A while ago, I was asked by the editor of Von Neumann Magazine, a computer science undergraduate yearly magazine from Lautech, to write a short article on How to Make Yourself Relevant in Today‘s Information Technology World. With the permission of the editor, I have decided to publish the article on this blog.

Computing has changed drastically from what it used to be some years ago, thanks to the efforts of never relenting researchers, programmers and developers, engineers, IT professionals and even the advent of the internet. What seem impossible decades ago are now very much possible and are being implemented.

Now, the big question is how can you level up as a student and be relevant in today’s dynamic information technology world? In which new technologies are being developed every day, older technologies are being updated constantly and the business world is quite challenging and competitive.

As students and IT professionals in the making, we often have our strong points, these are areas of computing where we are most comfortable and thrive better. Try and discover these areas, develop yourself in them, create strong passion and be good at them. It may be programming, database design and administration, networking and other areas as the case may be.

Set goals on a daily basis, as students you are bundled with a lot of activities and task, the way to be productive is by setting goals daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly through the listing of all the tasks you wish to accomplish and prioritize them. Try as much as you can to achieve your goals in a day without wasting time and procrastinating and at the end of each day review your goals and set the ones for the next day

Social networks when used efficiently and appropriate can be of great benefits to students. Network with gurus and experts in your chosen field, ask them question politely, follow their activities, read blog posts and make a lot of researches.

Lastly, be informed. Don’t be oblivion; regularly update your skills and knowledge, because the Information Technology field is constantly changing, and the enormity of technologies to know can be overwhelming, thus, if care is not taken, an IT expert faces the risk of becoming obsolete within a short period of time.