salaries to $125,000 after proving their proficiency.
While most people associate IT with support alone, the field offers an array of satisfying careers for people with different talents. The highest-paying roles include titles like Cybersecurity Engineer, IT Director, IT Director, Software Engineer, IT Project Manager, System Administrator, Data Analyst, and Application Manager.
If you’ve finished your training and are ready to land a job, you can fast-track your job search by looking for relevant openings on websites like Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and Glassdoor. You can make your search more intentional by using keywords such as the following:
- Information Technology
- Software
- DevOps
- FinTech
- HealthTech
- Cybersecurity
- Blockchain
- Big Data
- Cloud Computing
- Digital Media
- User Experience (UX) Design
- Web Development
- Business Services
- AdTech
- Ecommerce
- Artificial intelligence (AI)
- Augmented/Virtual Reality
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Machine Learning (ML)
