Many people ask the question, what is information technology (IT)? The average person with no discernable idea about IT thinks that those in the field play with a computer or mobile telephones all day, but that is far from the case. The word IT has a broad meaning and a rich combination of offerings that are more than mere computers. The term information technology original appeared in a 1958 article published in the Harvard Business Review; authors Leavitt and Whisler commented, “the new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information technology (IT)” (para. 2). They used three categories to define the term: “techniques for processing, the application of statistical and mathematical methods to decision-making, and the simulation of higher-order thinking through computer programs” (para. 2).
Today, the term IT is used to talk about computer, computer networks, systems that have their information distributed, like televisions and telephones. It also includes products and services, like computer hardware, software, electronics, semiconductors, Internet, telecom equipment, cloud storage, security, and more (Chandler & Munday, 2011).
Now you may be asking yourself, what that means to you and your choices in life? IT is a thriving industry that is interwoven in every aspect of our lives today, from personal to professional. Careers in IT are growing across the nation and worldwide. It is an industry that will continue to expand and offer up opportunities to the vast knowledge and do more each year with your life. Moreover, you will never get bored!
Therefore, here is a countdown of the top 20 IT Professions for 2018 and their median annual salary as reported by Best Schools (The 20 Best IT Jobs for 2018 and Beyond, 2018) for those interesting in the world of IT:
- Hardware Engineer $85,441
- Network Administrator $57,142
- Data Architect $112,825
- Solutions Architect $115,231
- Computer Network Architect $116,332
- Computer Technical Support Specialist $48,309
- Site Reliability Engineer $119,024
- Computer Systems Analyst $66,910
- Software Engineer $81,940
- User Interface Designer $63,313
- Database Administrator $71,513
- Business Intelligence Developer $78,076
- Information Technology Manager $84,440
- Data Scientist $90,958
- Development Operations (DevOps) Engineer $91,465
- Applications Architect $107,831
- Cloud Solutions Architect $120,067
- Web Developer $58,005
- Information Security Analyst $70,521
- Mobile Application Developer $72,066
References
Chandler, D. & Munday, R. (2011). Definition of Information Technology. Media and Communications. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=nLuJz-ZB828C&pg=PA211#v=onepage&q&f=false
Leavitt, H. J. & Whisler, T. L. (1958). Management in the 1980’s, from the November 1958 Issue of Harvard Business Review. HBR website. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/1958/11/management-in-the-1980s
20 Best IT Jobs for 2018 and Beyond, The. (2018). The Best Schools website. Retrieved from https://thebestschools.org/careers/best-information-technology-jobs/
Post written by:
Dr. Valerie Mills, Ph.D. Information Security & Cybersecurity
Capella University FlexPath Tutor – IT
Blog Contributor