Information technology has been defined by the Information Technology Association of America, or the ITAA as being the study, design, development, implementation support and/or management of any computer based information systems. Information technology training for IT managers and systems analysts may seem superfluous – these folks are usually well-learned in their areas of expertise.
Now the organization has to have an Information Technology Landscape plan, based on its current and future business landscape. Information Technology department consisted of a single Computer Operator, who might be storing data on magnetic tape, and then putting it in a box down in the basement somewhere.In fact, information technology is all of these things, and more.It’s hardly new, however. Information technology is as old as the brain itself, if you think of the brain as an information processor.
As frightening as this task is, the best way to be successful is to be humble. Senior executives must accept the fact that full investigation of the features and functionality of clinical information technology.One of the early steps that many organizations take is to hire an information technology consultant. Boston-area businesses benefit from using a consultant to perform a review of the business’s information technology currently being utilized.
In partnership with Arizona State University, the Arizona Department of Education recently held a career and technical skills standards assessment meeting, reviewing the current information technology preparation standards for secondary education. Professionals from across the state were selected to participate on the panel based on their expertise. Peter Liefer, the President of web design and Internet marketing agency, PrimeView, recently participated in this information technology panel, and gave his insight on the education Arizona high school students need to better prepare themselves for careers involving information technology.
The standard validation team meeting was held at the downtown ASU campus in central Phoenix. Information technology professionals reviewed four main program areas currently taught in Arizona high schools, including computer maintenance, networking technology, software development, and web page development.
According to the Arizona Tech Prep website, the validation team meets to ensure secondary education coursework is not duplicated within the information technology program and ensure the necessary skills for information technology success are tackled before students seek careers after high school and college.
“The world of technology continues to evolve, and preparing students for these changes is crucial for their future career success,” said Peter Liefer, President of PrimeView. “I was honored to have the privilege to participate in a panel to help map out the most important technological elements students at the secondary education level should know.”
For more information about Arizona’s secondary education academic standards, visit http://www.aztechprep.org.
As a service member who developed a rewarding career in the IT arena after leaving the military, I want to provide a brief overview of the incredible diversity of career options available to those of you interested in getting into the field of Information Technology. Very briefly, I was a CIO and IT department manager for a medium size enterprise that included a national headquarters, 1500+ nationwide offices, 60,000+ members, and the nation’s largest fleet of single engine piston aircraft (550+).
The scope of the organization’s Information Technology program touched in-house business and mission processes as well as interfacing with civilian and government organizations on the national, state, and local level. It included equipment management and application interaction among ground, aircraft, and satellite resources. And even with this wide a scale of involvement in so many aspects of the operation, our role touched on only a limited number of applications from the vast opportunities available in such a diverse field as Information Technology.
Due to the wide array of possibilities open to an Information Technology professional, it might be difficult for you to determine which degree program you want to pursue. In an effort to make things a little simpler, we can break down the field into two main areas of specialization – Systems (the physical tools, instruments, and hardware that makes it all work), and Process Applications (the software programs that perform required IT tasks and run on the aforementioned systems). This first article will cover the Systems category, while my next article, Part 2, will focus on Process Application Development.
With the wide array of possible career paths within the field of Information Technology, it can often be difficult to determine the correct one for you, given your unique interests and career goals. In my last article, part one of this two-part series, I covered the Systems category of Information Technology including who would be best fit to pursue a career in that field and what type of education would best prepare that individual for a successful career. In part two of the series, I will cover the Application Development category of IT.
Application Development Category
People often assume that individuals working in Application Development Information Technology careers are simply programmers or coders, but there is far more to the field than that. IT offers companies the opportunity to increase efficiency across the board, saving time, manpower and money, while increasing customer satisfaction rates at the same time. Typically, automating business and mission processes is the best way to accomplish these types of effectiveness and efficiency improvements, with some examples of specializations in this area including:
? Determining which business processes can be improved with automation
? Conducting process reengineering to gain maximum benefits from IT capabilities
? Application and database development (programming/coding)
? Testing applications and training end users
? Maintaining and upgrading applications
While some application development is done by military members, much of this is outsourced to civilian contractors. But again, as with the Systems career path of Information Technology, depending on the size and needs of the organization you work for, you could find yourself working on all of these tasks at the same time.
Are you a technology junkie? Do you have all of the newest gizmos and the most modern cell phone? Do you shake with excitement and anticipation every time a new game system is released? Are you the one your friends call when they have problems with their new laptops? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it is time put your love of technology into a fun and rewarding career. Don’t you think it’s time you received an information technology degree?
An information technology degree will give you the opportunity to turn your hobby into an exciting career. Computer programming, network security, and network engineering are just the tip of the IT iceberg. With an associate’s degree in information technology, a successful, not to mention fun filled, future is practically guaranteed.
So what are your options? Your career selection is almost limitless. There is an IT job for all individuals who want to have a fun career, as well as earn a substantial living.
The career title Webmaster has a nice ring to it. The Internet is hotter than ever. Everyone wants to be online. Whether you own a small business, such as a pet boutique, looking to expand your clientele by advertising your unique wares online, or a huge international non profit association seeking to explain your mission statement in order to solicit more donations from the tech savvy crowd, you need a web site.