Everything You Need to Know About Careers in Computer and Information Technology (IT)
Computer and IT careers are quickly becoming the most wanted job in America. However, the field of prospective employees is not growing as fast as the jobs are.
There is some real money to be made here if people would actually think about getting into the career. The technical side does have a certain je ne sais quoi to it that not all of us can appreciate, but it’s there.
Job Outlook
The outlook for this particular job is huge. By 2025, it is projected that the number of jobs in this field will grow by 10% to 30%.
For a computer support specialist in 2015, there are an average of 728,300 jobs in the United States. This job is expected to have 135,000 more open job positions by 2025.
A computer programmer, however, can expect to fill one of the 29,400 more open job positions in 2025.
As the technology era rises, there will be more call for a software engineer, web developer, etc. not only in the United States, but all over the world.
As of 2015, the ten countries considered to be the largest manufacturers of electronics are China, the United States, Japan, Germany, Israel, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore.
As technology like the Japanese robot Asimo becomes the focus of the tech era, there will be more chances to work on ground breaking projects.
Education
The education required to have a job in either the computer or IT fields varies depending on the job you want. An example of a job that would only require a certificate or associate’s degree would be a computer support specialist.
Becoming a computer scientist or a computer engineer, however, would require a bachelor’s degree or a doctoral degree in computer science. Any of them can be done with a master’s degree in the field, but that doesn’t always mean the higher educated person is going to receive the job offer.
It is recommended that you do as much education as you can – even after earning a degree.
The field is growing quite rapidly, and there are thousands of new techniques that will crop up after formal education is finished.
It would do a prospective employee well to take extra classes or to study up on their own. This allows everyone to understand what is happening as technology and code evolve to become more sophisticated and more complex to do more than what it can now.
Salary
The salary for a career in the computer and IT fields has quite a range.
Entry-level jobs can average from $25,000-$35,000 a year.
An average salary for a web designer in the United States, for example, is $64,110 a year.
The average income for a computer technician is $55,260 a year.
A hardware engineer can earn an average of between $68,710 to $167,030.
At the upper end of the range, anyone in the computer or IT field can earn $150,000 a year.
Work Environment
The work environment for someone in the IT or computer fields can vary greatly. With more advanced technology comes innovation and creativity.
One environment for someone in these fields is to join a big company. Creativity may not be completely running here, but it gives a good name to a resume. Another idea is to join a small start up business.
Both of these offer the employee the chance to work under someone else and hone their skills.
If neither of those options sound enticing, there are two other options people in this field can explore. One is to freelance.
This offers the person the ability to pick and choose their projects, and hone a specific skill over a period of time without having to hone another.
If freelancing isn’t what they’re looking for, they can always become an entrepreneur. This allows them to work as much or as little as they want on a specific idea, project, or type.
It’s quite intriguing to work freelance or become an entrepreneur because it allows ideas from one person to be heard and developed instead of having it get lost in the crowd.
Future Opportunities
In the end, there is so much happening in this field. There is a large opportunity to grow.
Web developers, computer engineers, software engineers, and even computer scientists all need to keep their skills sharp to compete with the next big thing. It’s also quite a rewarding career.
Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook and other companies all started as an entrepreneurial business, and look at where they are now.
If someone stumbles upon a good idea, and is able to hone, craft, and sell it big time, it sets them up for a wonderful life, and their money problems are pretty much solved.
There are very few other careers that are so rewarding.
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