Harvard Business Press recently published an interesting book entitled IT Savvy What Top Executives Must Know to Go from Pain to Gain. Peter Weill and Jeanne W. Ross coauthored this field-tested research book, in which they interviewed top-performing companies and concluded: “IT-savvy firms are 20 percent more profitable than their competitors.”
Imagine the impact it would have on California companies if they were 20 percent more profitable? I can see someone approaching a firm with the question: “Are you IT Savvy?” and then asking: “Would you like to be?” I’m thinking “jobs” and “innovation” and “profit” caused by knowledgeable students. We need to teach our students well!
Bill Cullifer, of the WhyITNow initiative, conducted an interview with Dr. Ross you may find interesting: http://whyitnow.org/it-savvy-interview-with-dr-jeanne-w-ross.htm
As we wonder how California will break out of the economic slump, a lot of people want to know where the jobs are now and what jobs will be in demand in the future.
IT jobs that are in high demand are listed on the attached Information
Technology Jobs in Demand document and linked to a website that will give more information about that occupation. Students can review this information for “career exploration” to stimulate conversation on their career and college goals. While there are some entry level IT jobs for high school graduates, Community Colleges often provide more advanced IT courses. CISCO, in particular, has 178 network academies in California and many of them are at Community Colleges. Oracle also has academies at the Community College level.
CareerCast.com reported that out of 200 jobs reviewed, two of the top three best jobs in 2010 are in the IT Sector. These jobs are: Software Engineer: Researches, designs, develops and maintains software systems along with hardware development for medical, scientific, and industrial purposes. Computer Systems Analyst: Plans and develops computer systems for businesses and scientific institutions. The study defined “best” based on five criteria — environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress.