NOCs - IT/Software industry

One of the industries that is popular for the express entry program is the IT software industry. The NOC code is important because your employer's letter needs to list job duties that match that of the NOC you select. The trouble is that you might not find the exact job title that are commonly used in the industry. The site doesn't group by industry. This makes it slightly difficult to find your NOC. Note that you just need a 50% match with the duties. Sometimes multiple job roles might be merged in 1 NOC. And that is fine. 

Senior Management - Senior Vice President,  Vice President,  Director, Sr Director

If you manage a department or departments, have the bottomline for the same and report the C-level folks then the NOC for you is 0013.

Program managers, project managers, scrum masters

Are you part of the PMO i.e. project management office? Do you support your product owner or business and basically your team to deliver successfully? Do you develop processes or enforce SDLC (eg. agile/waterfall) methodologies for your projects/program? Are you ultimately responsible for the successful delivery of your project/program? You might also have certifications (not mandatory) like PMP, CSM, PgMP etc. The NOC 0213 might be a good fit.

Are you a resource manager for systems/business analysts/software developers/software architects/quality analysts?

You are responsible for recruiting folks in your department. You also oversee their career progression and do their reviews. You decide their renumeration. The NOC 0213 might be a good fit.

Business system analyst/ system analyst/ business analyst / product owner/cyber security analyst / performance analyst/ quality analyst

As part of software development, if you are responsible for requirements? There are different types of analysts. Here are a few common examples. NOC code 2171 might be a good fit. This has been a very popular NOC and has the most invites.
1. You write software (business and functional) requirements document (waterfall methodology) or write stories (agile). You interact with stakeholders and clarify requirements for developers/testers OR
2. You write test cases to ensure software quality. OR
3. Your focus software security - find security vulnerabilities and responsible for security requirements OR
4. Your focus is performance of the software. Running and analyzing tests like capacity and longevity and ensuring that the software meets the SLAs.

Developers and architects

If you are a front end/API or backend developer or video game/media developer or software architect then look at NOCs 2173, 2174 and 2175.

Database analyst or Database administrator

If you create and or manage databases then try NOC 2172.

Software Tester 

If you are executing tests for software applications in order to sign off on a release then try NOC 2283. You might create automated tests, create defects and ultimately be responsible for quality.

Conclusion - This industry accounted for 17% of invites in 2017.  We are part of a very dynamic business industry where digital disruption is the norm. You might be cross-functional and your job profile may be a mix of both roles. So the advice is that select the NOC that represents the majority of your duties. Let you letter reflect the truth. IRCC would want that else everyone would have the same proof of work.

Hope this helps my friends in the software industry to find their NOC.

Next steps
1. Found your NOC? Get started with Express entry today!