The demand for CS and IT expertise is on the rise

"More people with IT skills are needed to keep up with the technology that is fundamentally changing the way we live our lives. " – Dr Gopal Gupta, University of Texas at Dallas

Use social media like LinkedIn and Facebook in a professional manner to connect with recruiters, says Chuck Mischley at Nationwide Mutual.

By Penelope Blair
Contributing Editor

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that IT-related jobs are an excellent prospect. Over the next decade, employment for computer network, systems and database administrators is projected to increase by 30 percent, computer software engineers by 32 percent and computer systems analysts by 20 percent. Information security is currently one of the fastest growing areas of IT.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that the average salary offer for graduates with computer-related degrees has increased by 5.8 percent to $58,746. And the average offer to computer science majors increased by 4.7 percent, bringing it to $60,426.

Dr Gopal Gupta, department head of computer science at the University of Texas at Dallas explains why IT-related majors are still a smart choice.

"Technology and the Web are fundamentally changing the way we live our lives, from how we interact with each other on smart phones, Facebook, etc, to how we get entertained: streaming video," he says. "More and more people with expertise in computer science and IT will be needed."

Even so, Gupta stresses the importance of internships and a masters degree to give an application a competitive edge. "The yearly salary differential between an MS and BS may be in the tens of thousands of dollars," he says. "Many IT programs, including the UT Dallas CS department, have a fast-track masters program that can be completed with just one extra year of studies."

BDPA urges grads to do their homework
Wayne Hicks, executive director of BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (College Park, MD), cautions graduates to keep in mind that lifelong learning is a reality.

"When you graduate, you are not done with the learning process," he says. "Graduates need to continue learning to remain competitive, whether that's through certifications or returning to school."

Hicks urges minorities to do their homework when job hunting. "Investigate the company's stance on diversity," he says. "Are there people that look like you represented throughout the organization, particularly in upper management and in hiring roles?"

Professional contacts can advance a job search
Jerri Barrett, VP of marketing at Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (Palo Alto, CA) is a strong believer in leveraging associations and professional conferences to advance a job search. "Being part of an association or attending a conference related to your field is a great way to land internships, discover job opportunities, find mentors and make industry connections," she says.

"And there can be special perks," she notes. "At our conference last year, we created a detailed job book of all of the companies that were hiring and the positions they were looking for."

A job book will be available at this year's conference in November as well. Last year's is at www.gracehopper.org/2010/assets/ABI-ghc_job_book_v4ncF.pdf.

Nationwide recommends using social media
For recent grads seeking opportunities, Chuck Mischley, manager of talent acquisition at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (Columbus, OH), recommends using social media like LinkedIn and Facebook in a professional manner.

"Here at Nationwide, we have a Facebook career page," he says. "I can't think of an easier way for a student to connect with an actual recruiter than becoming a fan of our Facebook page and posting a message that you are interested in an internship. It's just that easy."

Nationwide recruits nationally. "Last year we had 160 interns across the company," says Mischley. "We're always working to provide a diverse candidate slate to our hiring managers at all levels. When we think about diversity, we're not just thinking about ethnicity, gender and culture, but even how people think and their strategy ideas."

Leadership abilities and community involvement are valued at Nationwide. Recruiters review candidates' organizational activities, roles and leadership. "We do a lot of community work," Mischley notes. "So if we see that on a resume, it jumps out at us."

Tyelisa Shields is an "executive in the making" at Hewlett-Packard
"Future executive" is what Tyelisa Shields has been labeled at the Boise, ID site of Hewlett-Packard (HP, Palo Alto, CA). She is a systems qualification engineer, responsible for maintaining tests that ensure final products meet quality standards before entering the market.

Shields graduated in 2007 with a BSCS from Grambling State University (Grambling, LA). "This is where my passion for information security and computer forensics blossomed," she notes.

She went on to earn her 2010 MS in IT with a specialization in information security on full scholarship at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA). During the graduation ceremony, Shields was presented the Pradeep K. Khosla leadership award, which goes to a Carnegie Mellon Information Networking Institute graduate student who has most noticeably demonstrated initiative, motivation, academic excellence and overall outstanding leadership qualities.

Shields is also the 2008-2009 recipient of a fellowship from the IT security-focused Executive Women's Forum (www.ewf-usa.com) and a two-time recipient of conference scholarships to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (gracehopper.org).

From January to September 2008, Shields interned at IBM as a pre-professional software engineer. During the summer of 2009, she worked as a computer forensics intern at the Mesa, AZ location of Boeing (Chicago, IL). "I felt like a real detective," she says.

"It's important to understand that your career is in your own hands," she notes. "You have to be proactive and take control."

In addition to utilizing campus resources, Shields made a list of all the companies she was interested in working for and contacted someone directly in human resources. "I sent each of them an email about myself, my interest and my desire to join the company," she says.

Her strategy worked. Shields received multiple job offers, but she was not necessarily swayed by a high starting salary. She reminds IT applicants to stay focused and look at the whole picture.

"While a company is interviewing you, be sure to interview them," she urges. "Find out if the company is stable, how you will progress, if your area of interests will be developed and if you'll have mentor support."

Internship leads to job at Vanguard for Leo Marte
A computer science major was a natural fit for Leo Marte. "Growing up, I loved computers and technology," he says.

Marte graduated Magna Cum Laude from Gettysburg College (Gettysburg, PA) in 2009 with a bachelors in CS, and earned a slot on the dean's honor list. He's now working on his MBA at Villanova University (Villanova, PA), which he expects to receive in 2013.

As a student, Marte interned at the New York City department of citywide administrative services and at Vanguard. "I worked for Vanguard in the summer of 2008, after my junior year, and they offered me a fulltime position."

Marte is now a project lead in the business technology group at Vanguard (Valley Forge, PA), a client-owned investment company. His Agile team works on multiple technology initiatives for the company's institutional asset management business. "We ensure flawless execution of project plans to achieve business goals," he explains.

According to Marte, internships, a professional presence, creative problem solving skills and how you are perceived contribute to your marketability. But communication skills are key to securing a job. "No matter what area of IT you are going into," he notes, "you will need to communicate with others."

He's confident that a career in IT is a great choice. "When you look at the marketplace, it's very clear that companies need technology to become more competitive," he says.

Marte has served as college ambassador for Vanguard, responsible for external relationships with five universities. This involves coordinating campus events and developing and implementing talent attraction strategies for each school.

Talent attraction manager Karen Fox encourages minority IT professionals to consider Vanguard. "We have a strong commitment to diversity," she says. In fact, the company has established diversity advisory committees in several of its groups and departments.

"This is diversity on the ground," she says. "Everyone can get involved and it creates an inclusive environment."

Aaron Jones "wows" executives at Freddie Mac
A strong work ethic and a commitment to excellence are part of Aaron Jones's recipe for success. In fact, he received the 2009 Freddie Mac Premiere Achievement Award, which honors an employee nominated by co-workers for a job well done.

Jones also received the Freddie Mac Now Award in 2010, which is performance based as well.

Jones is a development professional at Freddie Mac (McLean, VA). His responsibilities include developing and providing testing support for Oracle Service Bus (OSB) services on Freddie Mac's Reliable Multicast Messaging project. His work involves collaborating with integration teams to configure OSB and other platforms, creating design artifacts and developing code.

As an undergrad, Jones interned at Virtual Parts Modeling and Simulation (Hampton, VA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Gaithersburg, MD). He graduated from Hampton University (Hampton, VA) in 2008 with a BS in computer science. His GPA was 3.37.

"While a high GPA is impressive, we're looking at the whole picture," notes Stephanie Roemer, recruiting manager of talent acquisition. "A graduate with a well-rounded background stands out. We like to see graduates who were active in extra-curricular activities and took on leadership roles, instead of just doing the school work."

Jones agrees that it takes more than a solid academic record and an internship to get a prospective employer's attention. "Join associations related to your area of IT interest and get involved," he says. "Take interviewing classes and get to know the department chairs and teachers very well."

Roemer says that Freddie Mac's IT division hires between fifty and seventy-five interns and 119 to 160 fulltime college graduates each year, depending on need and the economy.

Lamont Franklin combines business and technology at Freddie Mac
Lamont Franklin was initially interested in graphic design, but was concerned that work in that field is done by freelancers. His love of technology and business led him to major in computer information systems instead.

"It has turned out to be the perfect balance," he says with a smile. "I got a computer science foundation with a business component."

Franklin is a Freddie Mac business decision analyst in the single family operations division. His overall responsibility is to provide internal application support for contracting and terms of business. He works on various DPM project enhancements and provides DPM support.

"DPM is a tool for Freddie Mac employees to create, track, modify and process deals and contracts," he explains.

Franklin earned his 2009 BS in computer information systems at Hampton University. He interned at the Naperville, IL location of Alcatel-Lucent as a software developer, and at EDS in Atlanta, GA as a technical writer and technical support analyst, working on an AT&T account.

Franklin's combined interests made him an ideal candidate for Freddie Mac's college rotation hire program, which allowed him to work in various departments and learn the scope of Freddie Mac's business. He enjoyed project management and analyzing data, and now works on the business operations side.

"My CIS degree gives me a broad range of opportunities," he notes. "I can analyze and solve problems from a technical perspective as well as from a business perspective."

Freddie Mac strives to maintain a diverse workforce, says Kia Silver-Hodge, director of marketplace diversity initiatives. Her job is to manage relationships with Freddie Mac's diversity partner organizations.

"We attend fifteen to seventeen recruitment events annually that are diversity focused," she says. "Our operations and IT division has the most opportunities for college hires."

Franklin urges IT students to find internships as early as possible. "Use your time to get work experience and network," he says. "And hold on to your course-related books; you may need them your first year on the job!"

Katie Miller leads international teams at the DIA
Katie Miller's dad got her started in technology. "My dad has been in the IT field since I was a young girl," she says. "As I learned more about it and the opportunities available, it really sparked my interest."

Miller is an IT project manager and international infrastructure team lead at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA, Washington, DC). She leads a team of twenty project managers and engineers, in an enterprise of 3,500 IT personnel.

Miller earned her 2006 BS in business information technology at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA). During her sophomore year, she landed an internship as a junior analyst and deputy project manager at the Department of Veterans Affairs. She worked there during her spring, summer and holiday breaks throughout her studies.

At the beginning of her senior year, Miller started looking aggressively for a fulltime position. She searched the usual job sites and networked through her sorority and with friends who had already graduated. After graduation, she returned to Veterans Affairs as a fulltime professional. She stayed there until February 2007, when she took a position at the DIA.

Miller is optimistic about the IT job market. "The IT field continues to grow," she says. "There are a lot of different facets of IT beyond what people usually think of."

She urges grads to go on as many interviews as possible. "Don't limit yourself, keep your options open, and when you get a position, remember that each job you have will help you in your next."

Prateek Tiwari gives finance an IT twist at Rockwell Collins
Prateek Tiwari majored in business administration with an emphasis in finance. He also had a strong interest in IT. Today, his understanding of both serves him well as a business integration analyst at Rockwell Collins (Cedar Rapids, IA).

Tiwari is the eBusiness finance lead for an FY11 SAP refresher program and the finance liaison for the center of excellence, which handles break/fix remedy tickets from across the company.

Recently, Tiwari was part of a European bank consolidation and teamed up with the corporate finance and strategy teams to create a central system for overseas transactions and banking. He also designed Winshuttle programs to back up accounts in SAP.

Tiwari graduated from the University of Iowa in 2010 with a degree in finance. He interned at Rockwell Collins for two years before being hired.

He's excited about being part of a company like Rockwell Collins and getting a start early on. "We look at finance from an IT perspective," he explains.

Ruben Alejandro Castillo, manager of university relations, reports that Rockwell Collins visits thirty to forty college campuses annually to recruit. "We will hire 400 interns and co-ops this year," he says. "One of our key strategies is to try to convert our interns and co-ops into fulltime employees, and we've had success doing so."

But when Tiwari started looking for a fulltime job in his senior year, there were no IT positions available at Rockwell Collins. He kept in touch as he pursued other opportunities, and by the time he graduated there was a job for him.

Tiwari recommends that IT students get involved with outside organizations so they can interact with people of different ages and experiences. "As a student, you get used to everyone being in your age range," he says. Getting to know a wider range of people means "It'll be less challenging when you start working," he explains.

Tiwari also encourages students to step out of their comfort zones. "I followed an untraditional aspect of finance and the things I am learning in regards to IT are phenomenal," he says. "Don't be afraid to take your career in a new direction. Explore while you are in college."

Keith Ball's "can-do" attitude impresses Fannie Mae
Keith Ball found that landing a job with a great company was possible even without an internship. "I had to work during college, so I couldn't take advantage of the many events, conferences and internships available," explains Ball.

Ball is an application support analyst at Fannie Mae (Washington, DC). He provides support for high-use platforms and performs database modifications.

Throughout his college studies, Ball worked fulltime as a manager at a hardware store. He earned his BS in computer technology database administration at Bowie State University (Bowie, MD) in 2009.

Knowing that companies value the experience students gain through internships, Ball decided to leverage the experience and skills he'd developed as a manager of ten associates. It wasn't direct industry experience, but he did have good leadership abilities plus problem solving and decision making skills.

Ball was looking for a company that would recognize what he'd accomplished: earning a degree and simultaneously working as a manager and supervisor of others, all while maintaining a 3.2 GPA. His maturity and his "can-do" attitude landed him a job at Fannie Mae. "I am often given projects that are usually assigned to senior developers," he reports proudly.

Fannie Mae has both a technical and non-technical track into the company for recent college grads. "We look for candidates with critical and creative thinking, a solutions-focused approach, natural curiosity about technology and an interest in how they could bring value to the company," says recruiting manager Damion Henderson.

"We also look for leadership abilities, analytical skills and learning potential," Henderson adds. "Most importantly, Fannie Mae is an equal opportunity employer, committed to diversity and inclusion at all levels, including senior management."

D/C

Penelope Blair is a business, technology and consumer writer in Dallas, TX.

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