Custom software development, for the Web, mobile Web, smartphone platforms and for running businesses, is where the action is in the information technology, or IT, field. Those with the right skills likely won't go wanting for work, according to local IT companies, as demand for online, mobile and cloud-based computing service grows.
After reading this, chances are you'll soon be on your computer or smartphone e-mailing, tweeting, or updating Facebook or Foursquare. Maybe even working.
And that, in short, is why IT is such a promising area now and in the future - especially for Web and mobile software developers, or programmers, who build the applications that keep us connected.
IT jobs fall roughly into three broad categories:
Network architecture. Network engineers and technicians oversee the switches, routes and even servers that enable you to open a Word document or spreadsheet and save it over a network. This branch also can include help desk administrators and field technicians.
Applications support. Technicians or engineers deploy applications within a company's computer system and analysts help decide what applications to buy and assist in setting them up.
Application development. This category includes database analysts, database architects, business analysts, developers and project managers who work to identify a company's software needs - from a new website or data warehousing system to custom applications that run an entire company - and subsequently build the software to meets those needs.
The hottest area now, and in the foreseeable future, is in software development, according to a number of IT companies in the Twin Cities.
