Being prepared part 3
The last two years in high school is the best time to plan for your future whether you continue to college or go to vocational school. If you want to go to college, you need to prepare for the types of subjects or field of study that you want to study. You may also want to look into a certain industry that you may want to work in, such as software, banking, finance, manufacturing, healthcare, or government. Planning your career and future direction earlier will help you better prepared, so you do not make a mistake in the last minutes.
If you do not know what to study or have not decided, my advice is to select Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) because those fields have high demand from every industry with excellent opportunities. But you need to build a strong foundation NOW, so you will be readied to study STEM in college. By taking more math and science in high school, you will know what you like or do not like. People who graduate in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics can work in any industry, any place, and any country because today all companies are depending on science and technology to conduct business efficiently.
Among many fields in STEM, I think software (i.e., computer science, software engineering and Information System Management) is the best fields to study because many companies need software to run their computer systems and networks. For example, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) consists of many applications such as human resources, manufacturing, financial management, customer relations, operations and supply chain management can help managers to automate their business processes efficiently.
Computer software is divided into two main categories—Applications Software and Systems software. Applications software includes programs for computer users such as word processing (i.e., Microsoft Word), Spreadsheet (i.e., Microsoft Excel), computer games, mobile applications, computer graphics, data storage programs, and Web browsing programs. Systems software includes operating systems (i.e., Windows, Linux, Androids, IOS, etc.) and all of the related programs that allow computers to function.
The software industry is also divided into two major businesses: Product and Services. Product companies involve in all aspects of creating software products, from design, develop, produce, assist, and install, as well as providing support to customers. Some companies are gigantic with ten to fifty thousand people such as Microsoft, IBM, Google, Oracle or small with a few to hundred people such as mobile applications, and computer games, etc. Service companies provide access to software and data storage such as cloud computing companies, or network and security service companies. Some companies provide special consulting services based on the needs of customers (i.e., IT Outsourcing Service or Business Process Outsourcing), etc.
There are many specialized types of job in the software industry. The most popular is programmers or people who write codes, test and maintain the software. All programmers work in teams under the supervision of a software engineer, or a team leader. Based on the requirements, programmers break down each operation functions into a logical sequence of steps and write codes to make the computer performs accordingly. Although many programmers jobs only require two years of training in Vocational school but as the software is becoming larger and more complex, four years of training in college is preferred by companies. Today the most popular computer language is Java, C++, and Python but as the applications and market continue to evolve, programming language is changing too.
The next popular job is software engineers or professional who design, develop, code, test, and evaluate software systems. Most software engineering job requires at least a Bachelor's degree because the job is focusing more on the architect, design, and development of a software system that supports the company's business. Software engineers must have strong programming skills, although they are focusing more on the development of complex algorithms, analyzing and solving problems than with writing code. There are several specializations among software engineers depending on what they do such as operating systems software, network distribution software, and a variety of applications software.
Information System Management is another popular job in the software field. These people manage and coordinate the construction and maintenance of a company's computer systems, and plan for future growth. They manage systems that control the automation in manufacturing, business, and other areas. They manage software projects and supervise many technical support specialists and help-desk technicians. They identify problems and provide support to customers and ensure that the systems are operating efficiency.
There are a wide ranges of computer specialists such as network specialists who design, testing, and evaluation of network systems such as local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), the Internet, and other data communications systems. Some manage the security of the systems, some focus on design and implement user's systems. etc. Demand for software jobs is growing about 20% per year and currently there is a shortage of people with these skills as companies are relying on information technology to support their business. The growing popularity of the Internet is also another key driver of job growth. The proliferation of mobile devices all over the world also created demand for a wide variety of new products and services such as mobile apps and mobile games.
Today technology is changing everything, and every country is focusing on applying technology to boost their economy. Therefore, employment of software graduates will continue to grow much faster than any other job. If you are still not sure about what to study yet, why not select software field and seize this opportunity?
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
