Various factors play a role in the decision for or against training. These should be analyzed individually - even when it comes to lateral entry into IT without training. The driving factors behind the decision to complete an apprenticeship are

• Interest in personal development
• Getting to know new theories and solutions
• Understanding (complex) interrelationships
• Broadening the (knowledge) horizon
• Or simply for the joy of change

The age limit, for example, is deliberately not relevant here.

There are two different professional groups in the IT career changer sector:

• BUILD: Developing ICT systems and solutions
• RUN: Provide and operate ICT solutions for customers, support users and rectify faults

Think about which professional group you would like to train for.

Good reasons for a career change in IT:

• can live out a talent for ICT devices and networks that they only discovered in the course of their lives
• Retraining due to physical problems or limitations in an office job with a lot of job potential through digitalization
• Interesting combination of supplementing acquired professional expertise with IT skills
• IT lateral entry is possible via various educational levels: e.g. via professional examinations, higher professional examinations, postgraduate courses at higher technical colleges or universities

Irrespective of the level-specific admission requirements, the following personal prerequisites should be met for a computer science course for career changers:

• logical and abstract thinking
• Enjoy finding solutions
• Systematic way of working
• quick comprehension
• Good math skills
• Good knowledge of German and English

There are the following typical IT career changer jobs:

• ICT specialist
• Computer scientist
• Business IT Specialist
• Business IT specialist
• ICT Application Developer
• Cyber Security Specialist
• ICT system and network technician
• ICT Manager
• ICT Security Expert

The following further education courses in IT for career changers are possible without basic vocational training or an upper secondary school-leaving certificate:

• ICT specialist EFZ
• Computer scientist EFZ
• Business IT Specialist
• Business IT specialist with federal certificate
• Graduate in Business Information Technology HF
• ICT application developer with federal certificate
• Cyber security specialist with federal certificate
• ICT system and network technician with federal certificate
• ICT manager with federal diploma

Four to eight years of relevant professional experience is usually required for the further education courses and associated qualifications. Check with the educational institute which admission requirements are necessary for the chosen further education course in computer science for career changers.

The following options are available in the field of IT for career changers with basic vocational training (EFZ, not in IT):

• Computer scientist EFZ
• Business IT Specialist EFZ
• Business IT specialist with a federal certificate (as a business administrator with only two years of professional experience instead of four)
• Cyber security specialist with federal certificate
• ICT application developer with federal certificate
• ICT system and network technician with federal certificate
• ICT Security Expert with federal diploma
• Dipl. Techniker/in HF Informatik (with EZF in electronics or electrical engineering one year of professional experience instead of up to four)
• Graduate in Business Information Technology HF (as a business administrator profile M or E)

Following the gymnasiale Matura, the following computer science courses can be attended by lateral entrants:

• Computer scientist EFZ
• Dipl. Technician HF Computer Science
• Graduate in Business Information Technology HF
• Business IT specialist with federal certificate
• Cyber security specialist with federal certificate
• ICT application developer with federal certificate
• ICT system and network technician with federal certificate
• ICT Security Expert with federal diploma

The following IT lateral entry training is possible following a federally recognized commercial college:

• Dipl. Technician HF Computer Science
• Graduate in Business Information Technology HF
• ICT Security Expert with federal diploma