Information Technology

What Is Information Technology?

Since information is processed data, information technology (IT) involves storing, organizing, and disseminating processed data for use in various applications.  People used to have to use paper, pencil, and antiquated calculators to perform tasks that are now done by computers, some of which are very small.  The definition is simple, but the uses can be pretty complicated because all kinds of data can be processed:  numbers, text, images, audio, and video.  Each data type has its own science behind how the information is processed.

No one person is likely to know it all, so the IT field has several sectors:  Computer Engineering, for the design and development of computer hardware; Management Information Systems (MIS) for people who have a enough broad-based IT plus other business skills to be able to manage IT projects, budgets, and people; Computer Science which focuses mainly on software, artificial intelligence, and web design; Computer Information Systems (CIS) for big-picture people who manage whole networks, system, databases, security, and other functions.  And all these sectors link together data across the world.

Many people in the field are employed by numerous small- and medium-sized companies.  So, if you like the idea of working in a smaller environment—5-10 people in many cases—working as a closely-knit group and maybe be called a Geek (Geeks rock these days), there may be a place for you in the IT world.  Some possible job titles are IT Technical Associate, Senior Optimization Developer – Information Technology, Software Engineer, Master Data Platform Engineer, and Senior Database Administrator – Information Technology.