| With the wide array of possible career paths within | | | | civilian contractors. But again, as with the Systems |
| the field of Information Technology, it can often be | | | | career path of Information Technology, depending on |
| difficult to determine the correct one for you, given | | | | the size and needs of the organization you work for, |
| your unique interests and career goals. In my last | | | | you could find yourself working on all of these tasks |
| article, part one of this two-part series, I covered | | | | at the same time. |
| the Systems category of Information Technology | | | | College courses and degree programs provide the |
| including who would be best fit to pursue a career in | | | | "foundation" necessary for developing the abilities |
| that field and what type of education would best | | | | needed to pursue (and succeed!) in a specialized |
| prepare that individual for a successful career. In part | | | | Information Technology career. Certifications are also |
| two of the series, I will cover the Application | | | | an option as a sort of "quick fix," normally used to |
| Development category of IT. | | | | quickly get you up-to-speed in a particular |
| Application Development Category | | | | specialization. |
| People often assume that individuals working in | | | | This article just skims the surface of all the exciting |
| Application Development Information Technology | | | | opportunities available to those interested in pursuing |
| careers are simply programmers or coders, but there | | | | a career in Information Technology. But it should be a |
| is far more to the field than that. IT offers | | | | useful place to start for those of you looking for |
| companies the opportunity to increase efficiency | | | | information regarding how to choose a degree |
| across the board, saving time, manpower and | | | | program. And remember, if you're on active duty in |
| money, while increasing customer satisfaction rates | | | | the military, you know you're going to need a degree |
| at the same time. Typically, automating business and | | | | for promotion at some point- so you might as well |
| mission processes is the best way to accomplish | | | | start right away! And even if you do intend on |
| these types of effectiveness and efficiency | | | | leaving the service, your future employers are going |
| improvements, with some examples of specializations | | | | to evaluate your capabilities based on your education |
| in this area including:o Determining which business | | | | level by examining both your degree(s) and your |
| processes can be improved with automationo | | | | certifications. |
| Conducting process reengineering to gain maximum | | | | Keep in mind - other individuals competing for the |
| benefits from IT capabilitieso Application and | | | | same IT positions as yourself are aware of this |
| database development (programming/coding)o | | | | necessity, so you should do everything you can to |
| Testing applications and training end userso | | | | set yourself apart from "just another Information |
| Maintaining and upgrading applications | | | | Technology technician" by getting that degree or an |
| While some application development is done by | | | | additional certification. It can't hurt! |
| military members, much of this is outsourced to | | | | |