As time changes
Forty five years ago when I went to college, no one would even think about having their own personal computer. The university had a room full of computer terminals and students must sign in to use the computer but each was limited to one hour at a time. As students, we all wrote code on paper, checked each line carefully before entered them into the computer. A careless mistake could mean you had to wait your turn to use the computer terminal again. Since there were more students than terminals, sometime I had to wait until late at night to get my turn to use the computer. Time has changed; today almost every student has a personal computer. Some have more than one: a laptop and a smartphone.
After graduated and went to work, having a phone on your desk was a “special status” as only managers could have a desk phone. As engineer we had to share a single phone in the room and limit to no more than 5 minutes phone call. Time has changed; today everybody has a telephone on their desk. Some have more than one: Desk phone and a smartphone. The phone is no longer a status but a necessity. When I was student, research meant you had to go to the library and spent several hours to find reference information. Even you found the reference book but if someone checked them out, you had to reserve it and waited until the book was returned. Time has changed; today with search engines, students can find almost everything just by “Google” it. They can read everything online without waiting. When I was student, Pittsburgh did not have any Asian market; if I wanted Asian foods such as “Instant Ramen” I had to ask a friend in New York to buy them and shipped to me via the post office. Time has changed; today I can buy almost anything online, from books to foods, from computer to DVD, at the click of a mouse. When I was student, classroom had blackboards and chalk. Since the blackboard was small, professors often needed to erase the board often and we had to hurry to copy down what they wrote. Time has changed; today most classrooms have multimedia projection or big screen to display materials. Students do not need to take note but using laptop to access course materials on the course's website.
But as our lives have changed, the business world has also changed. In the past, business offices had many typists but today they are gone, being replaced by “word processing” software. In the past, business offices had many file clerks whose main job was to classify documents and stored in drawers or cabinets but today they are gone, being replaced by “Microsoft offices” where files are stored on computer. In the past, business offices had “paper-boy” or couriers to carry documents from one office to others but today they are gone, being replaced by “Email.” Basically, Information Technology has completely changed the business. As business works are being automated for efficiency, information happens faster and faster and the world is getting smaller and smaller. Businesses have always been aggressive in technology usage, because efficiency and effectiveness means less costs and more profits. Whatever can speed production and reduce costs will get attention of business owners. Today most business offices are fully automated and soon many will be done by robots and complex software.
Information Technology has not only impact businesses but it also changes the world's economy into a single interdependent global system. This means people can share information quickly and efficiently. Companies can operate without national barriers and geographic boundaries and the market is opened up to every business but competition is also getting fierce. Today businesses are operating 24 hours and 7 days all over the world. This means that a business can be open anytime anywhere, buying things from different countries or selling things to different countries, and compete with others for larger market share. With fast telecommunication technology, devices like smartphones allow people to access the Internet, check and send email from anywhere, and conduct business whenever necessary. It means with smartphones, you can talk to customers, reserve airlines for travel, deposit and withdraw money from your bank, pay bills, trade stocks and almost everything with just a simple touch on the smartphone. One of the biggest ways the Internet has changed business is through “targeted advertising”. Using Google, companies can specify the keywords that will drive customers to their advertising. When a person search for something using “Google” the company will automatically display an advertising related to the search. If you search for “foods” then several food advertising will also be displayed on your screen; if you search for “Music” then there will be advertising of music stores appeared on your computer. This is the way Google making money; it allows everybody to use the search engines but charge money on companies who want to advertise on their search.
With all the best advantages of information technology, there is one important thing that you need to pay attention: The creation of new jobs. The more technology is being used, the more skilled workers the world needs and there are many exciting and high paying job opportunities open everywhere. Today computer programmers, Information Systems Managers, Software developers, Web designers, System Analysts, Computing Security Specialists, Data Engineers, Software Architects, Database administrators, Network system specialists are just some of the many new job opportunities created. This means there are more good jobs available to college students who are studying Information technology. If you are a first year college student, my advice is: “Study Information technology.”
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
