Computers Are Your Future

Twelfth Edition

Chapter 10: Careers and Certification

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Careers and Certification

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Objectives
Discuss the importance of
computer literacy in todays job
market.
Describe traditional information
technology (IT) career paths and
how these paths are changing.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

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

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

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

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

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:
Outsourcingwhere one company
contracts with another company to have
services performed that could have been
done by employees
Labor dumpingflooding 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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13

Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
Corporate IS department job titles and
responsibilities

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14

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 affectedcall 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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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

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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
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19

Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
System engineering
o Uses interdisciplinary approach
People
Organization
Technologies
o Requires strong project management
skills

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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

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21

Traditional Information
Technology Career Paths
Electrical engineering (EE)
o Focuses on cutting-edge communication and
digital circuit design
o Key areas of interesthardware design
Robotics
Solid-state, mobile, and embedded
technology
Integrated circuits
Computer chips
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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
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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 skillshard 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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27

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 applicants skill set with
employer job requirements

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Certification

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Certification

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33

Certification
Certification risks
o Employee
Narrow scope of information may be
emphasized
Much time and work dedicated to vendorspecific 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 todays 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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retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
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