The People in Information Systems

Career Paths in Information Systems

These job descriptions do not represent all possible jobs within an information systems organization. Larger organizations will have more specialized roles, while smaller organizations may combine some of these roles. Many of these roles may exist outside of a traditional information-systems organization, as we will discuss below.

Working with information systems can be a rewarding career choice. Whether you want to be involved in very technical jobs (programmer, database administrator), or you want to be involved in working with people (systems analyst, trainer, project manager), there are many different career paths available.

Career Paths in Information Systems

Many times those in technical jobs who want career advancement find themselves in a dilemma. A person can continue doing technical work, where sometimes their advancement options are limited, or become a manager of other employees and put themselves on a management career track. In many cases those proficient in technical skills are not gifted with managerial skills. Some organizations, especially those that highly value their technically skilled employees, create a technical track that exists in parallel to the management track so that they can retain employees who are contributing to the organization with their technical skills.