IT, Degrees and Job Focus

I joined several CIO and IT-leader colleagues for dinner last night. Our conversation started with technology but evolved to the quality of education.  Some of our participants voiced the view that the quality of education is not the same as years past. We also considered whether technology contributed positively or negatively to quality of the educational experience.

 

I was surprised by the strong opinions expressed by several at the table that one measure of quality was the direct relationship of the program of study to the ability to get a job.   The suggestion was that we need to have a strong understanding of how our programs of study lead to employment. If we cannot make that link, perhaps the quality of our programs was questioned.

 

I thought about this in terms of my own IT career and the careers of many talented people with whom I work. I do not agree that the only focus of my personal program of choice, my major and my university attendance was to get the Ultimate Job. I believe this is particularly true for those in IT careers; in the pursuit of an IT career that lasts for the length of work-life, I needed more than trade school.

 

I didn't major in hierarchical databases, IMS and CICS in college – and it is a good thing.   Those systems are gone, replaced many years ago by relational databases and new skills. While in college, I didn't study the UNIX and COBOL skills I used when I started my technology career (isn't that a strange mix – UNIX and COBOL?). I'm still not sure what major you need to be a CIO. My job today didn't even exist when I was in college. I couldn't specifically study for what did not exist.

 

I work with talented staff members who pursued majors in computer science and management information systems, but also those who majored in music, English and math. I am also amazed by the wonderful work done by young people in my son's age bracket. Andrew majored in psychology and completed a master's from the School of Information at the University of Michigan. He and his peers are creating new jobs in web-based, digital marketing and advertising. I see a lot of quality in the education of young people, but the measures are different. I think they are presenting the skills they will need to succeed in their world, which is a different quality measure than my own. Again, the knowledge they are acquiring will support them in the future. Our students today are earning college degrees that will lead to jobs that don't exist yet. They don't need to know what I know, but what they need for their future.

 

I do believe there are gaps in what we teach and what our employers expect to hire. At Educause, a presentation on the Spellings Report was included in a general session. One particular negative finding is that employers feel that our college grads are not prepared to work in the new economy. I relate that finding to the conversations I had with technology head-hunters at a recent technology breakfast. I asked the head-hunters "What are the hot skills you need to hire?" The response was "3 years experience as a SharePoint architect."   They asked me why don't we teach that – why are our programs so product agnostic?  

For our future technology grads, we need to be teaching how to create a successful technical career:

* Resourcefulness - how to find solutions, develop a personal learning strategy

* Analytical skills –how to analyze solutions and solve problems

* Common technology principles that apply to technology over time

* Sound communications skills – the ability to write about technology

 

But to get a job, our grads will likely need to learn specific technical skills. In my era, I benefited from excellent corporate training plans where I learned the current tech skills specifically required in my industry. Where do students today develop specific technical skills? Our web-based resources and technology learning tools can be very beneficial. Is a technology degree required if all we need to do is make sure someone can get a job?

 

I value my liberal education that taught strong analytical, problem-solving and communications skills. As technologies have come and faded over time (frequently, it seems, every 5 years), my ability and energy to learn has served me well.   I also valued those employers that supported my skill development and didn't expect me to master all the hot skills on my own before I could be considered for a job.   Where do you sit on this issue? Are IT jobs limited to specific technical skill development? Are the jobs limited to just computer science and management information systems majors? Where do we expect our young people get life-long technical skills?