Information Technology Management Job Trends and Training

Although many individuals have the desire and talent to have successful careers in information technology–or IT–they have witnessed many of these positions being outsourced to other countries. The jobs they hope for can be filled overseas at the whim of a CEO, and future IT management professionals are somewhat a little nervous about venturing into this field. Who could blame them?

The good news is that, in spite of the bleeding of our IT jobs into other countries, the IT management field has expanded here in the United States. Since 2000, jobs have, indeed, increased on our home turf, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates it believes this trend will continue.

One area that is difficult to farm out is management. Because a good manager must know about the companys specific needs, its nearly impossible to outsource that job. Here are some ways you can prepare for a job in IT management right here in the US.

Experience

Employers are seeking managers with experience, and many people are starting that experience before they leave their college programs. Internships and externships are extremely popular in the IT management field, and sometimes students eventually get offered a permanent position with the company that accepts them as interns.

Education

First you will need a college degree. Look at the associates, bachelors, masters, or higher, it is your starting point. And, many students who get associates degrees go on to complete their bachelor degrees as well.

Certificates in specific computer specialties is often required for certain types of IT positions. Certification provides the credentials that your bachelors degree may have overlooked, such as Microsoft Windows intricacies.

Where is the best place to get your education in IT? It depends on a lot of things, but mostly your availability. If you have time to devote to day classes and dont need to work, or could work a part time night job, perhaps a traditional setting is for you.

However, not all of us have that luxury. More and more prospective students are working regular day jobs and/or taking care of families, so what do they do? They go to the Internet! Online colleges and universities have been the answer for countless students who want jobs in IT management but who cant attend traditional classes.

Students can get all levels of degrees plus certifications online. Although some may require minimal residency, many do not. Online programs are also eligible for scholarship and grant money, so if you want an IT job but need an education, look to online schools for your degree.

How to Start Learning C#

Next to VB.Net, C# is probably the most popular .NET language. It is much easier to learn than the C or C++ language. In my last few years of consulting, C# was the language of choice by several major corporations.

Any .NET language has full access to the .NET libraries. One example of these libraries are System.IO which allows you read/write files and to list the files in a directory. Another is System.Text for dealing with large stirngs or running regular expressions.

Don’t be worried about the cost of the software. The .NET framework is free! But instead of writing your programs in Notepad, you probably also want to download the Visual Studio Express edition (which is also free). The professional and team editions will cost money, but the express edition is enough to get anyone started.

Having programming experience in any other object oriented programming language will give you a good head start with C#. If you are total newbie to programming, then I strongly suggest attending a 5-day instructor-lead course which includes lectures and classroom labs. Such courses typically cost somewhere between $2000 and $2500 and Microsoft training centers can be found in most major cities.

If you are already a seasoned programmer and know object oriented development, you could probably just jump in and start playing with C#. You just need a quick reference for how to define variables, how to perform loops, how “if” statements work, and the basics of reading/writing from the screen or a Windows form.

Learning C# is technically different than learning Visual Studio. Visual Studio is an interactive development environment (IDE). You actually download the C# compiler and .NET framework for free, then write you programs in “NotePad” then compile and run them. But the IDE provides a smoother development environment, and includes things like “Intellisense” or auto-completion, so that when you start to type a variable or library name, the system will help you fill in the rest of the name.

Watching videos is a great way to learn a new language. You can watch code being written on the screen while the trainer provides an explanation. You can even see the mistakes, and learn from them. Videos also give you an idea of the nuances of the IDE.