CAREERS IN INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
What’s Your Dream Job? Click on the links below.
Job Titles, Descriptions, and Salaries
Job titles and descriptions in IT change somewhat as IT changes.
The demand for labor changes too as economic circumstances change.
Recently we had the "dot-com boom,"a period of great demand for IT
professions with soaring salaries, great incentive plans, and high
bonuses. When the dot-com frenzy abated, many IT professionals in
the hottest dot-com regions found themselves looking for jobs. However, in general, IT is a good area to be in if you’re
looking for a job. The demand keeps growing nationally and
internationally and the type of jobs becomes more and more
varied. Below are some job titles, descriptions and the average salary
nationally in 2001, according to Computerworld
magazine’s article "More for the Money," which ran in
September 3, 2001. Job Title | Job Description | Salary | Job Level | Chief Information Officer (CIO) | Top IT executive for the whole organization. | $165,100 | Senior management | Director of IT/IS/MIS | Top IS/IT/MIS executive for a business unit or division. | $108,200 | Senior management | Web architect | Responsible for the development of customer applications for
Internet development, maintaining Web servers and back-office
infrastructure linkage. | $75,018 | Senior management | Internet Technology strategist | Oversees integration of Web reporting, workflow, e-mail
tracking, streaming media content, integration and security
processes. | $89,797 | Senior management | Project manager | Defines project system requirements and procedures to complete
them. | $88,200 | Middle management | Database manager | Directs the group that is responsible for database design,
programming and maintenance. | $84,800 | Middle management | Computer operations manager | Manages computer systems, data processing and communications
groups. | $68,122 | Middle management | Information security specialist | Responsible for maintaining the security of computer systems,
network applications and databases. | $60,033 | Middle management | Senior systems analyst | Designs advanced system requirements to solve business
problems. | $72,300 | Staff | Senior systems programmer | Responsible for system software, operating systems and related
integration. | $68,900 | Staff | Web application developer | Responsible for programming Web sites, application code, page
links and content links. | $61,700 | Staff | Network administrator | Administers, defines, updates and maintains networks. | $60,000 | Staff | Programmer/analyst | Develops, tests and maintains basic application programs for
computer systems. | $55,100 | Staff | Help desk operator | Answers support questions. | $39,700 | Staff |
Back to the top The Skills You Need As you prepare for a career in the IT field, please don’t
limit your skill development to just technology. In today’s business environment, you need to be a "jack of
all trades and master of one." The one you’ve chosen to master
is technology. But you need skills in lots of other areas. Below, we list many of skills we recommend that you have. TECHNOLOGY - Programming language — pick at least one in which
you will specialize. Top jobs today require expertise in C++, Java,
and VBA, among others.
- Systems development life cycle — understand how all
the pieces fit together, including project management, software
testing, implementation, and maintenance.
- Data modeling — know the steps in performing good
data modeling, especially for relational databases. Along with
that, we recommend that you have a minimum of at least some
exposure to Oracle.
- Requirements analysis — knowing how to listen to
user requirements and convert them to technology specifications is
a must.
Beyond those four, technology requirements differ according to
the job and company. If you want to get into a lot of Web work,
then you’ll need expertise in XML, ASP, and JavaScript. If you
want to get into networking, then you’ll need expertise in
network operating systems, communications protocols, and
client/server architectures. We certainly recommend that you think about what you want to do
in the technology field, and then search for job postings. Those
postings will tell you what specific skills you need. BUSINESS, NON-TECHNOLOGY - Team skills — you can’t avoid it —
you’ll be working in teams the rest of your life. You need to
gain valuable skills in conflict resolution management, running
meetings, setting objective goals, and so on.
- Project management — we mentioned this above.
Managing projects from human resource, time, and budget points of
view is another must.
- Basic accounting and finance — everything in
business really goes back to simple debits and credits, balance
sheets, income statements, statements of cash flow, and the like.
Attend everyone of your accounting and finance classes, and do well
in them.
- Service operations management — we are becoming a
service-based economy. Even many of the "services" we provide in
the technology are in fact services and not products. Building
services is much different than building products.
Beyond those, you need to learn as much as you can about every
phase of business — marketing, business law and values, real
estate, statistics, etc. That will make you the "jack of all
trades." NON-BUSINESS, NON-TECHNOLOGY - Communications skills — you must learn to
effectively communicate with people. These skills include writing,
group speaking, one-on-one interactions, and even body language.
Effective communicators are always successful no matter what their
careers.
- International — learn a foreign language, or, at a
minimum, participate in a study abroad program. The world is
global.
- Communications skills — can’t stress this
enough — see #1.
- Communications skills — get the idea?
Back to the top Searching for Jobs As you go about searching for a job, we would recommend that you
do so in many ways. First, take advantage of your school’s career placement
center. Specialists in that center work full time matching
employers and students. Second, network with your friends. Some of your classmates may
graduate a year or two before you. Keep in touch with them and
learn what job opportunities are available at the organizations for
which they work. Third, attend computer trade shows and conferences. These are
held all over the country all the time. Even if you have to buy a
plane ticket to attend one, it’s probably worth it. Finally, we highly recommend that you use the Web. Below,
we’ve provided the links to two sets of job/career Web sites.
The first have postings for all types of jobs. The second includes
a list of those sites that specialize in IT jobs. General career sites IT-specific career sites Back to the top Learning Beyond Your Education In a few short years, you’ll graduate with degree in hand
and look for a job. We’ve discussed some of the jobs you can
look for and skills that can help you get one, and we’ve
provided resources to help in your search. But getting a job is just the beginning. In the 21st
century, you must continue to learn new skills and acquire
knowledge in order to be successful in your chosen career. We think
it’s so important to continue learning that we’ve placed
these lifelong learning modules online for you to use and benefit
from for years to come. You have many choices as to how you continue to learn beyond
your undergraduate degree. You can go to graduate school, attend
training programs, become certified in specific technologies, or
choose from many other opportunities available after schooling.
It’s up to you what you’d like to do. As long as you
continue learning more about your field of study, you’ll
remain a valuable part of your organization. We can’t list every place or opportunity available to you
to obtain training. Instead, we’ve provided some links to
resources about online degrees, virtual universities, and technical
training and certification. Among the three you should find
something that interests you. Of course, check with nearby colleges
and universities as well. You’ll also want to check with your company to see if it
recommends or pays for certain types of training or graduate
degrees. Many do. Graduate College and Online Degree Guides Virtual Universities Training and Technical Certifications Back to the top Thoughts from the Authors From Stephen… To quote a favorite movie of mine (Bridge on the River Kwai),
"Be happy in your work." If you can say that you are truly happy in
what you’re doing, you’ve got it made. If you can’t,
maybe you need to think about a career move. Right now, you may be
hating the technology classes you’re taking. If so, change
your major and go into something else. You’ll be working for
the next 30 to 40 years. Why be miserable. To quote a favorite musician of mine (Meatloaf), "If you’re
only killing time, it’ll kill you right back." You have a
golden opportunity right now to set the stage for the rest of your
life. Dedicate yourself to your studies. Learn all you can. Join a
student organization that focuses on your field of study. Do an
internship. Volunteer for community activities on the weekend. All
of these will further your career. Turn off the TV and participate
in life! To quote a favorite author of mine (myself, said with a grin),
"There are those of us in the world who make sure that it goes
around — the rest just make sure it doesn’t go around too
fast." Be one of those people making the world go around.
Don’t be the dead weight that slows progress. Don’t count
on social security when you retire. Make your millions the
old-fashioned way — earn it. | [IMAGE] |
From Maeve… To quote a Kenny Rogers song ("The Gambler") "every hand’s
a winner and every hand’s a loser." No matter how much you
start with you can make a mess, and no matter how little you start
with, you can make it work for you. Some people start off with more
analytical minds, with better memories, with quicker reflexes than
you have. So what? You’ve got skills and abilities that others
don’t have. All of us in the teaching profession have seen
many, many cases of students with great talent and ability who did
not live up to their potential. Perhaps they weren’t
motivated, maybe they didn’t have the perseverance, it could
be that they were distracted by other circumstances in their lives.
Whatever the reason, ability alone is not enough, you have to back
it up with determination and hard work. Incidentally, I’d like to go on record as disagreeing with
the next line in that Kenny Rogers song "the best that you can hope
for is to die in your sleep." As a way of dying, it’s not so
bad, but as a way of living, it’s awful. Believe me, you can
hope for a whole lot more than that! Hopes and dreams are the start of success. When you combine hope
and dreams with a plan they become a strategy. And a strategy maps
out the road to success. A strategy involves goals and ways to
attain them. Success, like accidents, don’t just happen, they
are caused! | [IMAGE] |
From Alan… To continue our line of quotations, I’d like to share a
line from one of my favorite poets, Edgar Arlington Robinson. In
"The Master" he writes from the perspective of a person who
realized later in life how important his teacher was. He notes that
the teacher knew "that we were learning while we laughed." Learning has to be fun. This doesn’t mean you’re going
to be chuckling out loud studying for a mid-term or writing a
research paper, but you should be happy with the entire process.
Learning is difficult at times, and if you don’t enjoy what
you’re doing it’s really not worth it. When people ask me
why I do everything that I do (teach, research, write textbooks,
play the tuba, program and build computers, etc.) I tell them that
I simply enjoy learning. In today’s information age, knowledge is power. In order to
do well in life, you’ll need to keep learning. This might mean
getting another degree, going to organized training, or reading
books and articles relevant to your field. The moment you stop
learning is the moment you’ve stopped advancing in your
career. Without current expertise in your field, you won’t
have as many options to choose from. As the great Obi Wan Kenobi
once said: "In my experience, there's no such thing as luck." You
have to make your own destiny. | [IMAGE] |
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education