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Calling IT Majors: Do You Have a Career Direction After Graduation?

ITBy Robert Marlett
Faculty Member, IT at American Public University            

While opportunities for employment continue to increase in the information technology sector there are a few fields that should continue to offer the most promise in terms of availability and salary. Computer forensics, computer security, Web design and data retrieval (also known as data mining) will continue to be hot careers in the near future.

The question is no longer does a business require an online presence, but when should they go online. All businesses large and small continue to spend a great deal of time and effort to reach new customers. However, to be effective, a company that is currently on the Internet or is planning to be requires three essential components. They need to be able to find or increase their target audience, protect their network infrastructure and be able to minimize damage when it occurs.

Web Design

Online businesses need to drive people to their websites in order to increase brand awareness and sales. Doing this requires Web design that not only attracts customers through search engine optimization (SEO) but to keep them from jumping to another site after they get there. Simple yet elegant and functional designs that make the online experience a good one are all a part of good Web design.

Data Retrieval and Consumer Behavior Research

Businesses also go online to find customers. With the massive amounts of data produced every day, the bulk of it of little interest to those who post it, it is necessary to find the golden nuggets of information that are important. Intelligent data retrieval or data mining is the key to finding the gold nuggets of information and thus new customers.

Data Security and Computer Forensics

Finally, any business with a presence on the Internet needs to be able to protect their sites and company data from unauthorized access and also protect their customers’ personal information that the company may store. This can only be done through a combination of computer security, which is mostly a passive process that can be set up and monitored, but also has the ability to investigate anomalies on their networks with digital forensics. Being able to stop the penetration of corporate networks and theft of data requires both.

The continued expansion of the Internet and those services that surround it will continue to create jobs for people who can effectively present, find, and protect data.

About the Author

Robert “Bob” Marlett is a husband, father, grandfather, retired naval officer and resident of Fredericksburg, Virginia with nearly twenty years experience in online education. He currently teaches in the IT program at American Public University. During the later part of his career he was responsible for the provision of communication networks throughout the Pacific area of operations (AOR) and building next generation programs for naval cryptologists, now information warfare specialists.

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