Factors to Consider when Looking at a Bachelor’s in IT
December 10, 2012
•Information Technology (IT)
• 0 Comments
As college students and business professionals alike consider earning a first, or new, degree there are a number of factors to keep in mind when deciding which degree to pursue. Those individuals considering a Bachelor’s in IT should keep a number of factors in mind as they decide whether or not this degree is for them.
One of the most important factors for individuals to consider when looking at Bachelor’s in IT programs is whether or not they are truly interested in this field. Unlike other degree programs that might offer a variety of courses, IT programs contain a heavy dose of mathematics, statistics, and computer science courses.
As Yahoo! Education cites in Trend Watch: Top Six College Degrees, IT degree programs include courses such as software engineering, digital system design, and theory of formal languages. All of these courses are designed to help students understand how humans and computers interact from a scientific standpoint.
What Career Paths Exist?
There is little point in earning a degree that leads a graduate into a career field that is stagnant or shrinking. Bachelor’s in IT programs lead graduates into a variety of fields in 2012. According to Yahoo! Education, an IT degree was ranked among the top six degrees leading to booming career fields.
Yahoo! Education, also citing the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2010-2020 growth projections, found that IT-related careers such as Software Developer and Information Security Analyst are expected to grow 30% and 22% respectively in the coming years.
Do You Gain Skills Employers Want?
Much like earning a degree leading to stagnant career fields, there is no point in earning a degree that teaches the individual skills that employers simply don’t want or need. Yahoo! Education ranked IT degrees among the top degrees that make graduates attractive to employers.
The reasoning here is simple according to Susan Heathfield. Heathfield, a management consultant and Guide to Human Resources at About.com, notes that “everything is going toward computer technology.” Graduates with the right skills are in high demand because, as Heathfield finds, companies continue to have trouble recruiting employees with the right skills and training.
Does it Make You Competitive?
An IT degree may not only help prepare graduates for the future, it can also give them the competitive edge they need to outshine other candidates when applying for advanced positions. Yahoo! Education recently ranked a Bachelor’s in IT second on the list of degrees that give adults a competitive edge in the marketplace.
Debra Wheatman, a career coach and president of career planning firm Careers Done Write, notes that IT programs make graduates competitive because they are provided with the tools and knowledge to give them a leg up on the competition when applying for jobs.
These are just some of the many factors to consider when contemplating a degree program. It is always important for individuals to choose a degree that works as hard for them as they will have to work to earn that degree. A degree that does any less isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. Equally important, individuals should realize that not everyone will be successful just because they have IT-based training. Different programs will provide different outcomes.
Sources:
http://education.yahoo.net/articles/five_degrees_for_adults.htm?wid=1004&svkid=EZPJ&usid=ab153729-7262-4ca8-80c7-b4dad6916ab0
http://education.yahoo.net/articles/six_real_world_degrees.htm?wid=1004&svkid=EZPJ&usid=ab153729-7262-4ca8-80c7-b4dad6916ab0
http://education.yahoo.net/articles/top_trending_degrees.htm?wid=1004&svkid=EZPJ&usid=ab153729-7262-4ca8-80c7-b4dad6916ab0
http://education.yahoo.net/articles/degrees_for_booming_careers.htm?wid=1004&svkid=EZPJ&usid=ab153729-7262-4ca8-80c7-b4dad6916ab0