Of all the most sought-after degree programs there are, the information technology degree is the one that is currently in the hotseat. Information technology is a branch of engineering that basically has to do with utilizing computers and their software to exchange, process and save information. Because there are different types of technology available, there are several different types of IT professionals.
The word technology is widespread now and covers a vast array of different applications; and it would seem that those applications are almost limitless. From working on computers as a systems analyst to selling computer systems based on a strong foundation of knowledge, getting a degree in information technology can be just the thing to not only push a career forward but give a person just that much more of an edge over their competition.
An assortment of specialized areas in information technology allows for the everchanging and evergrowing needs in the field to be met without alteration. A qualified individual in any one of the IT areas will be able to provide a company with a level of optimum productivity; especially when the learned skills are mixed with the basic fundamentals of business and their applications. It is no secret that employers tend to look for prospective employees who can provide a strong foundation in order to keep operations smooth.
Project management theory, computer programming, database and network systems are only just a few of the lessons that apply to getting an information technology degree. Hands-on training is great for building confidence and provides a level of comfort when entering a professional work environment. Professional certifications and dual degree programs can not only upgrade IT degrees, they can boost resumes and help to achieve the earning power that one has been looking for. A fully certified IT professional with a degree can expect to make $45,000 per year and up.
As this is one of the fastest growing fields around (and it looks to stay that way), there is always a need for those skilled in information technology. One would be hard pressed to find any area of everyday life where computers aren’t already in use; and that is why the demand is and will always be what it is. An added plus is that with the use of computers being so widespread, there is hardly any place on the map a person can go that doesn’t need workers with an IT degree.
With computers and technology, the learning is never done. As the demand continues to grow and change, so will the technology that complements our every day life. The person seeking a degree in information technology must be truly interested in computers and have a thirst for knowledge. There must be willingness and an aptitude for learning something new as software and technology upgrades itself at an amazing rate. The IT professional is a person who is alert and able to keep up; and better yet, is one step ahead of the game at every turn.
The person who has taken the time to earn his or her information technology degree will have opened the door to a career path that is wide and all encompassing. While one path in information technology may be right, that path can often lead to others; and the more skills behind a person the more well rounded and better off they’ll be in their career. Information technology has come a long way and will continue on for many years to come. It is definitely one of those professions that will have the opportunity to see what tomorrow brings, today.
By: Andy West
Posts Tagged ‘Word Technology’
An Information Technology Degree And An Open Door
January 21st, 2010Information Technology Something New?
January 12th, 2010When people hear the words “Information Technology,” the first things that come to mind are computers and the Internet. It may also bring up words like “network,” “intranet,” “server,” “firewall,” “security,” as well as more arcane expressions such as “router,” “T-1,” “Ethernet,” or the mysterious and exotic-sounding “VoIP” (pronounced “voyp”).
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 far as I.T. being a science, even that goes back as far as the earliest attempts to communicate and store information.
And that is essentially what information technology is: the communication and storage of information, along with the ability to process and make use of the information stored. In this chapter, we’ll begin with a brief history of I.T., what it comprises today, and the different major types of I.T. systems available today.
A Short History of Information Technology
As human societies have grown in size and complexity, so has the need to collect, store and transmit information. While it could be argued that brains represent a form of “bio-information technology,” Greek word “Tektra” – from which we get the word “technology” – really refers to scientific or mechanical knowledge, particularly that which involves the use of tools. Therefore, we’ll begin our journey with humans first attempts to record and transmit knowledge through mechanical means.
The Neolithic Period and the Bronze Age
We might not have thought of it as “information technology” several thousand years ago when we as a species were painting animals on cave walls. But in fact that may be exactly what it was.
Using a combination of tools that included manganese “crayons” and clay that was colored with various pigments, early humans left these images on the walls of a cave near Lascaux, France and on cliffs in the Algerian Sahara.
These have been dated as being approximately 18,000 and 8,000 years old respectively. Unfortunately, there is no way to be certain exactly what message was being communicated (a problem our own descendants 15,000 years from now may very well encounter from what we leave behind!)
Since the images depict animals that were commonly hunted at the time, and given the importance of game animals to a hunting-gathering culture, it’s possible that such images were attempts to present information about such game, or part of a rite designed to ensure a successful hunt.
The invention of writing systems – including pictograms such as hieroglyphics, alphabetic writing and “syllabic” systems – seems to have taken place almost at the same time as the development of agriculture. Agriculture introduced such formerly unknown concepts as land ownership, advanced trade and the accumulation of wealth, which in turn led to more complex societal structures.
As you might expect, this necessitated more detailed and efficient record-keeping. Alphabetic writing has a substantial advantage over pictograms (hieroglyphs), because a relatively limited number of symbols (letters) can be used over and over in infinite combination to communicate nearly anything. (As you will see later, modern I.T. uses only two of these symbols!)
Preserving and storing such information posed certain challenges; information either had to be inscribed on stone or clay tablets (which were heavy) or animal skins, wax tablets or papyrus (which weren’t durable).
The Hellenistic World
The Classical Greeks were the first people of record to attempt to find scientific, rational explanations for natural phenomena. Some of the earliest proto-computers known were mechanical devices developed by the Greeks. One of these was a form of abacus (which also developed and was used in ancient China). The device facilitated and simplified mathematical calculation.
Consider REALLY early Greco-Roman Abacus
Another early computational device was the antikthera, greek in origin. An antikthera was discovered by a Greek sponge diver over a century ago, it was only recently that this 2100-year-old device was reconstructed and shown to be an early form of computer designed to chart the movements of the sun, moon and five planets known at the time.
Early Programmable Devices
By the time the gradual break-up and fall of the Roman Empire was complete in the year 476 C.E., scientific and technological advances in the Western world had ground to a halt. While much of the scientific knowledge of the Greeks was preserved by Irish monks and Arab scholars, it wasn’t until the fourteenth century that principles of engineering were rediscovered and applied to information. The first of these was of course the printing press.
Although the concept of movable type printing had been developed in China some four hundred years earlier, it was Gutenberg’s device in 1447 that revolutionized communications, making it easier and faster to record and disseminate information than ever before. The first truly programmable device would not come along for another 354 years, however.
The Jacquard Loom of 1801 was a product of the Industrial Revolution. This invention used a series of specially punched paper cards that functional as templates, allowing for the automatic weaving of highly intricate patterns. Those punch cards became very significant to computing in the 1950′s, 60′s and 70′s.
The next development was Charles Babbage’s “Analytical Machine” – a fully-programmable computer that unfortunately was never actually built. Babbage worked on designs from 1837 until his passing in 1871. This steam-powered mechanism would have also utilized punch cards, with a central processing unit (CPU) and a form of memory storage in the form of a system of pegs inserted into rotating barrels.
The Analytical Machine would have been capable of storing 1,000 numbers of up to fifty digits each, and perform six different mathematical operations, including the calculation of square roots. Babbage’s ideas were incorporated into early electronic computing devices being developed in the late 1930′s and 1940′s, although not all of these were actually programmable. The first truly programmable computers – able to store and use information – did not come into common use until the 1950′s, and yes – made use of punch cards (those born before 1965 may remember playing with them).
Of course most people born in the 70′s, 80′s and 90′s just take for granted that the Information Technology we have today is from fairley recent developments in science, mechanics and electronics. But we know different now don’t we. And therefore can better appreciate what we have available to us now.
By: Dwayne Garrett
