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A career in IT? Part 1
continued from page 1
1. Programmers
The job: Might be called a software engineer or a developer. The job involves writing instructions in a computer language to achieve a task. In practice you'll probably work in a team, each responsible for a small part of a bigger program. You'll only get to work on an entire big program if you're a manager supervising other programmers.
Because computers are constantly changing, you'll always be learning new stuff, such as new computer languages. You'll be sent on training courses and will also be expected to pick things up quickly.
Personality: You need to be methodical, comfortable with logic - being good at maths would be handy - and happy to sit in front of a computer screen all day.
Qualifications: Most big firms only recruit IT graduates, or maybe non-IT graduates, for programming jobs. But you can get a programming job in a smaller company with an NVQ. The important thing is to get a work placement afterwards and continue to learn on the job.
Whether you're qualified or not, potential employers will probably give you an aptitude test. This won't expect you to know computer programming languages but you will need to use programming logic to solve problems; for example, using a 'loop' to repeat the same instruction over again.
Website development is a less technical area. It demands fewer programming skills but more of an eye for design and marketing. You can teach yourself the basics or go to evening classes. The downside is that since the 'dot com boom' there are lots of website designers out there.
1. Programmers
The job: Might be called a software engineer or a developer. The job involves writing instructions in a computer language to achieve a task. In practice you'll probably work in a team, each responsible for a small part of a bigger program. You'll only get to work on an entire big program if you're a manager supervising other programmers.
Because computers are constantly changing, you'll always be learning new stuff, such as new computer languages. You'll be sent on training courses and will also be expected to pick things up quickly.
Personality: You need to be methodical, comfortable with logic - being good at maths would be handy - and happy to sit in front of a computer screen all day.
Qualifications: Most big firms only recruit IT graduates, or maybe non-IT graduates, for programming jobs. But you can get a programming job in a smaller company with an NVQ. The important thing is to get a work placement afterwards and continue to learn on the job.
Whether you're qualified or not, potential employers will probably give you an aptitude test. This won't expect you to know computer programming languages but you will need to use programming logic to solve problems; for example, using a 'loop' to repeat the same instruction over again.
Website development is a less technical area. It demands fewer programming skills but more of an eye for design and marketing. You can teach yourself the basics or go to evening classes. The downside is that since the 'dot com boom' there are lots of website designers out there.
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iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB