The New Face of IT

You have decided IT is the field for you. Now it's time to choose which educational path to take to your career.

Employers have re-vamped IT job requirements. They want people with a combination of IT, business, and interpersonal skills. People who understand the value and importance of working on a team to achieve their company’s strategic goals. You will learn and enhance these skills through coursework, workshops, networking, and hands-on pracatical work experience.

The Center for Strategic IT & Security pulls together all these opportunities for you.

Three Ways to Success

When you are in high school, you can begin to investigate the IT field or experience college level courses by participating in one of the programs for high school to college.

An associate’s degree is a great choice when you want to enter the work force quickly. After a few years of work experience, you may return to gain a Bachelor’s degree, or IT certificates that keep you on an upward career path.

A bachelor's degree offers you both breadth of knowledge in a variety of arts and sciences fields, and depth of knowledge in your chosen field. A bachelor's degree requires you to move beyond entry level technical knowledge and acquire critical and analytical thinking skills; learn the ability to synthesize ideas, theories, and real work experience; and enhance your verbal and written communication.  These are the soft skills supervisors look for in employees who wish to progress in their careers.

To find out more about degrees and IT programs click Academic Programs.

IT Career & Education Guide

The Career Guide holds all the information to help you choose your career path, including:

• Descriptions of careers available with pay ranges
• Educational pathways and degree options
• Compatible personality profiles and skill sets needed
• Which degrees are offered at each school

We Make it Easy to Get From Here to There

If you have already completed some college credits and are thinking about transferring to Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Inver Hills Community College, or Metropolitan State University, Transfer Information is where to go for what to know

Internships

Today, employers want technology employees to understand how their business works - not just how IT works. Understanding how your IT job fits into the needs of an organization, through the real life experieince gained as an intern, makes you a more valuable employee and opens the doors to faster promotions and more career options. Internships move you beyond classroom learning into the business world. You can

• Find out about a company's culture
• Become a known quantity - often WHO you know is as important as WHAT you know when it comes to finding a job
• Discover what type of department or person you'd like to work for
• Get paid as you learn
• Get you foot in the door - if you do well in the internship, it may lead to a job

Add to Your Skills

Add new technologies to your list of skills. Every additional certification you earn enhances your résumé and opens more doors.  Look into Certifications and Diplomas offered at community colleges.

About Keep In Touch

Get all the latest information about the topic areas you choose. Click on Keep in Touch, fill in your email address, then check the areas of interest in the questionnaire.