IT careers – learning pathway
Computer ScienceCareers in ComputingAges 16–17
Use it with your class: students open it from a link or a QR code, with no account needed.
Next in Careers in Computing
Each IT career track is described as a list of skills, and each skill needs a set number of practice hours. Students pick a career track, then drag the number of years pursued, the hours studied per week, and whether they are doing real projects; accumulated hours equal years times 52 weeks times hours per week, plus a bonus for real projects. Those hours flow into each skill in turn, the progress bars fill up, and the career level on the timeline moves from beginner to senior.
Lesson: IT careers: learning pathway, skills and career levels
What it shows
Becoming skilled in an IT career takes sustained practice, and this simulation turns that idea into a simple quantitative model. Each career track, from software and data or AI engineering to networking, cybersecurity and UX design, is broken into skills that each need an estimated number of hours. Accumulated hours equal years × 52 weeks × hours per week, multiplied by 1.25 when the learner works on real projects. The hours fill the skills in order, and the total maps to levels from beginner to senior. The hour thresholds are rough benchmarks for discussion, not fixed rules.
How to use
Choose a Career track and set Years pursued and Study & practice hours per week, then read the accumulated hours, the level reached and how many more years the next level would take. Switch between Doing real projects and Theory only to compare progress. Click a skill to see where it can be learned, and ask students to plan a realistic weekly schedule for a career that interests them.
Parameters you can change
- Career track Software engineer, Data & AI engineer, Network & cybersecurity engineer, UX designer
- Years pursued 1–10 years
- Study & practice hours per week 2–30 hours
- Doing real projects or internships
- Show related courses and resources
Questions to explore
- How many hours do you accumulate studying 10 hours a week for 4 years, with and without real projects?
- Why might real projects and internships help a learner progress faster than theory alone?
- Which skill comes first in your chosen career track, and how many hours does it need?
