Brad-
Over the last 20 years my jobs has grown from support for a single department with a floor of computers and a bank of printers, to the support of a division with 1600 distinct machines and 300 printers spread across 14 departments. I am no longer installing word from floppy disks or running wires under the carpet at Alkek; automation, and wireless networks have changed what I do and how I do it. When I started working in IT 30 years ago, with the U.S. Navy, there was a crank on the back of my main computer, used to warm the tubes for emergency start up…which took 6 minutes and 38 seconds at my most efficient. Paper cards, paper tape, and giant reels of magnetic tape are unimaginable in today’s environment.
A career in IT is embracing change, rolling with evolutions, revolutions, and innovations. Inflections points in IT hit every 6 months and the industry pivots every time. Bleeding edge tech is what is coming out tomorrow, and the major change that happened yesterday became obsolete before the company got the first units up for sale.
If you can move, rethink, and innovate in the moment, if you can maintain your composure even as the ground moves under your feet, Information Technology might be the job for you. If you are good at your job, you get to keep it for 20 years, and if you are not… you will find out quickly.
Looking over the articles, resources, and statistics referenced in this project I began to appreciate how far we have come in such a short time. It is a fact that the television took 75 years to reach 50% of homes in the United States. The first iPhone hit the market in 2005. Twenty years later, it is not possible to exist without a smart phone. This is the pace of my industry.
Mike –
when I started university I started in computer engineering, I became good in hardware and coding. Then I switched to Exercise & Sports Science, where I learned statistics, performance tracking, and problem-solving—skills that wonderfully complement IT disciplines such data analytics and health tech. Currently studying in General Studies with a minor in Psychology, this helps me better grasp how people view and utilize technology important for UX design, IT project management, even cybersecurity. Though it’s not the typical IT path, this field is interesting as it allows for many points of view and excites me to see where it leads.