4 mistakes I made in my IT career

Starting out in IT more than thirty years ago, I thought all I needed was a degree, a decent resume, and some caffeine. Here are a few lessons I learned the slow way.

Mistake 1: I thought school was the finish line, not the starting gun

I stopped learning once I got my first job. It felt like I'd made it.

Big mistake. In tech, the half-life of knowledge is brutal. Languages evolve, platforms get deprecated, and entire architectures go out of style.

The lesson: keep your skills in motion. Online courses, certifications, webinars, open-source projects. Pick your flavor. Continuous learning is the same iterative approach to your own capabilities that continuous transformation is for an organization.

Mistake 2: I didn't build a network, I built a wall

For too long, I operated in lone wolf mode. I assumed that if I just did great work, people would notice.

Eventually I learned the power of a mentor. I mean someone who does more than sharpen your technical chops: someone who opens doors and helps you steer around the potholes.

The earlier you build your bench, the stronger your career backbone becomes.

Mistake 3: I waited for opportunity to knock. It didn't.

I figured the next opportunity would arrive when I was ready. But readiness doesn't get you the job. Visibility does.

I missed out on early projects and promotions because I didn't volunteer, stretch, or step up when it mattered. The people who thrive aren't always the smartest in the room. They're the ones who show up, speak up, and aren't afraid to learn in real time.

That hesitation has a name, by the way. It's Resistance, and it points at exactly the thing you should do. And if stepping up goes badly, that's data too.

Mistake 4: I didn't advocate for myself, I waited to be discovered

Communicating your impact is not bragging. It's surviving. I stayed quiet in meetings, downplayed wins, and assumed the work would do the talking. Turns out work doesn't talk. You do.

Learning to write clearly, speak confidently, and ask for what you need is part of your job description, whether it says so or not. That's especially true in IT, where the gap between technical skill and business understanding is wide. Your voice is the bridge.

If I could rewind

I'd invest earlier in education, networking, visibility, and communication.

The irony? None of those are technical skills. They're the ones that power every IT career.

A version of this article first appeared on LinkedIn. Join the discussion there.