What comes to mind when you hear the words “information technology?” Nerds? Math? Boredom? These are all common misconceptions about a flexible and diverse sector in the job market that can open many doors for its experts. The IT field not only allows those working in it to go into almost any field they choose, but it also allows for innovation, creativity and problem-solving.
As the global economy and marketplace become more technologically dependent, the jobs for those working in that field will grow exponentially — and it’s not just for web developers or graphic designers. Now that we know there will be jobs available, next is to decide what career path in IT would be a good fit for you. Based on a career system aimed at lowering drop out rates, all South Carolina 8th graders choose a career cluster from a group of 16 that they are interested in. In 10th grade students choose a career path within that cluster. In the IT cluster there are five career paths:
- Information Support and Services
- Software Engineering and Development
- Web and Digital Communications
- Information Systems
- Networking Systems
If it seems like math and science are the only skills you would need for a job in IT, think again. Though knowledge of technology, science and math are generally desired, skills in business, arts, marketing and multimedia are also important to have. These kinds of skills can lead a person into different sectors of IT that allow for creativity, like human resources, administration, graphic design or web development. If a student’s results point to a career in the Information Technology field, there are tons of different positions in varying sectors. Though they are in the same overall cluster, they are completely different. Through the career cluster program students can change their general clusters or career paths at any time, which provides an opportunity to learn about many different sectors and jobs. Over the next few weeks we will go over each of these specific categories and detail the knowledge and skills required to excel within them. The different sections can produce numerous types of jobs that have varying needs and requirements.
Keep up with the IT Career posts to find out more, and feel free to ask us any questions!