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Information Technology at aGlance Opportunity Overview • The majority of IT workers work for non-IT companies.. Though the recent downturn has been hard on technology-intensive firms, th

2004 Edition

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The WetFeet Insider Guide to Careers in Information

Technology

2004 Edition

Table of Contents

Information Technology at a Glance 1

The Role 3

Opportunity Overview 4

The Bottom Line 7

Trends in the Field 8

Breakdown of Industries 12

Skills and Education 21

Certification 22

Salaries 24

IT Lingo 25

On the Job 31

Creative Positions 32

Engineering Positions 37

Support Positions 41

Sales, PR, and Marketing Positions 44

Real People Profiles 48

The Workplace 67

Lifestyle and Culture 68

Hours 69

Diversity 70

Compensation 70

Travel 72

Vacations and Perks 72

Career Path 73

Insider Scoop 76

Getting Hired 79

The Recruiting Process 80

Interviewing Tips 83

Grilling Your Interviewer 84

For Your Reference 87

Recommended Reading 88

Job Boards 90

Certification 91

Information Technology at a

Glance

Opportunity Overview

• The majority of IT workers work for non-IT companies Job opportunities

exist in every industry, from the U.S government, to the Red Cross, to the

bank down the street

• Paid internships and co-op positions are available at larger companies but are

reserved mostly for engineering students and MBA candidates; most can lead

to permanent, full-time positions

• Specialized recruiting and placement firms assist midcareer candidates in

finding new positions Almost all companies recruit directly through their

websites

• Many positions are available on a contract or part-time basis Some contracts

lead to full-time permanent employment after three months to one year

Other contracts are for specific projects and end when the project is done

Major Pluses about IT Careers

• Information technologists tend to be well compensated Computer and

mathematical occupations were the third highest paying occupations (after

management and legal) in 2001, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics

• Continuing education is encouraged and usually subsidized by the employer

• Nontraditional work arrangements such as telecommuting and teleworking

create a flexible work environment

• IT professionals work in a dynamic and challenging environment Learning

new skills is part of the job

Major Minuses about IT Careers

• The hours are long Late nights and weekend hours are not uncommon

• Technology changes constantly and rapidly Personal time is often lost to

“keeping up.”

• The job market is tough now: Competition is intense, and benefits are not asextravagant as they were a few years ago

• The environment can be high pressure

• Repetitive stress injury to the hands and arms from the use of computerkeyboards and mice is a health concern

• New college graduates will be most marketable with a minor or double major

in a field that complements the industry they want to join

• A well-planned job search begins when you declare your major Research thejob market and decide what type of company you want to target Thisresearch will help you select and focus on classes “A successful job searchdoes not begin second semester senior year,” as one insider says “You can’tstart then and expect to be competitive anymore.”

The Role

• The Bottom Line

• Trends in the Field

to do with high tech What this means for you, the job seeker, is that opportunitiesare not limited to one industry but cross a wide variety of industries This translatesinto more jobs available for IT specialists than for many other professions.Information technology plays an integral role in asset management, communication,and branding in every field An Oracle database can contain taxonomists’ specieinformation (e.g., a database of newts would contain all known species alongwith the history and habitat of each), bank records, or retail inventories E-mail,instant messaging, and mailing lists allow people and companies to exchangeinformation quickly Corporate health care policies are always a click away onthe intranet, and that cheese that you can only find in Wisconsin is availablenow, through a well-designed online order form Today, information technologyfacilitates the production, storage, and distribution of information—a role

traditionally assigned to clerical workers across all

industries In fact, over the last ten years, clerical

employment in the United States has dropped 8.4

percent, while overall productivity has expanded

Information technology is so entrenched in our

daily lives that we are often unaware of the job

opportunities spread across industries Schools use

computers for online learning and as part of the

education curriculum In a world where students

learn keyboarding in addition to writing and spelling,

workers are needed in IT curriculum development and teaching Nonprofits

need people to build websites, databases, and online donation systems Businesses

need people to build intranets, websites, and e-commerce sites Schools,

governments, and businesses alike invest in hardware and software and people to

support those systems Intel and Cisco might not be hiring as many new people

this year, but the library is still looking for a database manager

Today’s economy is riddled with uncertainty Since January 2000, as many as 10

percent of the leading Internet companies that received formal venture funding

closed their doors Between 2002 and 2003, the technology sector lost more

than 200,000 jobs, primarily in high-tech manufacturing Since the first half of

2000, both the NASDAQ and venture capital funding have retreated sharply

For IT-intensive businesses, this has meant less expansion and fewer new

ventures Even financially healthy non-IT intensive businesses have trimmed IT

investments Businesses are spending less and less on computers and peripherals;

prices for these technology goods are declining You might wonder: Is a job in

IT a mistake?

Though the trends may sound bleak, they don’t reflect a decrease in the use of

information technology In fact, because hardware prices declined more steeply

People who don’t want to be in this industry have left.

In some ways, it’s

a nicer place to be.

People aren’t in it for the money in the way they used to be.

“ ”

than investment, the seemingly dismal trends actually reflect growth Thecomputer infrastructure is growing, as is the need for new software and newpeople to program and service equipment In June 2003, the Department ofCommerce reported that IT professions are among the fastest growing andhighest paying jobs in the economy, and despite the downturn in IT-intensiveindustries, there is still demand for highly skilled technical workers, particular innontechnical economic sectors The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects thatcomputer professionals will be the fastest growing occupations of this decade,with more than two million jobs added to the economy by 2010.

There may be more competition for entry-level jobs this year, and the vacationand benefit packages may not be quite as enticing as they were a year or twoago, but information technology is still a field rife with opportunity Becausetechnology is always improving, and computers are becoming faster, morepowerful, and less expensive, companies will continue to invest in new and toreplace obsolete capital

IT workers comprise a wide spectrum of ages and backgrounds Whetheryou’re a recent college graduate with a BA in computer science or an MBAlooking to get involved with a new technology firm or product, the possibilitiesfor growth and employment are as numerous and varied as the fish in the sea.You may need to cast a line out to catch one—the family business that’slooking to hire an e-commerce manager will most likely not recruit on yourcollege campus—but the jobs are there, and the field is growing

The Bottom Line

Recent layoffs and the economic downturn have had a tremendous effect on

the IT workforce Contractors grumble about falling rates, employees worry

about their job security It’s an employer’s job market now You can’t show up

for an interview unprepared or expect to see the swanky deals that made headlines

a couple years ago Today’s hiring packages for IT workers are more standard:

Relocation expenses, extra vacation, and perks like free food and soda are not

necessarily a part of the deal The competition can be tough, and it’s important

to differentiate yourself Unpaid or underpaid internships can make a huge

difference on your resume Good references and work history are necessities

“The industry is becoming more consolidated,” a seasoned insider says “People

who don’t want to be in this industry have left In some ways, it’s a nicer place

to be People aren’t in it for the money in the way they used to be.”

Trends in the Field

IT Everywhere

Over the past year and despite economic uncertainty, businesses have graduallyexpanded their use of information technology The Bureau of Labor Statisticspredicts that the economy will add more than one million new software engineering,computer support, and system administrators to the work force by 2010 Softwaredevelopers and computer service professionals will be in particularly high demandover the next decade, as companies seek to invest in areas that will squeeze greaterproductivity from existing systems

Though the recent downturn has been hard on technology-intensive firms, theneed for IT workers is expanding, particularly in fields outside the tech world.According to a 2001 study by the Information Technology Association ofAmerica (ITAA), 92 percent of IT workers are employed at non-IT companies.Statistics also show that IT jobs in non-IT industries tend to be less adverselyaffected by downturns in the technology industry Industries such as healthcare, finance, and real estate in particular need qualified information technologyemployees at all levels to manage data and create and maintain informationsystems IT is not going away If anything, it continues to be more importantand entrenched in our daily lives

Play Nice with Others

The oft-romanticized notion of the lone engineer plodding through the night

to create a code masterpiece is more of a myth than a model these days.Today’s IT workers are encouraged to work together A recent study by the

ITAA revealed that companies ranked interpersonal skills above analytical skills

when considering employees for advancement

New IT development philosophies that emphasize teamwork are finding their

way into today’s work environments as well Programmers might well find

themselves paired, so that two sit side by side at the same machine One is the

driver, the other an observer Though it may sound inefficient, it’s thought that

this practice results in better design, testing, and code By pairing programmers,

companies also ensure that all work is reviewed by at least one other programmer

In a field with relatively high turnover, having some redundancy in knowledge is

beneficial to everyone Even in more traditional development environments,

good communication skills have become increasingly important One insider

says, “To stand out in this job market, you need to set yourself apart by having

a professional package that demonstrates technical skills and outstanding

communication And high business acumen.”

Diversity in the Workplace?

In March of 2000, the president of the ITAA shared some statistics about the

composition of the IT workforce: African Americans hold 5.4 percent of

computer programming positions, while Hispanic Americans hold 4.6 percent

Both percentages are disproportionately low to the population of these groups

Though recent data is hard to come by, insiders admit that ethnic diversity is

still an issue in the IT industry “This industry has a long way to go in terms of

creating more diverse workplaces,” says one

Women continue to be a minority in the IT industry as well, particularly in

upper level management, and studies show that the number of women in IT is

actually decreasing Between 1996 and 2002, the percentage of women in the

IT workforce fell from 41 to 34.9 percent “I would say that 75 percent of the

time I can be the only woman at a table or at a meeting,” an insider says “There

are certainly a lot of women working in the industry and a lot of companiesrun by women or with strong women leadership, but you have to be able towork within that—the culture is still more male than female.”

Sending Jobs Overseas

Companies tend to minimize their expenses and, when presented with theoption to hire employees for a fraction of the current cost, will likely do so.Outsourcing, or hiring a foreign firm as a sort of subcontractor, is becomingincreasingly common in IT-related areas This year, 6 percent of the U.S firmspolled by the ITAA hired foreign companies for IT jobs Fifteen percent areconsidering doing this next year Many job seekers worry that outsourced jobsaren’t coming back An offshore worker can’t fix a broken keyboard, but shecan program or develop a website Though outsourcing is good for workers inIndia, Russia, and Poland—areas with highly skilled workers and relatively lowsalaries—many workers in the United States are not happy about it

Web Services

Everyone seems to be talking about Web services these days IBM, Microsoft,and Sun just announced their strategies for it Businesses speak of Web serviceswith much enthusiasm But what, exactly, are they? In a nutshell, a Web service

is an Internet application that implements a set of standard protocols, whichallow it to share information with other Web services Web services performfunctions—from simple requests (e.g., a stock quote retrieval), to complicatedbusiness processes that combine information from multiple sources Barnes &Noble, for example, has a Web service that takes an ISBN number and returnsthe price of the book Expect to hear even more about Web services in thecoming days

Keep Them Out!

Increasingly, companies are looking for ways to secure their networks from a

host of threats: Worms and viruses might prey on networked systems “War

Drivers” (people who cruise around and identify businesses with insecure wireless

links) might access networks, or worse, spray paint symbols on the office building

publicly describing how to break in Remote workers might expose a company

to industrial spies through holes in their less secure remote systems The threats

are a real and growing concern for companies, and security budgets have received

more attention over the past two years than ever before The demand for IT

security experts is on the rise

Breakdown of Industries

IT workers have penetrated the payroll of companies in every industry—fromeducation to manufacturing to real estate, health care, and government Theneed for software developers, computer support specialists, network and systemadministrators as well as analysts, managers, and researchers continues to grow

In the broadest terms, IT professionals will work in one of two places: directlyfor companies within the various economic sectors (e.g., as a system administratorfor a hospital) or for computer and data services companies, which provideinformation technology services to firms that do not have adequate in-houseresources According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there are morethan 178,000 such technology service providers These firms tend to offerspecialized services, from setting up a corporate website to designing software,

to computer repair and network consulting

The relationship between a technology services firm and the company that brings

it in can take several forms, and this makes for foggy lines when determiningwhere jobs really are For example, a retail company might hire a technologyservices firm to build an e-commerce site Once built, the company might choose

to manage and maintain the site in-house or continue to hire the contractingfirm to run the whole show In general, large companies will have an IT staff,and smaller companies are more likely to turn to contractors to meet their ITneeds (Naturally, this is not always true.) Even firms that contract out IT work,however, still need people to manage the relationship and determine howinformation technology is and should be used by their firm

Business Services

Business services accounts for nearly half the software development

workforce—and the number of developers involved in this area is expected to

increase by more than 140 percent to 474,495 by 2010 This broad category of

work includes all engineering and technical management and consulting services

needed by businesses Things like software, communications systems, infrastructure,

data management, and advertising all fall under this umbrella Ubiquitous and

relatively well compensated, IT workers who go into business services can

expect to find a wide variety of opportunities

Keeping things running.The folks who maintain and optimize the business

technology infrastructure represent a significant sector of the information

technology workforce System administrators and analysts tend to enjoy a

relatively higher degree of job stability, as every company that runs a network

needs someone to support it Insiders say that there is an oversupply of

network support people in the market right now, but the field is predicted to be

one of the fastest growing over the next ten years The BLS expects that the

economy will add about 280,000 of these positions across industries between

now and 2010—about an 80 percent increase “Not for people who find it hard

to manage stress,” as one insider says, this kind of work can leave you feeling

unappreciated Few people realize that the last Friday in July is “System

Administrator Appreciation Day.” Don’t hold your breath waiting for gifts

Market it, brand it, make it look good.Advertising and branding are more often

associated with marketing than information technology But the fact is, most

businesses have a website these days, and if they don’t, well, they should probably

get on it Well-designed websites incorporate the work of designers, information

architects, software and system engineers, and site managers Firms like Razorfish

and Organic are famous for working with companies to develop their corporate

online presence (though in the current market, downsizing is also a reality inthis corner of the industry) Many businesses, from publishers like ChronicleBooks to television networks like MTV keep in-house staffs to manage anddevelop their websites as well.

Sell it now! Often rolled in with business services is e-business, which encompassesbusiness-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) commerce Eventraditional corporate giants like General Motors and Merrill Lynch are now turning

to the Internet (because it is a low-cost securable platform, and because Internetusage is wide and still growing) to increase sales Online selling, or e-commerce,

is growing, despite prognoses that vary from bleak to gushing Recent reportsfor this sector have been positive: According to the U.S Department of Commerce,retail e-commerce in the United States hit $11.92 billion in the first quarter of

2003, a 25 percent increase over last year In Europe, online e-commerce isexpected to rocket from $77 billion in 2001 to $2.2 trillion in 2006

Health Care

Health care is the largest single industry in the United States, but it has historicallyspent only 2 to 3 percent of its total revenue on information technology Thislow investment received quite a bit of attention a few years ago when the “Y2K”bug threatened countless hospital records stored in aging systems Today, theneed for information technology in the health care industry has been accepted.Though the industry is fraught with debate and financial struggles, hospitals nowlook to IT to reduce the cost of administration and improve patient care, andit’s predicted that health care will be one of the top industries for IT growth overthe next few years Hospitals and integrated health care systems such as KaiserPermanente, New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, Mount SinaiHealth System, and Sisters of Providence Health System are leading IT employers

Knowledge management.Keeping track of medical records is a tremendous

job, and one that information technology is playing an increasing role in It’s

not a coincidence that nearly 30 percent of IT workers in the health care industry

identify themselves as “directors of information services.” Fueling the need for

IT software developers, database managers, and systems analysts in the health

care industry, the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

(HIPAA) mandates that doctors and insurance companies standardize the

electronic exchange of financial and administrative information “This will not

only improve administrative efficiency in our health care system,” one insider

says, “but prevent misuse of private health information.” The HIPAA will also

require that nearly all health care providers update and overhaul existing IT

systems Anyone know a good systems analyst?

Research and development.IT systems and products must be developed with

input from IT professionals, doctors, administrators, and insurance professionals

The process of R&D requires good communication skills and careful attention

to the requirements of the system (This is true across industries.) Though some

of this type of work is done within health care institutions, it’s quite common

to see health care industries work with outside consultants Kaiser Permanente,

for example, agreed to spend $1.5 billion over the next four years to develop a

system with IBM that allows doctors to convert paper records to electronic ones

In June of 2003, IBM announced that it would also manage the core computing

systems of three New York hospitals The Healthcare Information and Management

Systems Society (HIMSS) has a useful website (www.himss.org), which has

information about what’s going on in the industry and who’s working on it

Salaries in education tend to be lower than those in other industries According

to the 2002 Computerworld salary survey, the average salary for nearly every education

technology position is about half of what it would be in the financial servicesindustry However, if you are willing to compromise on salary, the opportunities

in education and information technology can be very rewarding This year, theUniversity of Miami was even ranked in the top three workplaces for IT workers

Teach from afar.The field of “distance” or “online” or “e-” learning is growingrapidly According to the U.S Department of Education, 84 percent of two- tofour-year institutions were expected to offer distance-learning courses in 2002—nearly double the 1997 figure Even well-known universities are getting involved.Harvard and Stanford joined forces to offer online continuing education classes,while MIT announced its “OpenCourseWare” plan, with the goal of placing allcourses online in the next ten years

IT opportunities are not limited to American universities An e-learning group

is now working with the European Commission to make online learning a reality

in Europe before 2004 The U.S government is also investing in programs InJuly of 2002, the U.S Department of State, together with SmartForce, unveiled

a plan to provide online courses on e-mail, Internet, and IT competency to all30,000 State Department personnel in more than 250 countries

Despite the tougher times, the tremendous interest in e-learning will contribute

to the growth of companies that produce learning management systems—places like SmartForce and KnowledgeNet Universities will also require ITworkers to maintain networks and manage new and often exciting curriculumprograms The tech department at the University of Miami, for example, iscurrently exploring a telehealth program, which will provide distance-learningand consulting services to doctors and clinics in Latin America

Curriculum development.Incongruous with the buzz about shrinking IT job

possibilities is talk of the “gap”—IT jobs left unfilled for want of qualified

workers An April 2002 study conducted by the ITAA reported that hundreds

of thousands of IT positions go unfilled due to a deficit of applicants with the

necessary technical skills Training a tech-savvy workforce has become a priority

at the national level, and the attention has created a need for teachers and

curriculum developers “The best way to make sure that you’re up to date on

the most current technologies is to develop curricula to teach those things,” an

insider says “There’s no better way to learn than to teach.”

Government

Increasingly, federal and state governments and agencies are turning to information

technology to facilitate communications, streamline processes (e.g., collecting taxes or

renewing a driver’s license online), and save tax dollars As consumers become more

technologically savvy (a Pew Foundation poll found that more than 40 million

Americans went online to look at federal, state, and local government policies in

2002), the government must work to meet the rising expectations of its citizenry

The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (1998), for example, now requires

Federal agencies to permit consumers to submit information or transact business

electronically Agencies like the Department of Labor and the National

Endowment for the Arts now maintain websites, and the U.S Post Office is

considering a digital identification program to help track and deliver mail Creating

and maintaining these types of programs requires skilled workers in all areas of

IT, and the need for savvy professionals will continue to grow

Though many corporate IT budgets are stagnant this year, federal technology

budgets are on the rise Over the last two years, for example, the Department

of Defense’s IT operation and maintenance budget has increased more than 15

percent This is good news for system administrators and analysts willing to

work for Uncle Sam All together, federal agencies spent a total of about $48billion on IT in 2002.

Keeping the data safe.Federal funding for information security investments isrising as the government becomes increasingly concerned for the safety of itssystems and information In 2002, federal agencies spent $2.7 billion oninformation security alone The Office of Management and Budget expectsthat number to rise to $4.7 billion in 2004

The federal government is anxious to invest in security and recruit skilled securityprofessionals In 2000, in fact, the federal government created the Cybercorpsprogram, designed to help train IT security professionals The program, aimed atmidcareer professionals, provides up to two years of scholarship funding to studyinformation security In return, scholarship recipients are obligated to work anequal amount of time for the federal government

Those interested in a career in information security have other educationoptions as well A great number of certificate programs promise a substantialreturn for each dollar invested (see “For Your Reference” for more information).Many universities also offer advanced degrees in the field One insider suggestschecking out www.nsa.gov, where the National Security Agency maintains a list

of schools deemed excellent in information assurance education

During economic downturns, a federally funded position may prove morestable and even more financially rewarding than a corporate one According to

a 2002 Computerworld survey, government IT workers were more likely than any

other IT professionals to have received a recent raise Though salaries in othersectors have flattened, and in some cases even dropped, salaries rose an average

of 6.6 percent for government IT workers

If finance is truly a high-flying field, then its wings are feathered with information

technology Without the information systems that make the rapid and secure

transmission of data possible, the industry would surely take a nosedive The

recent East Coast blackout confirms this No, the New York Stock Exchange

did not loose any data But if the backup generators had not been in place to

power the data center and trading floor, the system would not have functioned

so smoothly

There’s good news for those who choose to work amidst the hustle and bustle

of the financial world: Finance IT workers are almost always compensated

more highly than IT workers in other economic sectors In 2002, for example, a

systems engineer for a financial company earned an average of $64,000, which

is nearly 10 percent higher than the average salary across sectors And if a higher

salary alone is not enough to convince you, perhaps the fact that the sector

tends to be relatively stable will help A 2003 survey on Jobsinthemoney.com

reports that the economic environment in the majority of surveyed financial

firms has held steady or even improved over the last year—reassuring news in

uncertain economic times

Super systems.Security experts and systems administrators and managers

prepare! The finance industry depends on large information systems that have a

constant need for maintenance and updates Currently, for example, MasterCard

and Visa along with a number of associated network providers are updating

their electronic transaction systems to the triple data encryption standard (DES),

an encryption method that is very difficult to break Though costly, system

updates such as this are necessary to ensure the safety of transmitted information

and to maintain consumer confidence In a world where the next BugBear virus

(which was targeted at financial institutions, by the way) is just around the corner,

there will always be a need for good security and systems people

Working together.As financial agencies try to squeeze more from IT budgets,optimizing existing infrastructures has become a priority, as has the need forgood system integrators and administrators In 2002, Bank One in Chicagohired more than a thousand people to help consolidate its disparate financialsystems In early 2003, the NASDAQ Stock Market announced plans to consolidatedozens of systems and networks as well As financial institutions grow, oftenthrough acquisition, they tend to acquire incompatible or redundant systems.Simplifying and streamlining these systems improves overall efficiency andultimately saves money An employee who can help a company save money isalways desirable, regardless of the current economic conditions.

IT opportunities in the finance sector are well compensated, and the work

environment can be excellent Numerous financial firms placed in Computerworld’s

2003 list of top workplaces for IT workers The credit card company Discover,which employs nearly 2,000 IT workers, placed in the top ten, while MasterCardand the Vanguard Group along with more than half a dozen insurance agenciesalso placed in the top 100

Conclusion

The preceding list is in no way complete Much like the dark hand of Mordor, ITreaches every corner of the economy (though of course, information technology

helps, not controls, us all ) Nearly 9 percent of computer engineers work in

manufacturing Who else would write the software and operating systems thatrun on cell phones or car electronics? The manufacturing, transportation, insur-ance, and real estate industries employ IT workers in many of the capacitiesmentioned above When you get right down to it, it’s easier to be than to avoid

an IT worker

Skills and Education

There’s a broad range of jobs in IT, and not all positions require technical skills

“The best tech support people we had,” one insider says, “had humanities

backgrounds.” Technical, communication, and business skills are all important

to the field, and four-year college degree programs—not necessarily in computer

science—are still one of the best ways to prepare for entering the IT job market

Employers look for relevant skills and experience A degree in computer science

tends to be most important for database developers and software engineers

Certificate programs are more common for support and system administration

specialists (see the “Certification” section that follows for more information)

On-the-job experience can substitute for either academic credential, though for

people just entering the job market, a degree is a tremendous advantage

Computer science majors and MBAs in particular might consider a minor or

double major in a second field Though not required, this additional credential

can be useful, particularly when working in IT for non-IT companies For example,

a biology minor will prove very handy to a software developer working with an

insect database at a university research center Because IT is part of so many

industries, a secondary field can be anything that interests you—film, chemistry,

history; whatever your interest, it’s likely that it will complement an industry

searching for IT workers

Certification

A certificate is almost always a prerequisite for a job in information security, and

a number of common acronyms appear beside the names of successful securityprofessionals: CCSE (Check Point Certified Security Expert), CCSA (CheckPoint Certified Security Administrator), or SCSE (Symantec Certified SecurityEngineer) Those who like to pit their intelligence against unknown foes will behappy to hear that network security is one of the fastest growing areas in IT.Network and system administrators are also increasingly turning to certificationprograms like those offered by Microsoft and Red Hat If you find midnightphone calls romantic, enjoy carrying a pager, and find that isolating and addressing

a problem brings more satisfaction than words of gratitude, the life of anadministrator may be for you However, formal training is less important forsystem administrators than for many other kinds of IT professionals The bestsystem administrators are not the ones who know everything; rather, the best arethose who know where to find information about the task at hand—whetherconfiguring a network or setting up an FTP server Employers look for goodproblem-solving skills above all else

Certificates are less important for software engineers, for whom experience isthe most important credential Those who can point to previous work—even awell-executed school assignment—have a competitive edge It is very commonfor software engineers to have a degree in computer science, and the bestsoftware engineers are also good communicators An engineer who can codeand explain the technical needs of a project is a valuable addition to any team.(Meetings, however, are a different story Left in charge of the team when theproject manager left town for a week’s vacation, one insider says, “The firstthing I did was cancel all the meetings.”)

Successful database administrators are organized and detailed-oriented and have

a solid knowledge of at least one database management system (e.g., Oracle or

Microsoft SQL Server) as well as a good understanding of operating systems

Though a certificate program might help workers acquire this knowledge,

employers often place more weight on professional experience and college

credentials A degree in computer science is often a job prerequisite

Education is not a process that ends when you land a job Part of working in

IT is learning new technologies Since the field is constantly changing and

evolving, today’s hot tech skills identified by Dice.com—C++, Oracle, SQL,

Java, and Windows NT—are just that Next year, the list will change Even

today, the list is in no way complete “People who are good at Excel are always

loved,” one insider says Every job comes with its own list of requirements, and

however careful you are at selecting your skills, you will need to update them

and pick up new ones over the course of your career

Continuing education can take many forms: classes, conferences, certificate

programs, independent research Books, periodicals, and online discussions and

boards are very useful, and most technologies have an online community of users

“I go to Jguru.com to keep on top of things,” one insider says “People post new

stuff there all the time.” For those who prefer the printed page, your reference

library will continue to grow (and become dated) O’Reilly publishes a very highly

regarded line of books that covers the gamut of information technologies

The Role Position Salary Range

Source: Salary.com; WetFeet research and analysis.

2003 IT Salaries



IT Lingo

Angels.Wealthy individuals who invest in start-up companies Angel investments

rarely exceed $1 million dollars but are often enough to get a venture off the

ground

Beta.As in, “it’s in beta” or “check out this beta version.” Beta refers to a

product development stage between “alpha” and “finished.” During the beta

stage, products are tested and bugs fixed

Blamestorming.Did something go wrong? Who’s responsible? Blamestorming

involves two or more people engaged in a discussion devoted to determining

who’s to blame

Bloatware.Though software will never eat three desserts, it can still bloat

Software applications with excessive (and often useless) features are known as

bloatware

Blog.Originally derived from “Web log” (which is an updated Web journal),

blog is often used as a verb: “I blogged it,” meaning “I posted it on my Web

log.” Blog can also be used as a noun: “I checked out Mark’s blog.”

Dead tree edition.A hard (also known as “paper”) copy of a report

DSL.Short for “digital subscriber line.” A technology that has dramatically

increased the digital capacity of phone lines, which has made surfing the Web

from home a much more enjoyable experience There are two types of DSL:

Asymmetric DSL (ADSL) allows users to download information quickly, while

symmetric DSL (SDSL) is designed to allow fast upload and download of

information

Ego surfing.Searching the Internet for one’s own name.

Ethernet.Invented by Robert Metcalfe and David Boggs in 1973, Ethernet iscurrently the most widely used local area network (LAN) protocol It has become

so popular that most PCs and Macs come with 10/100 Ethernet ports, whichare used to create home or work networks or connect to the Internet via a DSL

or cable modem

HTML.Short for “hypertext markup language,” which is used to format Webpages HTML tags (e.g., <font> or <table>) define page layouts and designsthat Web browsers like Internet Explorer and Netscape interpret and display

I18n.Why say “internationalization” when you can sound hip and abbreviate it

as I18n? “I” and “N” are the first and last letters of internationalization, and “18”refers to the 18 letters in between Making software that can display characters inusers’ native languages or output numbers and dates in a way that obeys culturalcustoms are examples of I18n issues

IM.Short for “instant messaging,” an Internet-based service that allows users tochat in real time “Just IM him,” your boss might say IM communication is filledwith abbreviations (LOL for “laughing out loud” or NP for “no problem”) andemoticons, which are faces composed of standard punctuation marks IM userssoon learn to recognize that “: )” expresses joy and “: (” sorrow Some IMapplications have graphical emoticons

KISS.If you work around IT people long enough, you’re bound to hear thisacronym Short for “keep it simple, stupid.”

LAN.Short for “local area network.” A communication network that connectsservers, workstations, and other devices such as printers within a confinedgeographical area like an office

Let’s discuss that off-line.Often used in meetings when tangents threaten to

divert attention from the day’s agenda, “Let’s discuss that off-line” means “let’s

talk about that later, maybe.”

Low-hanging fruit.Easy projects that—to extend the analogy—can be picked

and consumed rapidly, bringing immediate satisfaction

Open source.A term applied to software when the source code is publicly available

To be truly open source, software must be freely distributed both in its compiled

and source code forms

Programmer’s butt.It’s a well-known fact that programmers spend long hours in

front of the computer, often with a bag of chips or a slice of pizza If you go into

programming, beware! Programmer’s butt is thought to be a prevalent condition

PEBCAK.Short for “problem exists between chair and keyboard.” A favorite among

tech support workers Closely related to “code 18,” a shorthand referring to a

problem that sits 18 inches from the computer screen

RAM.Short for “random access memory.” A group of memory chips that function

as a computer’s primary workspace Unlike ROM (see next entry), RAM requires

power to maintain its content When a computer is shut off, anything that’s in

RAM and has not been saved to disk will be lost RAM is also used to refer to

people who don’t have the smarts for their jobs You don’t want your fellow IT

workers calling you “a bit short on RAM.”

ROM.Short for “read only memory.” A memory chip that permanently stores

instructions and data for a given computer

Router.A device used to optimally forward data packets from one local or wide

area network to another Routers are located at gateways, which are places

where two or more networks connect

Server.May refer to a computer system (both the hardware and software) that

is shared by multiple users or may refer to just the serving software Forexample, one can restart the server (the server software) on a server (themachine with the serving software) without restarting the machine

Slashdot effect.Drawing its name from the slashdot.org website (which billsitself as “News for Nerds Stuff that matters”), this term refers to the tremendousamount of traffic a website receives after a positive news article or review ispublished about it

SOAP.Short for the “simple object access protocol.” A protocol that enables Webapplications to exchange information in a standard way Many people think thatSOAP will revolutionize the way in which applications work together

TCP/IP.Short for “transmission control protocol/Internet protocol.” Twoprotocols—developed by Vinton Cerf (often called the “Father of the Internet”)and Bob Kahn for the Department of Defense—that are used to connectmultiple networks to form a network of networks, also known as the Internet

Team player.Though this term may have a positive connotation in many workenvironments, be wary of being pegged as a “team player” in the IT world.Sardonic engineers often use “team player” to refer to a spineless colleague whosays “yes” to every request and demand “Team player” is also fondly, thoughperhaps pejoratively, used when referring to the bright-eyed employee whoarrives early and puts on a large pot of coffee

Vaporware.If you’ve read about a piece of software or hardware but can’t find

it for sale anywhere, you may have found a piece of vaporware Usually, vaporwarehas been well advertised for months; however, despite the optimistic marketing,the product isn’t available anywhere

Virus.A computer program that replicates by incorporating itself into shared

computer programs, ranging from annoying pranks to destructive monsters

Viruses spread quickly, often through e-mail Never open an attachment from

someone you don’t know!

WAP.Short for “wireless application protocol.” A standard for providing wireless

devices (e.g., cellular phones, pagers, and other handheld devices) with Internet

access

WebDAV.Short for “Web distributed authoring and versioning.” A set of hypertext

transfer protocol (HTTP) extensions that facilitate collaborative editing and file

management over the Internet

Webmail.A service that allows you to access your e-mail account from a Web

page You can read, send, and organize e-mail on any computer, anywhere in

the world, provided you have an Internet connection Hotmail and Yahoo mail

are well-known webmail services

Word-of-mouse.Gossip circulated via e-mail

WSDL.It’s true, IT professionals use a lot of acronyms Short for “Web services

description language.” WSDL is written in XML (see next entry) and is an XML

document It is used to describe and locate networked XML-based services (e.g., an

online business), and it is part of the UDDI (“universal description, discovery,

and integration”) effort to create a platform-independent, open framework for

describing, discovering, and integrating business services using the Internet

XML.Short for “extensible markup language.” An open standard for describing

data It is used to define data elements on Web pages and business-to-business

documents

Zombie.A term applied to a website that is accessible but no longer updated

Also called a “ghost site.”

On the Job

• Sales, PR, and Marketing Positions

• Real People Profiles

We’ve divided some common IT jobs into four main categories: creative,engineering, support, and sales, PR, and marketing The categories are by nomeans definitive Though we’ve placed web developer in the creative category,for example, companies often hire developers in engineering departments Andtechnical writers are found on IT support as well as engineering teams However,the distinctions are useful when looking at the types of jobs and the experiencerequired of each.

Regardless of the type of IT position you are applying for, one rule holds true:Employers most often seek applicants with relevant technical experience in theapplication and a four-year college degree For the new job seeker, the preferencefor experience can be problematic However, some types of work and sometypes of workplaces have lower barriers to entry than others

Creative Positions

The image of the engineer whose art consists of hundreds of lines of optimizedcode has been depicted so often that many people forget that art and technologyintersect in other compelling ways Those with good communication abilities,strong visual design skills, and a knack for numbers might find one of the morecreative IT positions a good match These jobs—from the industrial designerwho conceptualizes new products, to the Web designer who creates the lookand feel of a website—are ideal for people looking to satisfy both analytical andartistic needs

IT creatives, like their engineering and support counterparts, need to have strong

technical skills However, a degree in an IT-related field is rarely a requirement

Instead, job seekers should have a strong portfolio, which demonstrates skill

and sensibilities For those just starting out, building this portfolio becomes a

priority and volunteering for design projects is often a great way to start Many

creative positions require the use of tools—PhotoShop and Flash for a Web

developer or computer-aided industrial design applications for an industrial

designer To be successful, IT creatives must know their applications well and

keep current with each new release

Recent college grads learn the ropes with entry-level positions such as assistant

designer, developer, or producer Though some of the responsibilities are not

glamorous (“I spent two hours a day archiving content,” one insider says) and

may feel more administrative than creative at times, the work experience is a

prerequisite for advancement

For those looking to switch focus—from a Web producer to a Web designer for

instance—previous work experience and familiarity with the industry will prove

invaluable Though it is unlikely that you can make a purely lateral shift, many

people slip in and out of different creative roles throughout their careers In fact,

a record of varied experience can be quite useful when applying for some of the

more senior positions A user interface designer, for example, should have a strong

knowledge of both Web production and design, and some work experience in

each of those areas looks very good on a resume

Industrial Designer

Degree requirements: BFA or certification with portfolio

Job description: Though there is at times a degree of blue-sky freedom forindustrial designers, who might be asked to conceptualize totally new productsfrom a blank slate, industrial designers just as often have to balance marketresearch, customer needs, production budgets, and corporate image There issome cross-pollination in this position, but generally industrial designers specialize

in product genres such as toasters, keyboards, and so forth A good deal of thedesign work is done on the computer via specialized computer-aided industrialdesign (CAID) applications Designers often work in their own department,reporting immediately to a team leader and ultimately to a product manager

Salary range: $37,000 to $68,000

Modeler/Artist/Designer

Degree requirements: BFA with portfolio

Job description: Working within a team of artists and reporting to a projectmanager, a 3D modeler and artist specializes in taking rough designs andrealizing them in 3D modeling and rendering applications such as 3D StudioMax, Maya, and Lightwave This position doesn’t always provide a lot ofcreative leeway, but it can lead to positions with more design responsibility Italso requires a high level of computer savvy—locking up the computer during

a day-long render is a no-no

Salary range: $31,000 to $42,000