Career Paths for CCSE Graduates

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Dr Musab Muhammad Isah

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Agenda

• Introduction
• Career Paths
• Skills Development
• Job Hunting

Introduction

• Where do you fit?
• Direct Career Paths as listed in the table.
• Less Direct Career Paths, such as Technical Sales Representative, Market Research Analyst, Digital Marketer, etc.
• Roles can be with the government, private sector, international organizations, or academia
• Starting up a company.

Career Paths

• Software Development
• Network Engineering and Administration
• AI Engineer
• Data Scientist
• Cybersecurity Specialist

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Software Development

• Software developer: a professional who develops software programs and operating systems for computers and consoles
• Skills: designing, building, testing, debugging computer programs; good programming skills
• Work Environment: variety of industries, including software publishers, finance companies, insurance carriers, and computer systems design organizations.
• Healthcare, government, engineering, manufacturing, and all sectors of the economy and social life.
• Salary: SAR 100,684/year according to Payscale.
• Demand: Very High. Necessary for the digital transformation and innovation of Vision 2030.

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Network Engineering and Admin

• Network Engineers/administrators: design, set up, and maintain physical and virtual IT communication systems for organizations. Ensure that networks are up and running smoothly.
• Network Administrator skills: performs the day-to-day operations of a computer network, including tasks such as configuring network devices and monitoring network performance.
• Network engineer skills: designs, implements, and troubleshoots computer networks.
• Work Environment: variety of industries, including government offices, telecom operators, hospitals, airports, and any workplace with computers connected over the network.
• Salary: SAR 97,284/year for Network Engineer; SAR 82,951 for Network Admin; both according to PayScale.
• Demand: Very High. Necessary for the digital transformation and innovation of Vision 2030.

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AI Engineer

• AI Engineer: professionals who use AI and machine learning techniques to develop applications and systems that help organizations become more efficient.
• AI engineering focuses on developing the tools, systems, and processes that enable AI to be applied to real-world problems
• Skills: machine learning, algorithms, data structures, mathematics, programming, data science, etc.
• Work Environment: industries/organizations that deploy AI systems.
• Salary: SAR 175,000/year according to the US-based Economic Research Institute.
• Demand: Very High. Necessary for the digital transformation and innovation of Vision 2030.

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Data Scientist

• Data scientists: use software, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to analyze and interpret large amounts of data.
• They are experts in using analytical techniques and programming skills to uncover facts and figures for the organizations they work with
• Skills: use machine learning, algorithms, data structures, and mathematical skills, to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data.
• Work Environment: work in all industries and government establishment to produce insights from data generated by the establishment.
• Salary: SAR 154,839/year according to PayScale.
• Demand: Very High. Necessary for the digital transformation and innovation of Vision 2030.

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Cybersecurity Specialist

• Cybersecurity Specialist: work to protect an organization’s computer networks and systems.
• Could work in-house or as consultants.
• Skills: understanding of threats, analysing risks, vulnerabilities, hardening systems, etc.
• Work Environment: work in both public and private organizations and as freelancers.
• Salary: SAR 151,000/year according to PayScale.
• Demand: Very High. Necessary for the digital transformation and innovation of Vision 2030.

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Skills Development

• Self-development via YouTube, MOOCs, etc
• Professional Certifications
• Master’s Degree
• Internship

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Self-Development

• Assess your goals and needs by answering the following questions:
• What are your specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What are your learning styles and preferences?
• What are the challenges and opportunities that you face?
• Explore different types of tools and resources that can help you with your personal development, such as books, podcasts, courses, coaches, mentors, apps, blogs, videos, webinars, etc.
• YouTube and MOOCs (Cousera, Udemy, Udacity, etc) are good sources.
• Talk to a mentor for guidance.

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Professional Certifications

• Professional certifications in the field of computer science and IT are a great way to demonstrate your skills and knowledge to potential employers.
• They are available in all the different fields of IT and serve as the entry requirement for many jobs in this area. Examples:
• Software Developer/Engineer: Certified Software Engineer by the Institute of Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP).
• Network Engineer: Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) by Cisco.
• AI Engineer: Certified Artificial Intelligence Scientist (CAIS) by the United States Artificial Intelligence Institute.
• Cybersecurity: Microsoft Certified Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals
• Data Scientist: IBM Data Science Professional Certificate

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Professional Certifications

• Steps to Acquiring a Certification
• Training is essential – utilise the Saudi Digital Academy (SDA) RISE Scholarship Program.
• RISE: SDA and Udacity partnership to offer fully-funded nanodegrees to provide training in the latest tech skills.
• Program offers learners the opportunity to choose their path, track and Nanodegree based on their career level and learning ambitions.
• RISE is free of charge and available to all eligible learners who successfully pass the application on Udacity website.
• The program consists of a 4-month, self-guided learning journey with the rest of the SDA -Udacity Scholars cohort.
• Find out more from https://sda.edu.sa/rise

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Professional Certifications

• Utilise other paid learning platforms for online or onsite training.
• Saudi Human Resources Development Fund - HRDF reimburse any Saudi citizen who passed one of the professional exams listed on their website.
• They pay back both training and exam fees.

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Master’s Degree

• Pursuing a master’s degree (abroad) is another way of broadening your skills.
• Opportunity to take advanced studies in the field of interest.
• Opens opportunities to pursue a PhD for those interested.
• Expands one’s horizon by experiencing new culture and people.
• Opportunity for global networking by meeting people from different parts of the world.
• Enhances one’s resume as governments and employers recognize the importance of international study.
• Promotes personal growth by making you more independent.
• Many Scholarships available.

Attendance

• Let’s take a minute break to scan the barcode for attendance.

Master’s Degree

• Scholarships from Saudi Government - https://moe.gov.sa/scholarship-program/index.html
• For most of these scholarships, all that is needed is for you to get an admission into one of the listed universities.
• For students with high CGPA, try this website for internationally funded scholarships - https://www.mastersportal.com/search/scholarships/master
• Visit the webpages of a university of interest as well.

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Internship

• A great way for graduates to build their IT skills and gain practical experience.
• An internship is a period of work experience lasting for a fixed period of time anywhere between a week and 12 months.
• They are typically undertaken by students and graduates looking to gain relevant skills.
• Provide invaluable work experience, giving you the option to try a career before settling on it, as well as an opportunity to be retained on a permanent basis.
• Organizations post internship opportunities on their websites.
• Job sites also posts these positions when available.
• Having a professional certification increases your chances of a getting an internship position.

Job Hunting

• LinkedIn
• Publish your works on Github (for programmers)
• Saudi Job Seekers Website
• Job Portals of Companies/Establishments of interest
• Update CV for each application
• Update Cover Letter for each application

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Questions