In today’s world of high tech it’s hard to imagine life without wireless internet and gadgets that help us communicate and keep us connected.
Cell phones, iPads, laptop computers, and the seemingly endless array of technology occupy more of our free time and take a larger slice of our personal attention. It is a foregone conclusion that all this communication makes our lives easier by allowing us to do things online that would have previously required us to go somewhere and/or do something in person.
Online banking, online taxes, online shopping, these are just a few examples of things that historically required a lot more time and effort on our part to accomplish. In addition, our interpersonal and social relationships have been morphed by social medial channels like Facebook and Twitter. Teenagers and young people today seem to be glued to their tiny screens, texting and running apps while they go about their daily activities, totally absorbed and entranced while the larger world passes them by unnoticed.
There is no doubt that business has gotten on board with all this new technology. The ability to shop for goods and services online is almost a prerequisite to be successful in today’s marketplace. What does this new internet economy mean for the traditional job seeker and traditional jobs? It seems there are less jobs to go around these days as computers have taken the place of workers in many areas of life. Here in the United States, workers were already feeling the pinch because manufacturers have outsourced a lot of labor jobs to third world nations where the cost of labor is relatively cheap. Even more modern jobs that require technological prowess have, in some cases, been exported overseas due to the increasing competition and the global economy.
It certainly stands to reason that those who program and operate our computer systems and communications networks will be in a very desirable position in today’s, and tomorrow’s, job hunt. One of the hottest fields today is Information Technology, and there is no end in sight. So how does a person decide if training in a career in computers is right for him or her and get into this field? How does someone in college decide if the pursuit of a high tech career makes sense? There are some characteristics that people who are successful in the technical fields seem to share:
- Detail Oriented
- Mathematically Inclined
- Logical
- Problem Solving
- Visual
- Patient
Technological careers have a high median salary and they are pretty much recession proof. Just like for plumbers and electricians, there will always be a need for seasoned high tech pros. Not everyone is cut out for this type of work, just like everyone is not cut out to be a doctor, but if you have a love of computers and you find yourself spending a lot of time on them, you may want to consider trying to get paid for doing something you already love. If you possess some or all of the traits above you might want to review some of the choices the IT field has to offer:
- Tech Support
- Web Developer and Webmaster
- Programmer/Analyst
- Database Administrator
- Network Administrator
- Network Security
- Systems Analyst
- Telecommunications Analyst
- Software Engineering
Today there is a basic necessity to retrain America’s work force and change the format of programs in our higher educational institutions. Just graduating college with a non-specialized degree is no longer in inroad into the white collar workforce. In our burgeoning online economy, computer skills are a must. If you cannot operate a computer effectively, you will be severely limited in your choice of vocation and the possibility of advancement within it.
