infoTECH Feature

April 15, 2011

Information Technology Careers

Information Technology (IT), an area that is growing at a rapid pace, incorporates a broad range of subjects from the cloud to business process management (BPM) to data centers to environmental monitoring. Accordingly, the number of IT careers is vast and is continuing to increase exponentially. From fixing computers to managing applications to processing data, IT personnel handle a variety of tasks that ensure that processes run smoothly and efficiently.

IT careers can include jobs such as network engineers, system administrators, chief information officers (CIO) and IT project managers, among many other positions.

A network engineer, for example, is involved in the creation process of the hardware and software necessary for a computer network. The engineer also oversees the maintenance of the hardware and software. Engineers can boast specialties in Local Area Networks (LANs) and/or Wide Area Networks (WANs).

A system administrator, like a network engineer, is responsible for overseeing the computer systems used by a company. Specifically, the system administrator is tasked with installing, upgrading and maintaining servers. Overseeing all the facets of server management is a primary responsibility.

A CIO heads the IT for a company and is responsible for ensuring return on investment, increasing efficiencies, expanding the business impact of IT and facilitating IT practices. The CIO handles the IT functions for the entire enterprise. This includes all data centers, help desks, communication networks and computer systems operations, for example.

The IT project manager takes on responsibility for managing large projects including software development, networking, IT installations or conversions.  The project manager is expected to abide by deadlines and merge the business and IT worlds. The project manager must also demonstrate a degree of high quality.

IT has become a part of everything that an individual does as smartphones, tablets and data centers begin to dominate and expand their reach. Accordingly, the IT industry is rife with positions right now as the “Information Age” continues to pick up speed.


Carrie Schmelkin is a Web Editor for TMCnet. Previously, she worked as Assistant Editor at the New Canaan Advertiser, a 102-year-old weekly newspaper, covering news and enhancing the publication's social media initiatives. Carrie holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in English from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Janice McDuffee
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