Computer professionals work in a variety of jobs. Discussed here are jobs for students who do not have a science background. India’s Information technology industry is worth Rs.16,000 crores, a 1.2 billion dollar share in the world market. The IT industry encompasses almost all areas of human endeavour. The range of use and dependence varies in different professions, economies and peoples coming from varied socioeconomic backgrounds.
The influence of Information Technology is evidently contagious and dependence awesome .We are living in the Information Technology era. IT superhighways and IT dependent systems are here to stay and grow. Today IT is for every body .You may embark upon high tech. shopping off the keyboard, have a palmtop for personal information, or survive with a microchip in your heart.
Nature of Work
Software application
For use of the computer, a multiple set of programs must be written. Software is a collection of programs for specific uses. Software is what people use while making use of the computer. On the other hand, system software controls the way the computer works and is supplied with the hardware (machine). Application software is purchased separately or even developed for a number of uses, e.g., accounting, design development, desktop publishing, filing etc. There are two kinds of people in software development: the system analyst and the programmer.
System analyst - Systems Analyst develop computer programmes. He is a person who analyses a system, and studies the way things are working. He designs a computerised system for solving an information problem.
Today, computers are used by most people, from the office accounts clerk to the cashier and store keepers in the departmental stores. Analysts, therefore, have to keep in mind the needs and capabilities of these people. Analysts dealing with accounting/business applications/design related programmes come from the commerce and humanities stream.
From writing software for computer in small set ups to developing applications for people in different environments and large organizations and at times hooking up computers over long distances or network is the job of System Analyst. Everywhere, Systems Analysts work for either software companies (or consultancies), data processing organisations, or private businesses, manufacturers, and banks and insurance companies, or even the Government, which has a department for computerisation, called the National Informatics Centre (NIC)
Almost all analysts have been through the grind of programming. The typical profile is programmer, analyst>programmer >analyst. Professionally qualified computer personnel (engineers MBAs) also have to go through this route, though for a smaller time.
Programmer - Programmers feed detailed instructions to the computer to solve a given problem. Programmers usually work with descriptions and guidelines from systems analysts. An applications programmer writes a program by breaking each step into instructions in one of the computer languages. In small organisations, the analyst and the programmer may be the same person.
System software - Computer applications development is a customer-related activity. It involves using and installing computers to solve a customer’s problems.Software is of many sorts, e.g., from routine to financial accounting and inventory control, weather forecasting through the use of the super computer, or business problem-solving which is by far the most important application of software. Software is either a package bought from a shop or tailor-made for a customer. Use of available packages is less expensive.
Service jobs
Service jobs range from renting PCs to publishing on a computer. The typical computer service company provides just any kind of service. If you need something computerised and are not willing to buy a computer, you go to a service organisation. They are also called consultancies. Consultancies employ computer workers from varied academic backgrounds.
Sales and marketing
Marketing stream covers the sale of hardware as well as software. The demand for computers and special packages is high. There is virtually no push required in finalising the sale. There is a mushrooming of over two hundred hardware manufacturing units and thousands of software development concerns. Marketing personnel work for computer manufacturers and companies representing manufacturer or computer firms that stock products of more than one manufacturer.
Computer marketing people are supported by marketing specialists who give them insight into market trends and product demand.
Self employment and entrepreneurship
The computer industry provides services to departments of the same company or to individual clients. These services could range from renting PCs to publishing on a computer, helping customers select computers for developing software and training computer professionals. Many software professionals with experience have switched over to lucrative consultancy practices.
The demand for specialists is also increasing. Even desk top publishing is catching on fast.
Dot com options
Jobs in Dot coms at the Front end involving page layout design, information architecture i.e. the skills can be learnt through HTML, Editor and graphic packages Javascripts etc. Data base Design or managing the back end network administration involves feeding of the servers, backups, server security etc.; and in Database administration it is drawing upon the database and sending them back to the user.
Network Experts, Information Architects, Website / Database Integrators , Software engineers, Information Brokers/Infomediaries, Web Designers, Web Masters, E- Commerce Experts, Web marketeers, Content Providers work in Dot Com companies.
