Double your income in 90 days

Poorly paid? A quick course could double your income.

Poorly paid? A quick course could double your income.

Uni degrees aren't needed to hit a $120,000 salary in tech anymore, you can do a digital short course instead, experts say.

The digital skills in highest demand are in programming, cyber security, cloud computing and web development.

“Most people are employable after a 90-day full-time course. If we can create more courses with a 100-day [learning] sprint, it really changes the composition of the economy in a short time," said Amazon Web Services director Iain Rouse.

He added that the pandemic had accelerated how much companies and employees rely on digital technology, and jobs have opened up as a result.

“We can employ 17 or 18-year-olds – we don’t need to wait until they’re 21 or 22 and they have completed a university degree," Mr Rouse said.

Jobs paying $140,000 to $150,000 a year are common for data consultants in financial services or mining. This is well above the $90,000 average wage.

AWS, which provide cloud computing networks to businesses, offer free, entry-level cloud computing courses through the AWS re/Start program.

Graduates with both zero and some IT experience from this program have been hired by companies like Accenture, Ernest and Young and Itoc.

The first intake for Deloitte's 12-week "Digital Careers Compass" program will graduate in May and move into jobs in the Salesforce ecosystem. The program is offered through Fitted for Work, Goanna Solutions and Australian Athletes Alliance.

"We need to increase the supply of talent by providing people from non-tech and non-university backgrounds with the opportunity to re-skill in technology capabilities," Deloitte's Chief HR Officer Tina McCreery said.

"We will continue to source talent from traditional pathways like universities, but this will not be enough to meet the demands of the future."

ANZ are training up mid-career Victorians who want to move into tech following a 12-week training course in either data analytics, programming, cyber security, machine learning and web development.

They have now hired 15 permanent employees through the Victorian Government's free digital jobs program.

Careerist programs product owner Cholena Orr said with unemployment so low, businesses needed to get creative about how they identify future talent. 

"There's more of a focus on skills and potential these days, particularly in technology. I think we will be seeing more people who don't have degrees are able to demonstrate that they've got the capability and skills to move into technology roles," she said. 

Canva has partnered with OpenLearning offering a $996, 12-week Programming and Computational Thinking course for those considering a career change.

Executive Director of online education provider Upskilled Sadiq Merchant said the technology industry was changing so fast that employers were now looking for specific skill sets offered by “short, sharp” courses.

Mr Sadiq  said vocational certificates and specific “vendor” training such as the AWS courses, was more “hands on” than traditional university degrees, which was appreciated in the industry. 

“Those currently working in the IT industry, in jobs such as on the help desk, could specialise in cloud computing, with a 12-week online bootcamp-type course in Amazon Work Spaces (AWS) cloud.

"This is a specific skill set. It could take you from an entry-level role to a good specialisation."

An entry-level help-desk employee earning $60,000, could take the 12-week course and move into a cloud computing job at a salary of $120,000, Mr Sadiq said.

TAFE NSW Head of Technology and Business Services Irene Ireland said during the last two years, statement of attainment programs, which are not nationally accredited and take about three to 12 weeks to complete, had incredibly high enrolments.