Information technology field above economic worries
Statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor have predicted that careers in information technology and related fields will be the fastest-growing occupations by 2010.
According to the Employment & Training Administration in the DOL, “employment of computer and information systems managers is expected to grow between 18 to 26 percent for all occupations through the year 2014.”
It is believed that between 2004 and 2014, there will be an increase in employment of 453,000 jobs, totaling to 1.6 million jobs and a growth rate of 3.4 percent.
Out of the nine fastest-growing jobs that require a bachelor’s degree, five of them are in information technology. The DOL identifies information technology jobs as computer experts – such as programmers, network analysts, database managers and software engineers – but any technological occupation is sure to see growth.
In addition, what the DOL considers the information technology industry is just the beginning. More than 90 percent of information technology workers are employed outside of what is mainly considered to be the information technology industry. Information technology experts are needed in nearly every company because computing and computer science are a part of almost every aspect of life.
“All businesses and all organizations have become dependent on computer technology for all their communication,” said Dr. Gerald Adkins, information technology and marketing chair and professor. “It is not really the size of the company that dictates whether the business is totally dependent on computer technology.”
From online shopping and banking to communication systems within a company, qualified workers are needed to run and maintain the necessary infrastructures. Unfortunately, even with information technology being so lucrative, there are still not enough qualified people to fill the needed positions.
“We’re hurting,” said Adkins.
Adkins also said that with everything going electronic and the early baby boomers nearing retirement, the demand for information technology workers will increase further.
In fact, according to an article from The New York Times, computer science and industry executives have warned in the past that a drop in science and engineering students would hurt the United States’ ability to compete in the global economy. Therefore, they believe this growth in information technology and computer science to be significant.
Experts believe that even with the tough economy and outsourcing, information technology graduates will continue to be in significant demand, according to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Outsourcing was a scare initially, until we got experience with outsourcing and have seen that the kind of jobs our computer science graduates go to and are prepared to do. are not outsourced,” Adkins said.
Already, computer science programs in universities across the nation have seen an increase in enrollment for the first time in the last six years. The program saw growth during the Internet boom, but has dropped about 50 percent since 2000.
Adkins predicts about 14 of GCSU’s incoming freshmen will declare computer science as their major.
In 2003, the ETA created a High Growth Job Training Initiative. It was created to help workers take advantage of the increasing opportunities in “high growth, high demand and economically vital sectors of the American economy” by giving workers the training and skills necessary to succeed in careers that lack qualified people, such as information technology. The ETA has invested over $8.5 million in the information technology industry.
Despite the stereotypes, the information technology field is not just about sitting at a desk and writing line after line of code.
“Some of the most productive and successful people in the video gaming industry have never written a line of code,” said Adkins. “They are the creative, artistic, imaginative storytellers, and they are part of a team that develops computer games.”
Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Donkey Kong and Mario, was employed as an artist by Nintendo when it was just a toy company. He had no programming experience when he was asked to create one of Nintendo’s first coin-operated arcade games. Now Miyamoto is considered the father of modern video games.
Even with the growth that has already occurred in the information technology field, one thing has stayed the same – its low diversity. Computer science and information technology, like math and engineering, are predominantly male majors. In 2008, women who received a bachelor’s degree in computer science remained around 11.8 percent.
Kelly Rickman, a junior computer science major, said that the major may deter women because it appears complicated.
“As with anything, though, once you’ve been introduced to it and it becomes more familiar to you, the mystery disappears,” Rickman said. “There is also a lot of math involved, which I think drives both men and women away, but more so women.”
Dr. Gita Phelps, an associate professor in computer science and alumna of GCSU, was the first female at the University of Georgia to hold a doctorate in computer science.
Phelps is part of the Academic Advisory Committee on Computing Disciplines, a committee under the Board of Regents. Phelps, along with Adkins, GCSU’s committee representative, is trying to help diversify computer science.
“There is interest and concern to look at the under-representation issue and to encourage women to enter [computer science],” said Adkins.
He also said that over the years, some of his top students have been female.
With the future looking bright for the information technology industry, Rickman, Adkins and Phelps hope it will bring more women to the field.
“Hopefully, more women will enter the field as the world becomes more and more dependent on technology,” Rickman said.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Apr 10 2009. Filed under News.
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