by Amelia Gray, FindtheRightSchool.com
If you're looking to bring your salary up to 21st century compliance, training in IT can take you there. It's a big, high-tech world out there, but with the right training, you can secure a challenging career in a growing field.
Top Career Training for Tech Jobs
Specialization is key in the high-tech world. Focus your interests on one element of the industry -- images, for example -- and you'll find yourself a range of opportunities for training and career advancement. Check out some of the hottest IT jobs around, and learn how you can use career training to prepare for them.
1. Systems Analyst
Stand at the front lines of a company's IT evolution as a systems analyst. This top IT career is expected to skyrocket through 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), with about 140,000 careers for network systems and data communications analysts expected to enter the field. Salary is another perk, with analysts earning mean annual wages of $70,760 in 2007.
Career Training: Consider a bachelor's degree in management information systems, computer science, or information science.
2. Support
You're the guru in this job, which has you solving computer crashes and installation issues for multiple computers. IT support careers are valuable simply for their range. You may find work at a corporation's internal support desk, or steer towards retail or phone support. Computer support specialists saw mean annual wages of $45,300 in 2007, the BLS reports.
Career Training: An associate's degree gives you the technical training you need to work in many entry-level support positions. If you have a degree or extensive support knowledge already, a certificate can keep your skills current.
3. Graphic Design
Express your artistic side with this high-tech career. Graphic designers can be found in mom-and-pop operations and Fortune 500 companies alike, creating logos, photo illustration, print layouts and more. Want to work for yourself? About 25 percent of graphic designers are self-employed, the BLS reports. Overall, graphic designers enjoyed mean annual salaries of $45,340 in 2007.
Career Training: A bachelor's degree in graphic design is recommended for most careers in the field, though some technical careers may be possible with an associate's degree.
4. Programming
Work behind the scenes to create the programs and applications you use every day with a career in programming. In 2007, programmers used their advanced knowledge of code to earn mean annual wages of $72,010, the BLS reports. Keep your training current and you may be able to join them.
Career Training: About eight out of 10 programmers held an associate's degree or higher in 2006, the BLS reports; nearly half had a bachelor's degree. Degrees in computer science, information systems, and mathematics are popular.
5. Web Design
Specializing in Web design may seem like narrowing your graphic design focus, but a targeted level of training in Web design can be useful to get your foot in the door of an established business or design company. The BLS notes that graphic designers with Web site design currently have the best prospects for employment.
Career Training: An associate's degree or certificate program in Web design proves your specialty in the field. Some hiring managers may prefer a bachelor's degree.
6. Software Engineering
Like computer programmers in overdrive, software engineers control every aspect of a software's design, development, and testing. They're paid handsomely for their advanced knowledge, with applications software engineers earning $85,660 in 2007, according to the BLS. The career is expected to see a lot of growth in the coming years; 226,000 new jobs for applications software engineers are expected to enter the market before 2016.
Career Training: A bachelor's degree in computer science or computer engineering is typically required for the job.
Online IT Training Pays Off
While no educational program can guarantee a particular career or salary, hiring managers in the fields above often prefer or require formal education among applicants. Use an online degree in IT to train for a job or keep your skills current.
Amelia Gray is a freelance writer in Austin, Texas.
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