Page 114 - Encyclopedia of Business and Finance

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Careers in Information Processing

CAREERS IN
Careers in information processing
INFORMATION
PROCESSING
• Computer Programmers
Information processing is defined as the collection of data • Computer Systems Administrators
into an organized and readable format. It is the process of • Computer Consultant
• Data Communications Analysts
changing raw data into information that can be used to • Database Administrators
make decisions and solve problems. Careers that process • Design and Development
• Ergonomics Engineers
information are referred to as information technology • Help Desk
(IT) positions. IT uses computer hardware and software • Implementation and Evaluation
to collect, maintain, protect, process, and distribute infor- • Information Security Specialists
• IT Manufacturing
mation. Careers include positions that fall within three • Medical Record/Health Information Technicians
broad categories: hardware, software, and management. • Network Managers/Administrators
• Product Design and Development
• Computer Sales
• Security Managers/Administrators
IT HARDWARE CAREERS • Computer Service and Repair
Careers in the IT hardware area include product design, • Software Analysts
• Software Sales
development, manufacturing, service, and repair. Engi- • Software/Computer Support Specialists
neering degrees, particularly those of electrical engineers, • Support Managers/Administrators
are the basis for product development teams in all hard- • System Analysts
• Web Design Specialists
ware areas. The development of motherboards, random-
access memory chips, networking products, graphics and
sound cards, and disk drives define modern computer Table 1
development. Ergonomics engineers provide expertise on
design, look and feel, physical interface, and usability for
all new products in IT. not unusual to see exceptionally gifted teenage program-
mers who have not completed high school. Programming
Individuals who are interested in assembly, service,
and repair of IT hardware components may be able to ability, more than education, is the requisite for employ-
ment. Most organizations that hire younger programmers
obtain nondegree jobs. These jobs normally require indus-
try certification that includes A+, Net+, Comptia, or on- will pay for their collegiate education and advanced
the-job training from specific vendors as well as specific degrees.
industry certifications offered by Oracle, Cisco, Sun Programming requires specific skills to be successful.
Microsystems, and Microsoft. Skills required for hardware Programmers must be precise and detail oriented. They
careers include hands-on capability, being comfortable must have the patience to find one bad line of code
with test and evaluation equipment, and the ability to among millions and recognize the error and how to fix it
troubleshoot a problem to successful conclusion. The abil- in the most expedient manner possible. The very best pro-
ity to write clear and concise engineering evaluations and grammers are both creative and logical, using both sides of
trouble reports separates the most successful hardware the brain to accomplish their tasks. All programmers must
engineers from their peers. have exceptional time management skills since they are
always under a deadline. Finally, programmers must be
IT SOFTWARE CAREERS able to operate in teams. Programming teams are the de
facto standard in twenty-first century IT.
Careers in software design and development fall into two
categories: programmers and analysts. Programmers work Software analysts are programmers who advance to
in one or many programming languages each of which has the point of analyzing new customer needs or product
specific software applications. These languages may work requirements and define specifications for new software or
only on mainframes, only on personal computers, or only software upgrades. They develop needs analysis documents
on networks. The more languages programmers are fluent that specify software tools or features that will improve or
in, the more valuable they are to their employer, but every enhance existing software. When completely new software
programmer must be exceptional in at least one language. is needed, a client request is often ill-defined. It is up to the
Languages in vogue in the first decade of the twenty-first software analyst to interpret this request and develop a
century included .Net, C# (C sharp), Java, Visual J++, strategy to create software that meets the needs of the
XML, Perl, and Ada. Programmers usually have a degree client. Software analysts must be able to think outside the
in computer science or advanced mathematics, but it is box, see possibilities that do not exist in available software,

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION 91