Why Choose the Information Technology Major in College?

With the information technology industry riding the crest of the way, more and more students decide to take up careers in IT and other related fields. Information and communications technology is in large part responsible for the establishment and advancement of the Digital Age. No wonder, all those people who want to keep pace with the rapidly developing and changing world set their sights chiefly on IT-related professions. In today's article, we're going to look at the top reasons to major in IT in college.

It's not a secret that there is extremely high demand for IT and ICT specialists globally. If you choose to major in IT, you'll be able to take your career in a number of promising directions and most prestigious sectors. You can become a computer system analyst, network support engineer, web developer, database administrator, help desk technical specialist, project planner, software developer, information technologist, web security administrator, and much more. It's a rare business that currently doesn't need a team of savvy IT experts to keep their systems up and running. You can find work in just about every sector, such as entertainment, healthcare, finance, economy, government, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and many others. While still in college, you will be able to serve you internship (and hopefully land a dream job) at Google, Microsoft, Intel, and lots of other companies that keep abreast of the latest advancements in the broad and constantly changing IT sector. It's also worth mentioning that an ICT or engineering degree enables you to start up your own business that can bring in much more profits than the position in a similar company.

The best thing about being an IT specialist is that your job can be not only emotionally but also financially rewarding. Being in the IT business affords you a very good salary and provides you with every tool necessary to climb up the career ladder. Programmers, architects, devOps, cloud engineers, and IT managers all command high salaries, especially in the US and other developed countries. Thus, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, programmer salaries average about $105,000 a year. Software architects get more than $135,000, while their software engineering colleagues make over $132,000. As we've noted earlier, you can get even more if you continue developing and honing your professional skills and make a life-long training your priority.

Despite the fact that every year, engineering schools and universities confer more than 116,000 engineering and technology degrees, there's still a considerable shortage of qualified graduates to work in the IT business. Currently, there are over 60,000 positions available in cloud computing, web development, and database administration. You can take a quick look at the IT-related jobs yourself available at Indeed.com to make sure you won't find yourself in the professional limbo once you graduate from college.

Another terrific benefit about being part of the IT world is mobility. After you've mastered some core technical skills, it's fairly easy to move to another company that utilizes the same software and hardware platforms. So, if you get stuck in an unfulfilling job, chances are good you'll have no difficulty in finding a job in a company having a similar type of technology. Thus, the IT degree can help you to future-proof your career and allow changing the job as business conditions change. 

If you're passionate about technology and try to keep up with its trends, it's about time you turned your passion into a rewarding career. But the higher education institutions listed below can help you with that:

● Massachusetts Institute of Technology

● Carnegie Mellon University

● New York University 

● Penn State 

● University of Washington 

● Purdue University

There are lots of other schools and universities that can help you pursue your dream career and get the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary for your professional self-actualization. Make sure to research the desired institution, weigh up your chances of successful enrollment, and apply. 

Per aspera ad astra!

The article is provided courtesy of Isabelle Foster, a freelance journalist and technical writer holding a Bachelor's degree in engineering and a Ph.D. in Philosophy. Isabelle works as a private tutor and senior academic writer at PapersOwl.com, an essay writing company.