Are you thinking about changing careers?

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Thinking about an IT career?

Have you thought about changing your career lately? With the instability of the economy and the job market, many are trying to find the best field to enter into and some are being forced to change their careers. Many areas are still thriving including medical, education and technology. The technology field is still growing and available for new entries. Starting a new career in technology can be like finding your through a maze if you are not familiar with the various roles.

IT is a diverse field. Find your niche!
The technology field is very diverse with many roles that make up the macrocosm of technology. Below is a list of technology roles and their functions that will help you choose which role is best for you. These range from Chief Information Officer (CIO) to Buiness Analyst.

Chief Information Officer (CIO)- Highest level and is responsible for the strategic direction of information technology
IS Director – Manages all systems within the organization
Information Center Manager – Manages helpdesk, training and consulting
Applications Development Manager – Manages new system development
Project Manager – Manages IT projects
Systems Manager – Manages a specific IT system
Operations Manager – Manages the Operations system
IT Auditor – Audits IT systems for compliance
IT Consultant – Provides IT consultant services to different companies
Programming Manager – Manages application programming
Systems Analyst – Liaison between the end user and the programmer
Business Analyst – Designs solutions for business problems to show how to use IT
Systems Programmer – Writes the code for the computer system
Applications Programmer – Writes the code for the application
Emerging Technologies Manager – Forecasts new technology trends and experiments with new technology
Database Administrator-Manages organization’s databases
Network Manager – Manages the organization’s networks
Auditing or Computer Security Manager – Manages ethical and legal use of IT
Webmaster – Manages the organization’s websites
Web Designer – Creates websites for the organization


Current Salaries
The information technology field provides some of the highest paying compensations. The salary range for directors can range from $102K to $367K. For managers, the range is $46K to $90K. For analysts, the range is from $53K to $90K. If you do not have experience and you are entering the field right out of college, you will start at an entry level. Once you learn the field and gain knowledge and experience, your salary will increase and you can begin to negotiate higher salaries. Visit www.cbsalary.com, Career Builder’s salary tool for a free review of salaries.

Current Trend
Many companies have included information technology as one of the core functions of their organization. There has been a trend to outsource employees to other countries such as India. Some argue that costs are cheaper. While this may be a trend, jobs are still available within the United States. Even if this is true, many companies need a presence in the United States and many companies have been forced to bring their workforce back to the United States to provide more timely customer service. If you are will to learn the field, there are opportunities available in the U.S.

Future of IT
The future of Information Technology is bright. Since the world is built on information technology systems, innovation will be the driving force behind competition. If you think that Information Technology is the right field for you, find an accredited university and enroll. If your skills are lacking, take some remedial courses to build your foundation. If you are a career changer, consider the field of Information Technology. Not only do you have the opportunity to use your analytical and problem-solving skills, you will have the ability to earn a great income and become an asset to an organization.

Wishing you the best as you continue to find your niche!

Freya S. Williams, MBA, PHR
Founder, Inspire Learning Solutions, Teknowlogy Factory, and College Prep Academy Network
freyaswilliams@gmail.com

April Is National Math Month

It's National Math month and I know many of you are saying, so what I hate Math. Well, to my Math lovers it's a great time for us to share our love of Math. For those of us who "hate Math" as my adult students tell me, then you wish this month would quickly pass by.

I'm here to share with you my top 10 reasons to love Math!

10.) Math can help you count your money.
9.) Math can empower you to make more money - This knowlege is priceless!
8.) Math is a universal language! - It can be applied in any profession
7.) Math makes you feel and look smart! Just say something like "Pie R Squared!" - Math folks know what that means. :-)
6.) Math can keep you from getting cheated
5.) Math can help you solve problems - even your relationship problems (LOL)
4.) Math can help you get a job!
3.) Math can build your analytical skills
2.) Math gets you respect - if you can crunch numbers, people respect you!
1.) Math brings you closer to your kids. Yes, they will think you are the smartest person in the world if you can help them with a Math problem. Guess what? To them you are.

So, explore Math today. Do some problems with your kids and watch how much they respect you. Here's a problem you can do with them.

Mrs. O. Angle has 12 students in her advanced algebra class. On a recent test, the average was 80. When Beth asked for her score, Mrs. Angle could not find it, but she did remember adding Beth's score in the average. She also remembered that Beth had passed. These are the scores of the other students:
65, 65, 70, 70, 80, 85, 85, 90, 90, 90, 100

Tell how Mrs. Angle can figure out the missing score. What is that score?
Find the answer at: http://sln.fi.edu/school/math2/april.html

Visit the National Math Month webiste http://www.mathaware.org/index.html to learn more about Math events around the country.

Lastly, here's a corny Math joke:
"Students nowadays are so clueless", the math professor complains to a colleague. "Yesterday, a student came to my office hours and wanted to know if General Calculus was a Roman war hero..."

Until next time, keep on focusing your goals. You can make it if you don't quit!

Freya S. Williams, MBA, PHR
Founder of Inspire Learning Solutions
"Supplemental Education and Motivation for Adult Learners
www.adultlearningcoach.blogspot.com
inspirelearning1@gmail.com

It's Time to Go Back to School

Hi, it's Freya, your Adult Learning Coach!

Have you been pondering if you should return to school or not? Are you wondering about your future and if you have the skills to succeed? Do you need to improve your writing, communication, math or analytical skills? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it is time for you to explore returning to school.

So where do you start you may ask? Well, as your coach, I'm going to help you get there. First let's assess where you are.

What is your highest level of education?
What do you desire to do?
What makes you happy each day that you would do for free?

Answering these questions can help you get to where you want to be so you don't waste time starting school and stopping school. When I was in undergrad, I changed my major three times! I wanted to be a mechanical engineer because they made the most money at the time. Silly me. I then changed my major to architectural engineering because I loved to draw and design. I fell into Mathematics and Computer Science because I had a basketball scholarship to Claflin University and I wanted to keep it. I had taken all of my Mathematics course and I did not want to transfer to South Carolina State University to finish the Engineering program, so I just said I'll double-major in Computer Science! What a plan! LOL. While it paid off, it wasn't a real plan. I went around the world and back to find my true passions, which are training, teaching and tutoring!

I'm now doing what I love which is training. I teach adult students how to succeed. I have taught the following courses: Math, Business, Information Technology, Communication, Team Building, and the list goes on. My students excel because failing is not an option!

My goal is to help you circumvent all the distractions and help you find your niche, your goals and your purpose and help you achieve them. So what, you didn't do well the first time that you were in school. So what you hate Math. So what you can't write a lick! Even with all those so whats, you can still improve your skills by going back to school.

So, let's remove all the excuses and get started. Find the program that works for you. Do you need to be in a classroom setting or can you succeed in an online setting? Are you an independent learner or do you learn better collaborating with others? Do like to communicate in front of others or are you shy? Do love crunching numbers or do numbers make you run and hide?

Let me coach you to success! I'm your Adult Learning Coach, Freya S. Williams. Contact me if you are ready to go the next level. I'll help you get there.

Freya S. Williams, MBA, PHR
Founder of Inspire Learning Solutions
"Supplemental Motivation and Education for all Learners"
inspirelearning1@gmail.com
www.adultlearningcoach.blogspot.com