{"id":50418,"date":"2020-05-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/how-to-future-proof-your-job-through-career-change\/"},"modified":"2020-05-11T14:43:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T14:43:13","slug":"how-to-future-proof-your-job-through-career-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/how-to-future-proof-your-job-through-career-change\/2\/34252","title":{"rendered":"How to Future-Proof Your Job Through Career Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

For tech professionals thinking about career change, now is either not the best of times to be doing so, or it's the perfect time to be taking advantage of opportunities.<\/p>\n

Our current environment has thrown a wrench into the global economy, and many businesses spanning different industries have shut their doors and shuttered their windows.<\/p>\n

Some will re-open eventually, while others will cease to be going concerns. Many companies that are still operating have, due in part to social distancing rules, ordered their employees to work from home.<\/p>\n

But how many of those employees will want to return to their cubicles inside of brick-and-mortar office buildings after the lockdown has been rolled back?<\/p>\n

Might tech workers who’ve gotten used to programming code<\/a>, preventing data breaches<\/a> and protecting computer systems from their home offices decide that now's as good a time as any for career change?<\/p>\n

Becoming an independent consultant could, for example, give tech workers more job stability if they can freelance for multiple clients.<\/p>\n

The good news is that there is still a lot of demand in the tech space. Computers aren’t going anywhere and neither is the Internet said Mark Aiello<\/a>, President at CyberSN<\/a>, which provides cybersecurity<\/a> staffing services for both permanent and contract employment.<\/p>\n

“We have a great number of clients that are hiring and taking advantage of the opportunity to figure out how to onboard people remotely,” said Aiello.<\/p>\n

“It’s a great industry to be in. The computer is not going away, the Internet is not going away. There are always going to be bad guys out there trying to take advantage of both. So you need a whole bunch of good guys to protect you.”<\/p>\n

Is Freelancing a Live Option for Career Change in Tech Space?<\/span><\/h2>\n

The question for tech professionals is not whether they want to be one of the good guys or one of the bad guys. Rather, the question is whether they want to be independent consultants or stay the course on their career trajectory paths.<\/p>\n

While some experts say that the gig economy will provide opportunities for people who’d like to possibly future-proof their careers by working for themselves, others stress that it’s more important to focus on broadening their skills so that they can take advantage of career opportunities in whatever form they may come.<\/p>\n

The Stats Say<\/h3>\n

Freelancing in America: 2019, from Upwork and Freelancers Union, estimates that 57 million Americans freelance. The study has some especially revealing findings:<\/p>\n