Hagen1 ChandlerJ.Hagen Ms.Boes English10 1October2013 InformationTechnology:ModernDayMagic Thefieldofinformationtechnologyiseverchanging.Themenandwomenworkinginthefield arealwaystryingtokeepupwiththenewtypesoftechnology.Thetechnician,mostofthetime,mustbe veryversatile.ThefieldofInformationTechnologyisasciencerelatedtopicthatisverychallenging, requiresadetailorientedfocusandhasverylittleroomforerror. ThefieldofInformationTechnologyisselfexplanatoryinthatitisafieldthatusestechnology fortheuseofstoring,sending,andreceivinginformation.(InformationTechnology)Information Technologyspecialists,orITguysastheyareknown,keepmoderndaycommunicationupand running.

Withouttheabilitiesofinformationtechnology,businesseswouldnothavedatabases,wouldnot beabletocontactemployees,andalsowouldneverbeabletogettheirbusinessnameouttothe public. WiththejobmarketforInformationtechnologylookingbettereachyear,thestatisticsprove howtruethatstatementreallyis.Between2004and2014,thereisanoverallexpectedgrowthof31%. Withasalaryrangeof$30,000through$110,000,andtheaveragebeing$67,010,(Information TechnologyWorks)thereisalwayspotentialforaraise.Withthegreatestincomeforaspecialistin InformationTechnologybeingChief Hagen2

InformationOfficer,withapaygradeanestimatedamountof$130,250$210,500(Top10ITJobs), thisjobrequiresmuchmoreexperiencethanmostITjobs.ThelowestpayingITjobstendtobeones thatrequireminimalschooling,andneedlittletonoexperience.TRANSITION EventhoughI.T.specialistsmayneedtodomanytasks,therearesixmaintypesofInformation Technologyspecialistsmanager,analyst,administrator,webspecialist,support,andengineers(ITGuys DoAllDay).Managersarethehighlevelexecutivesoverseeingacompany'stechnologicalneedsand thestrategiestoachievethem.Analystsaredevelopersandarchitects,theyaretheoneswhocomeup withthespecificITplanforacompany.AdministratorshandlethedaytodayITfunctionsofa company.WebSpecialistsareresponsiblefordesigningbusinessesintranetsandpublicInternetsites forcompanies.Supportspecialistsworkwithcomputeruserstoresolveproblemswithhardwareand software.ITengineersaremainlytwodifferenttypes: Softwareengineers,andHardwareengineers. SoftwareengineersisconsideredtobethemostindemandjobintheU.S.rightnow,with nearlyaquarterofamillionjobopeningsprojectedinthenexttenyears,acareerinsoftware engineeringisaverybrightcareerpathforanyone.Hardwareengineers,alongwithcomputer programmerswereconsideredtwoofthehottestjobsintheU.S.inthelate2000s. Inthemid1990s,alittleover20,000collegedegreeswereearnedfromU.S.universitiesinthe computerandinformationsciencesfield.In2004,thatnumberskyrocketedto60,000.(How InformationTechnologyWorks) Hagen3 Oneofthemainreasonsthatsalarieshaveincreasedalongwiththeneedforspecialists,isthat studentsgraduatingwithdegreesincomputersciencehasdroppedby

30%comparativelywiththeneedforjobsoverall.Themostdrasticdropwaswithwomenearninga degreeincomputerscience.Therewasadropof80%inwomenearningacomputersciencemajor, whencomparedwiththeoverallpercentage.Thereasonforsuchafastriseandfallwaswhentheworld widewebwasinventedin1989createdasuddeninterestincomputersandtechnology.Whenthat suddencrazewasover,itleftmanycomputerjobsfilledandaverysmalljobmarket.Withthosepeople gainingtheirjobsintheearly1990s,bythetimemanycurrenthighschoolstudentsgraduatecollege, the1990sgenerationofITspecialistswillberetiring.TRANSITION ThepersonalitytypesofInformationtechnologyspecialistsincludehavingpatience, perseverance,andbeingabletokeepupwithrecenttechnology.Thepatiencewillberequiredfor dealingwithinformationsystemsandotherpeople.Thesystemssometimesrequirecriticalthinkingto gainsolutionsthatmaynotalwaysbecutanddry.Thepatiencewithotherpeoplemaybe selfexplanatory,withthosepeoplenotknowingmuchabouthowthesystemswork.Theperseverance maybewhiletryingtofigureoutaspecificpieceofrepetitivework,ormaybestartingatalowincome position,takingmanyyearstoreachtheseniorleveldreamjob.Informationtechnologymaybethejob whereitismostneededtokeepuptodate.Ifthereisacertaintechnologythatwouldmakelifeeasier,it isthespecialistsjobtoknowaboutit. Withtheriseofsalaries,andtheneedfornewtechnologiesandthosewhocanwork Hagen4 them,Informationtechnologyspecialistswillbeneededinthenextfewyears.ThefieldofInformation Technologyisaverychallengingsciencerelatedtopic,requiringadetailorientedfocus,andleavesvery littleroomforerror.Aftermytimeatajobshadowwiththe I.T.departmentatSaintAnthonyRegionalHospital,Ihavenotmovedverymuchfrommy

opiniononthefield.Itisstillaveryrealpossibilityforme.

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WorksCited

"HowInformationTechnologyWorks."HowStuffWorks.N.p.,n.d.Web.23Sept.2013 (http://money.howstuffworks.com/howinformationtechnologyworks.htm). "InformationTechnology."Wikipedia.WikimediaFoundation,19Sept.2013.Web.23Sept.2013 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology). SignIn|CreateanAccount."ExperienceaConnectEDUCompanyEntryLevelJobsforCollege StudentsandRecentGraduates.N.p.,n.d.Web.23Sept.2013 (http://www.experience.com/entryleveljobs/news/top10jobsininformationtechnology/). "Top10JobsinInformationTechnology."Top10JobsinInformationTechnology.N.p.,n.d.Web. 23Sept.2013 (http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB1628WorkplaceIssuesTop10JobsinInformationTech
nology/).

"WhatDoITGuysDoAllDay?"Infographics&DataVisualization.N.p.,n.d.Web.23Sept.2013 (http://visual.ly/whatdoitguysdoallday).