Information System

Information system (IS) are important to you for a variety of reason. First, information system and information technologies are integral to your life. Second, the IS field offers many career opportunities. Finally, all functional areas in an organization.

Information Systems and Information Technologies are Integral to Your Lives

There are many examples of how information system and technologies are embedded in your lives. For example, think of all the things you can do online:

• Register for classes.
• Take classes, and not just classes from your university.
• Access class syllabi, information, Power Point and lectures
• Research class papers and presentations.
• Conduct banking.
• Pay your bills.
• Research, shop, and buy product from companies or other people.
• Sell your "stuff"
• Search for, and apply for, job.
• Make your travel reservations (hotel, airline, rental car)

In addition to all the activities you can perform online, there are other examples of how information systems and information technologies are essential for your daily living. For example, you may not use a regular wireline telephone. Rather, you use a smartphone that has a calender,  an address book, a calculator, a digital camera and several types of software to download music and movies. This phone enables you to seamlessly switch between different wireless modes (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular, and/or Wi-Max) to communicate by voice, e-mail, instant messaging, and text messaging.

Going further, you have your own blog, and you post your own podcast and video casts to it. You have your own page on Facebook. You make and upload videos to YouTube (now Google Video). You take, edit, and print your own digital photograph. You use RSS feeds to create your personal electronic newspaper. The list goes on.

IT Offers Career Opportunities

Becoming knowledgeable about IT can improve your chances of landing a good job. Even though computerization eliminates some job, it creates many more. IT also creates many opportunities to start your own business.

Because information technology is vital to the operation of modern businesses, it offers many employment opportunities. The demand for traditional IT staff is substantial. In addition, many well-paid jobs exist in emerging areas such as the Internet and e-commerce, mobile commerce, net-design. For details about careers in IT, see www.computerworld.com/careertopics/careers and www.monster.com.

Since the stock market “correction” of 2000-2001, a great deal of misinformation about careers in information technology has been circulated.

IT Is Used By All Departments

Simply put, organization cannot operate without information technology. For this reason, every manager and professional staff member should learn about IT within his or her specialized field as well as across the entire organization and among organizations.