Need career advice? It's game time: Here is how to find a coach to be at your best!

When attempting to change fields to a higher-paying, more difficult role, the proper skills, education, hands-on experience, and thought processes must be learned.

This is?not optional?and takes time, which you have a?limited?amount to budget.

Navigating the large landscape of the tech and cloud industry can be a bit overwhelming, as someone new to the field needs to determine?what?should be learned,?how?to learn it, and how?deep?should the learning be.

While it is true that a newbie can do their own research, and try to guess on how to approach learning the proper skill-set, like with any guess, there is no guarantee of being correct.

For example, there are several common programming languages, dozens of different certifications, and hundreds of toolsets to choose from.

Just take a look at all these DevOps tool-sets that are available!

Each specific skill has countless examples (free and paid) of training, sample demo projects, best practices, etc. that would demonstrate?proficiency.

The risks of attempting this completely solo are huge, as the wrong skills could be learned; even if the correct skills are chosen, how do you know that you're learning the correct information, with the correct learning materials?

This is where coaching comes in!

If you have goals that you are committed to achieving, having a coach or mentor is the way to go!

Transitioning to a new career means that you're at the beginning of what is essentially a journey.

Knowing this, it's guaranteed that others within the industry had to take this same journey that you are undergoing. Those who have been through it will understand the challenge.

Let's discuss mentor-seeking!

Luckily, using the power of the open Internet, it is easier than ever to find a coach or mentor that will help you achieve your greatest dreams!

Just take some initiative to look around; some places to look:

• LinkedIn immediate network
• Current engineers in the industry
• Technical leads and managers in the industry
• Networking and alumni organizations
• Content creators
• Professional career-building experts
• Industry workshops

What to look for in a coach or mentor?

For those looking to start a new tech career, having a coach or mentor is a vital asset to achieve your goals.

This industry moves too quickly and changes too rapidly to not reach out for advice. Due to the constant rapid developments, a good mentor can assist with interpreting industry trends and point you in the right direction to emphasize studying the right skills.

A good mentor will listen to all of your career goals, and recommend which tools to learn to get a foot in the door.

They should be good at communicating complex topics to novices new to the field, and be willing to invest time in helping you.

Constant feedback should be given, as transitioning to tech involves different steps in a process.

Due to the value of their insights and industry experience, they can assist with resume tips, interview questions, which jobs to apply for, study tips, and where to go to expand your network.

And lastly...

Join a community like "Level Up in Tech" to grow together!

It's been?proven ?that learning in a collaborative environment provides several benefits to more efficient learning:

"Collaborative learning has been shown to not only develop higher-level thinking skills in students, but boost their confidence and self-esteem as well. Group projects can maximize educational experience by demonstrating the material, while improving social and interpersonal skills. Students learn how to work with various types of learners and develop their leadership skills."

Sabrina Gates, National Education Association

Learning in a community allows you to take your new career journey without doing it alone!

Level Up in Tech provides a comprehensive space where real-life tech professionals can advise you on career paths, keep you up on the latest trends, and suggest different projects to increase your skill-set.

LUIT constantly provides coaching sessions to assist in all aspects of crafting you into a true professional candidate. With dedication, anyone and everyone interested can change careers.

We have the same goal as you do, to land you a brand new role of your dreams, so visit our?

today to learn more, find a coach to be a tech pro, and Level Up!

Written by Christian Talavera