Do you understand binary? Can you help your friends with their computer issues? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you should think about becoming an information technology major in college.
Education
This major is earned at both the bachelor’s and associate’s level so you can either spend 2 or 4 years in school to earn a degree. Typical courses that students in this major take include computer networking, database management systems, web technologies, computer science and professional and technical communications. High school courses like web design and AP Computer Science can help you get pre-college credit and experience, although they are not required. Students may also decide to take a specific track within the IT major like web development or telecommunications which will vary the kinds of courses that they end up taking.
What to know before you apply
When looking into different schools, students might want to start thinking about what area in particular they are interested in relating to information technology. For example, if you are interested in communications or business, you’ll want to look for schools that allow you to concentrate in a certain area. Students should also be aware of the internship opportunities different schools can offer them as well as finding schools who have professors with professional experience. Students in this major should be willing to take an internship while they are in school in order to gain experience and should be interested in improving the complex relationship between humans and computers.
Salary
A degree in information technology will prepare you for careers in computer programming, database administrations, and operations research analysis. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, computer programmers earned an average salary of $76,010 in 2011, while database administrators earned $77,350. Operations research analysts earned an average annual income of $78,840 in 2011.
> For more information about choosing a career check out NextStepU.com/Careers.
