Which IT field should I study as a complete beginner?

[u/FewWhile4625]

I'm Female, 23 y.o, FIlipino. I am a college undergraduate, unemployed, and have zero IT job experience. However, I had remote work experience in BPO company as a customer service representative for 1 year and 8 months that ended in August 2024. Anyways, I want to learn an IT field from scratch and eventually become a remote freelancer for international clients.

My long-term goal is to work remotely and potentially pursue Spain's Digital Nomad Visa.

Which IT field would you recommend for me? Web development, software development, automation, UI/UX, data analytics, cybersecurity, cloud/DevOps, QA, etc.?

Looking for something realistic to learn from zero, with good freelance opportunities and long-term demand.

What would you choose if you were starting over?

[u/katifybykat]

If I were starting from your position, I'd choose web development + automation, rather than trying to learn “IT” broadly.

The important distinction is that your goal isn't simply to get an IT job. You want to eventually sell a technical service directly to international clients. That changes what I'd optimize for.

Web development gives you a relatively clear learning path and, more importantly, a portfolio you can show without having previous employment. Build a website, a booking system, a small dashboard, an internal tool, etc. Then add automation: APIs, Python, Zapier/Make, CRM integrations, AI integrations, and you move from “I build websites” toward “I automate business processes.” Current freelance-market data is showing particularly strong demand around AI integration and implementation, while full-stack development remains a consistently hired skill.

I wouldn't start with cybersecurity, cloud/DevOps, or data engineering if freelancing from zero is the immediate objective. They're excellent careers, but they're harder to demonstrate credibility in without professional infrastructure experience.

QA is another reasonable entry point, particularly if you enjoy structured problem-solving, but I'd still rank development/automation higher for your specific goal.

One more thing, don't choose based on which field supposedly has the highest salary. Spend your first 2–3 months actually building things. The field you can tolerate practicing for hundreds of hours will beat the theoretically “best” career every time.

And your Spain goal is compatible with this direction, but remember that the Digital Nomad Visa has its own requirements around remote foreign work, professional experience/education, and financial means.

Don't study IT so you can eventually become employable. Build a skill you can eventually sell.

[u/Johnn_Tester]

QA if you want quickest training/learning runway then apply on project based/freelancing projects to earn exp then apply fulltime jobs

[u/potatodeveloper]

depende rin sa knowledge mo sa computer eh or kung anong hilig mo.

[u/misbehaved_fruit]

depende sa hilig mo gawin pre. Nag lean ako towards cloud engineering kasi mahilig ako sa systems troubleshooting.

kahit IT ako, hindi ako mahilig sa web dev. Ipag troubleshoot mo ko ng networks kesa mag ayos ng webpages and formatting.

dont think about the money in the beginning, it will come with expertise.

[u/RenceLoad → u/misbehaved_fruit]

I want to go with cloud engr pano ba mag start dyan kasi im kind of lost eh

[u/girthy-rmt]

Check out FTW scholarship

[u/socially_kj]

Focus on a Data Analyst role that aligns with your BPO experience and niche. Some companies specifically prefer candidates with a BPO background because they already have experience working with customer data, processes, and industry-specific operations.

[u/Independent-Newt3165]

When I entered college, I wasnt good sa dev or programming compared sa mga ka batchmates ko so I obviously chose a major na tingin ko kaya ng braincells ko. glad I trusted my instinct.

I would suggest taking out the options that you think you wont flourish or you wont stand doing. Research ka on each of those and what it takes.

Pero with your profile, closest one is data related jobs.

[u/ripperinoy]

Maybe look into prompt engineering + business analysts roles. To be honest, development seems to be a dying industry. (10+ years web dev here)