Skip to content
All Techs

Which IT career should you choose when starting from nothing?

Learners in an IT training room

Six trades you can enter without a prior qualification, what they really demand, and the question to ask yourself before enrolling anywhere.

“IT” is not a job. It is a family of jobs with almost nothing in common: the person who repairs a computer and the person who designs a poster do not do the same work, do not have the same temperament, and do not earn a living the same way.

Before paying for a course, ask the right question. It is not “which one pays best”. It is: which work can I do for eight hours a day without going out?

You like understanding why something is broken

→ Computer maintenance, then networks.

You take it apart, you search, you find. The trade can be practised anywhere, with little equipment to start, and demand never falls: machines break, networks drop, someone has to come.

It takes patience and method. A good technician does not guess: they eliminate, in order.

You like making things that then exist

→ Web development, then mobile.

You write it, it runs, someone uses it. It is the longest path in learning time and the one that opens the most doors — including remote work for clients who are not in Cameroon.

You have to accept being stuck. A lot. A developer spends much of the day not understanding, then understanding. If that drives you mad, look elsewhere.

You have an eye

→ Graphic design and DTP, then video editing.

You see what is off before anyone else. The market is there: every company needs posters, logos and short videos, and most currently settle for something ugly.

You have to take criticism. Your work will be judged by people who could not do it — and who will sometimes be right anyway.

You like talking to people

→ Digital marketing and community management.

You write, you answer, you bring people back. It is the easiest trade to start and the hardest to do well: anyone can post, very few can turn a conversation into a sale.

It takes consistency. A page you run for three weeks and then abandon is worth nothing.

You like order and numbers

→ Advanced office skills, then computerised business management.

The most underrated and most in-demand trade. Every growing company needs someone who can keep sales, stock and invoices straight. A good administrator on real software is worth gold, and it is learnt fast.

You already have a trade and want to keep it

→ Office skills, WordPress, or the course tied to your sector.

People forget this path. You do not have to change trade: a secretary who truly masters Excel, a trader who runs their own website, an accountant who automates their spreadsheets — that changes a career without restarting it.

The three questions to ask any centre

Ask them of us as of anyone else:

  1. How many hours at a keyboard, and how many in front of a board? The right answer leans heavily towards the keyboard.
  2. What do I leave with? A certificate, yes — but above all work you can show. That is what an employer looks at.
  3. What happens afterwards? A centre that says goodbye on the last day has not finished its job.

Still undecided

Write to us about what you enjoy doing, not what you want to earn. We will tell you which course matches — and if none of ours does, we will say that too.

Read next

The guide we wish we could hand you before your first quote

Ten free pages: what actually moves the price of a website in Cameroon, how to recognise a serious supplier, and the checklist to run before signing anything. Even if you never work with us.

You get the PDF straight away. No mailing list, no sign-up.

See what is inside
A reader going through the All Techs guide on her computer

Tell us what you want to do.

One message is enough to start. We answer with questions, not with a ready-made price — and the quote commits you to nothing.

In person in Douala and Yaoundé, or entirely remotely.

Message us on WhatsApp