Careers in IT

Webmaster

Person responsible for creating, managing, and maintaining one or more web-servers or websites. He or she has the specialized knowledge and skills to maintain the integrity of the site's content and its embedded links (hyperlinks), updates the information as often as required, and attends to the questions and problems of the site's users.

Computer Support Specialist



Computer support specialists known as technical support specialists provide support to people in the information processing department of a company. In addition to troubleshooting problems, they may be responsible for the operation of the company's computer systems. They may assign work to employees in the department and determine the priorities of various tasks. They may look over computer programs to make sure they are installed properly and are compatible with existing programs. They may look over projects to make sure they are completed properly and meet the company's goals. They may also evaluate computer systems to see if they need to be expanded or upgraded. Technical support specialists may also modify software produced by other computer firms to meet the needs of the company.

Technical Writer




A technical writer (also called a technical communicator) is a professional writer who designs, creates, and maintains technical documentation. This documentation includes online help, user guides, white papers, design specifications, system manuals, and other documents.
Engineers, scientists, and other professionals may also produce technical writing, usually handing their work to a professional technical writer for proofreading, editing, and formatting. A technical writer produces technical documentation for technical, business, and consumer audiences.


Software Engineer



Software engineering (SE) is a profession dedicated to designing, implementing, and modifying software so that it is of higher quality, more affordable, maintainable, and faster to build. It is a "systematic approach to the analysis, design, assessment, implementation, test, maintenance and reengineering of software, that is, the application of engineering to software." The term software engineering first appeared in the 1968 NATO Software Engineering Conference, and was meant to provoke thought regarding the perceived "software crisis" at the time. The IEEE Computer Society's Software Engineering Body of Knowledge defines "software engineering" as the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software. It is the application of Engineering to software because it integrates significant mathematics, computer science and practices whose origins are in Engineering.


Network Administrator


A person who manages a communications network within an organisation. Responsibilities include network security, installing new applications, distributing software upgrades, monitoring daily activity, enforcing licensing agreements, developing a storage management program and providing for routine backups.


Database Administrator





A person responsible for the design and management of one or more databases and for the evaluation, selection and implementation of database management systems. In smaller organisations, the data administrator and database administrator are often one in the same; however, when they are different, the database administrator's function is more technical. The database administrator would implement the database software that meets the requirements outlined by the organisation's data administrator and systems analysts. Tasks might include controling an organisation's data resources, using data dictionary software to ensure data integrity and security, recovering corrupted data and eliminating data redundancy and uses tuning tools to improve database performance.

System Analyst

An individual in charge of designing, modifying, or analyzing various systems to ensure compatibility and user effectiveness. System analysts may work independently, but are often part of a larger information technology unit that keeps technical aspects of a company running smoothly. System analysts do not focus on hard-coding, but more on evaluating the code and making suggestions.

Programmer

Individual that composes instructions for computer systems to refer to when performing a given action. Programmers usually have an extensive background in some form of computer coding language, which may include XML, PHP, Perl, HTML, or SQL. Programmers are essential to the development of computers because without the coding that is necessary to make a computer work properly, the machine would be useless. Programmers may specialize in one area or may write instructions for a wide range of systems or programs.