Computers Are Your Future Twelfth Edition Chapter 10: Careers and Certification Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1

Careers and Certification Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2

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. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 3

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. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 4

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. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 5

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 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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 6

The Importance of Computer Literacy Computer literacy in job searching o Career assessments o Salary surveys o Job postings o resumes and other requested documents o Popular Internet IT job search sites include: Dice.com CareerBuilder.com Code-jobs.com ComputerJobs.com ComputerWork.com Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 7

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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 8

The Importance of Computer Literacy Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 9

The Importance of Computer Literacy Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 10

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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 11

Traditional Information Technology Career Paths IT Jobs Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 12 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

Traditional Information Technology Career Paths Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 13 Information Systems (IS) Department o Functional area within a company or university responsible for managing information technology and systems Vendor o Software development firm

Traditional Information Technology Career Paths Corporate IS department job titles and responsibilities Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 14

Traditional Information Technology Career Paths Software development firm job titles and responsibilities Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 15

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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 16

Traditional Information Technology Career Paths Education o Computer science (CS) o Management information systems (MIS) o Systems and software engineering o Electrical engineering (EE) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 17

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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 18

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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 19

Traditional Information Technology Career Paths System engineering o Uses interdisciplinary approach People Organization Technologies o Requires strong project management skills Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 20

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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 21

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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 22

Traditional Information Technology Career Paths Continuing education o Training seminars o Web conferences o Webinars o Online workshops o Computer magazines, newspapers, journals o Computer career-related Web sites o Conferences and trade shows o Professional organizations/professional associations Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 23

Traditional Information Technology Career Paths Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 24

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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 25

Alternative Information Technology Career Paths Soft business skills o People related Communication Analytical/research Teamwork Project management Business acumen Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 26

Alternative Information Technology Career Paths Personal values and attributes o Honesty/integrity/morality o Dedicated/hard working/tenacious o Dependable/reliable/professional o Self-confident/self-motivated Hard business skills o Process related Networking Web development Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 27

Alternative Information Technology Career Paths Technical skills o Networking o Microsoft products o Linux o TCP/IP o Oracle o AJAX o Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP systems) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 28

Web Technologies, Related Jobs Jobs in Web technologies Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 29

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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 30

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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 31

Certification Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 32

Certification Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 33

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 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 34

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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