Computers Are Your Future
Twelfth Edition
Chapter 10: Careers and Certification
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
1
Careers and Certification
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Objectives
• Discuss the importance of computer
literacy in today’s job market.
• Describe traditional information
technology (IT) career paths and how
these paths are changing.
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Objectives
• Describe two settings in which most IT
workers find employment and list at least
three typical job titles.
• Compare and contrast computer science
(CS) and management information
systems (MIS) curricula in colleges and
universities.
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Objectives
• Identify the business skills that
information system (IS) managers want
in new IT workers.
• List the technical skills currently in high
demand.
• Discuss both the positive and negative
aspects of certification.
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The Importance of
Computer Literacy
• Computer literacy
o Ability to understand how to use a computer effectively
o Skills include:
• Ability to create, format, save, open, and print documents
• Familiarity with e-mail programs.
• Ability to keep track of petty cash or phone logs in a
spreadsheet
• Understand the use of databases, and the basics of a table,
query, report, and form
• Familiarity with presentation software
• Ability to conduct Web searches
• Basic photo-editing skills
• Ability to create or edit a basic Web page
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The Importance of
Computer Literacy
• Computer literacy in job searching
o
o
o
o
Career assessments
Salary surveys
Job postings
E-mail resumes and other requested documents
o Popular Internet IT job search sites include:
•
•
•
•
•
Dice.com
CareerBuilder.com
Code-jobs.com
ComputerJobs.com
ComputerWork.com
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The Importance of
Computer Literacy
• Web interviews
o Conducted via Web cams and the Internet
o Benefits include:
• Savings in time and money
• Ability to tape the interview for other screeners
• Accommodates different time zones or
accessibility
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The Importance of
Computer Literacy
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The Importance of
Computer Literacy
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
• IT professionals
o Individual working with all forms of IT and functions
o Demand for skilled IT professionals will continue to
grow
o Previous declines in the IT field blamed on:
• Outsourcing—where one company contracts
with another company to have services performed
that could have been done by employees
• Labor dumping—flooding the labor market with
foreign workers
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
• IT Jobs
o Predicted to show the most growth
• Software engineering
• Network systems analysis
• Data communication
o Other IT jobs for the future
•
•
•
•
•
Computer support
System administration
System analysis
Database administration
Security support
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
• Information Systems (IS)
Department
o Functional area within a company or university
responsible for managing information technology and
systems
• Vendor
o Software development firm
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
• Corporate IS department job titles and
responsibilities
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
• Software development firm job titles
and responsibilities
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
• Offshoring
o Transfer of labor from workers in one country to
workers in another
o Job categories affected—call centers and
computer programming
o Some U.S. companies question cost saving
because of communication and cultural
inconsistencies
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
• Education
o
o
o
o
Computer science (CS)
Management information systems (MIS)
Systems and software engineering
Electrical engineering (EE)
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
• Computer science (CS)
o Study of storage, change, and transfer of
information
o Programs focus on programming languages and
mathematics
o Requires theoretical and analytical skills
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
• Management information systems
(MIS)
o Focuses on practical applications of information
systems and technology
o Important knowledge areas
• Finance
• Marketing
o Requires good communication and interpersonal skills
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
• System engineering
o Uses interdisciplinary approach
• People
• Organization
• Technologies
o Requires strong project management skills
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
• Software engineering
o Involves upgrading, managing, and modifying
computer programs
o Requires strong:
• Interpersonal skills
• Programming skills
• Business skills
• System analysis skills
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
• Electrical engineering (EE)
o Focuses on cutting-edge communication and
digital circuit design
o Key areas of interest—hardware design
• Robotics
• Solid-state, mobile, and embedded technology
• Integrated circuits
• Computer chips
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
• Continuing education
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Training seminars
Web conferences
Webinars
Online workshops
Computer magazines, newspapers, journals
Computer career-related Web sites
Conferences and trade shows
Professional organizations/professional
associations
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Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
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Alternative Information
Technology Career Paths
• IT careers constantly change
o Changes in technology
o Changes in business
• Employers want employees with
o Business skills—hard and soft
o Technical knowledge
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Alternative Information
Technology Career Paths
• Soft business skills
o People related
•
•
•
•
•
Communication
Analytical/research
Teamwork
Project management
Business acumen
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Alternative Information
Technology Career Paths
• Personal values and attributes
o
o
o
o
Honesty/integrity/morality
Dedicated/hard working/tenacious
Dependable/reliable/professional
Self-confident/self-motivated
• Hard business skills
o Process related
• Networking
• Web development
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Alternative Information
Technology Career Paths
• Technical skills
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Networking
Microsoft products
Linux
TCP/IP
Oracle
AJAX
Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP systems)
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Web Technologies,
Related Jobs
• Jobs in Web technologies
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Web Technologies,
Related Jobs
• Telemedicine
o Combines computers and medical expertise to
simulate a long-distance house call
• Telehealth
o Expansion of telemedicine that extends services
to the preventive side of medicine
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Certification
• Certification
o Skills and knowledge assessment process
o Organized by computer industry vendors and
professional associations
o Benefits
• Provides benchmark to assess skills
• May lead to higher salary offers
• Helps match applicant’s skill set with employer
job requirements
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Certification
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Certification
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Certification
• Certification risks
o Employee
• Narrow scope of information may be emphasized
• Much time and work dedicated to vendor-specific
technology that may change or may be less
valuable in the future
o Employers
• Employee may have narrow training
• Knowledge in only one area
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Summary
• Discuss the importance of computer
literacy in today’s job market.
• Describe traditional information
technology (IT) career paths and how
these paths are changing.
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
35
Summary
• Describe two setting in which most IT
workers find employment and list at
least three typical job titles.
• Compare and contrast computer science
(CS) and management information
system (MIS) curricula in colleges and
universities.
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
36
Summary
• Identify the business skills that
information systems (IS) managers want
in new IT workers.
• List the technical skills currently in high
demand.
• Discuss both the positive and negative
aspects of certification.
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
37
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mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Publishing as Prentice Hall
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
38