Information Technology

 

Career and Major Information
Earnings
Related Occupations
Related Web Sites

 

Career and Major Information:

Walters State's Technical Certificate in Information Technology program is designed to prepare successful graduates for entry-level employment opportunities with business and industry employing computer technology.  One of the fastest growing and most diverse career fields today, jobs in information technology vary widely.

The systems analyst solves computer problems and plans and applies computer technology including both hardware and software to meet the individual needs of an organization.  They must work closely with managers and user level workers to determine the specific needs and parameters of the system.  Analysts may test the new system, diagnose problems, and recommend solutions.  In some organizations, programmer-analysts design and update the software that runs a computer.  Because they are responsible for both programming and system analysis, these employees must be proficient in both areas.  Many times they are also responsible for networking several internal computers.  The network systems and data communications analysts plan, design, test, and evaluate local area networks (LANS), wide area networks (WANS), the Internet, intranets, and other data communications systems. 

Database administrators determine new ways to organize and store data.  They set up new computer database systems, and then they test and modify the systems.  They also plan and coordinate security measures. 

On the programming side of this field, computer programmers write, test and maintain the detailed instructions computers must follow to perform their functions.  They also conceive, design, and test logical structures for solving problems by computer.  After the design is complete, the programmer converts that design into a logical series of instructions that the computer can follow, using a program language such as COBOL, Prolog, Java, C++, or Smalltalk.  Later in the life of an existing program, the programmer updates, repairs, modifies, expands, and tests existing programs.  Applications programmers write programs to handle specific jobs within an organization such as inventory tracking.  A systems programmer writes programs that maintain and control existing computer systems software, such as operating systems, networked systems, and database systems.  In many smaller organizations, programmer-analysts are responsible for both systems analysis and the actual programming work. 

Jobs may be found in organizations such as banks, hospitals, large retailers, research firms, manufacturers, banks, data processing organizations, government agencies, and insurance companies.

The minimum educational requirement depends largely on the needs of the employer.  There is no universal path to qualification.  Some jobs in the field will only require an associates degree or technical training, but others will require a minimum of a bachelor degree.  The more complex, specialized positions require someone with doctoral training.  As the technology becomes increasingly complex, employers will favor candidates with more formalized and specialized training that fits the needs of the position to be filled.  Much faster than average growth is expected through the year 2012 as more and more organizations adopt sophisticated technology to service their needs.  Competition for jobs will be keen, but the high number of new jobs makes prospects for employment favorable.

 

Earnings:

The Tennessee Career Information Delivery System website lists the salary range for a beginning-level position in this field in Tennessee as $33,900 to $41,400 annually.  With experience, the range increases to $43,760 to $82,060.  The national average is higher by up to $6,000 per year.  Salary figures quoted are based on national figures. Local or regional salaries may be lower.

 

Related Occupations:

Computer Software Engineer

Computer and Information Systems Manager

Computer Networking Specialist

Financial Analysts and Personal Financial Advisor

Urban and Regional Planner

Engineer

Mathematician

Statistician

Operations Research Analyst

Management Analyst

Actuary

 

Related Web Sites

Association for Computing Machinery

            http://www.acm.org

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society

            http://www.computer.org

National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies

            http://www.nwcet.org

 

Much of the above information was collected from the 2004-2005 Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the U.S. Department of Labor.  For additional information on these and many other careers, please visit the following web sites:

 

Occupational Outlook Handbook - U.S. Department of Labor

www.bls.gov/oco/

 

Tennessee Career Information Delivery System (TCIDS)

http://tcids.tbr.edu/.

 

 

For information regarding specific degree program requirements, curriculum, or faculty, please see the department website at http://www.ws.edu/teched/default.asp.