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October 17, 2000

Jobs for everyone in I.T.

Whether you prefer

fixing things, building them, or analyzing them

theory or more practical problem-solving

to work on your own or on a team

the intricacies of business processes or the power and promise of the Internet

Whether you want to

be a consultant to business

work in a large company

grow a small company, or

start your own company

There's a job in I.T. to suit you.

While actual job descriptions are often highly flexible and customizable, the wide range of I.T. jobs can be categorized into several "core" occupations:

Computer Scientists: Design computers, develop languages, applications, games, systems. Create or apply new technology. Includes database administrators and computer support specialists, network and system administrators, telecommunications specialists and security specialists. Highly theoretical focus.

Computer Engineers: Deal with the hardware and software components of systems design and development. Includes software engineers who design and develop system software.

Systems Analysts: Meet the needs of an organization's business processes. Study data processing issues and design new computer solutions. Spec the systems other IT workers use to implement the systems. Problem-solving focus.

Computer programmers: Often work from project specs developed by systems analysts.

Web developers: Design and develop web sites.

Salaries

Salaries for I.T. jobs at all levels are higher than average. Here's just a sampling of entry-level salaries from Computerworld's most recent salary survey (September 2000):

Sr. Systems Analyst - $49,488

Systems Analyst - $44,507

Systems Programmer - $41,332

Network administrator - $41,036

As we mentioned in a previous article, women in I.T. earn less than men, but their salaries are still 60% higher than salaries outside the industry. And the gap narrows rapidly as the level of education increases.

Growth & Opportunity

The industry keeps growing, too, especially in service businesses and in higher wage jobs such as Systems Analyst. According to the Department of Commerce report, The Digital Work Force, employment in the core I.T. occupations has grown six times faster than the overall U.S. job growth rate for more than 15 years.

From 1996 to 2006, it is projected the U.S. will need more than 1.3 million new skilled I.T. workers. Regionally, most I.T. jobs are expected to be in California, Texas and Virginia. But Oregon, Georgia and Colorado will be growing at the fastest rate.

With all this expansion comes opportunity. I.T. is still a young (about three-quarters of I.T. workers are under 45), male-dominated field. But there's increasing awareness among corporate managers, educators and industry associations that the industry needs the experience and perspective offered by older workers, women and minorities.

And they're actively providing the support needed to encourage this diversity through new hiring practices, increased benefits, campus recruitment programs, scholarships, and internships.

So if you're interested in a career in I.T., it's worth digging to find just the right job and just the right training to suit you.

Sources:
- The Digital Work Force: Building Infotech Skills at the Speed of Innovation, Carol Ann Meares and John F. Sargent, Jr., US. Dept. of Commerce Office of Technology Policy, June 1999.
- Computerworld.com, 14th Annual Salary Survey, September 2000.