Penn State Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology
College of Information Sciences and Technology
Managing Information, Powering Intelligence
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Managing Information, Powering Intelligence
The ISDEV option focuses on developing a range of technical skills, including:
First of all, take as many IST courses as possible, in particular a broad selection of the 300-level courses. Developing information systems involves understanding the range of factors that impact the form of the IS solution. Students should consider CSE 121 and 122 if they are particularly interested in the technical dimensions of system development. Courses in cognitive psychology and graphic design are appropriate for students interested in designing for human-computer interaction. Also outside of IST students should consider an introductory financial accounting course, as so many systems deal with financial transactions or have transactions as essential inputs and/or outputs.
Other courses to consider include those from: Instructional Systems (INSYS), Mathematics (MATH), Industrial Engineering (IE), Electrical Engineering (EE), Finance (FIN), Supply Chain and Information Systems (SCIS), Economics (ECON), and Technical Writing, and Communication Arts and Sciences (CAS). Students in this option should also consider taking courses from the College of IST’s Security and Risk Analysis minor. It is strongly recommended that you consider one or more application areas that are of special interest and take courses to gain an understanding of the area. This can be any domain from music to forestry to physics, but in the long run you will be happiest applying your IST skills to problems in which you have a deep and lasting personal interest.
User and stakeholder requirements analysis, systems analysis, application design, human-computer interface design, application quality assurance, application documentation (testing), application programming, among others.
JAVA Programmers:
Information Management Program:
*Please be advised that this is simply a brief list containing some of the career positions a graduate from this option may encounter. It is not intended to serve as a comprehensive career guide, but rather to give students a sense of the general pathways to which this option may lead. Graduates from IST successfully apply their broad-based technology background in myriad professional settings. Some IST graduates also choose to continue their studies in graduate or professional schools.
Enterprise integration focuses on system interconnection, data interchange, process modeling and reengineering, and distributed computing environments. The key goals of enterprise integration include:
To accomplish these goals, a solid understanding of systems analysis and design techniques and issues is needed. Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) is often thought of as the “core” of enterprise integration.
EAI is the process of linking together enterprise applications within a single organization (or across an extended enterprise of business partners) to simplify and automate business processes to the greatest extent possible, while at the same time avoiding having to make sweeping changes to the existing applications or data structures. EAI promotes data sharing between diverse applications of the enterprise and its partners.
Enterprise applications that are commonly in need of integration include:
You will learn key skills to prepare you for a career in enterprise integration, including how to:
The core courses in this option include IST 302 (IT Project Management), IST 420 (Fundamentals of Systems and Enterprise Integration), and IST 421 (Advanced Enterprise Integration: Technologies and Applications). They build on the central theme of use of enterprise IT to support organizational functions.
In addition to the other IST 300 level courses, any courses that add further depth, domain-specific, and other knowledge in enterprise technology, enterprise architecture or business are valuable. In particular, the supply chain minor offered through the College of Business is a great compliment for student in this option. The College of IST is developing a new supportive area in enterprise architecture that is also a great compliment for students in the Integration and Application Option. In addition, the security and risk analysis major in the College of IST offers courses that would be a good compliment to this option for those students interested in the security aspects of enterprise integration. Because of the broad background developed in this option, many major consulting firms hire our graduates. For those students with an interest in pursuing a career in integration with a consulting firm, the College of IST offers a curricular track in consulting practices and approaches.
Integration problems like to ones listed above are of concern to all types and sizes of organization and demand for integration related professionals is great and projected to rise dramatically in the future. In fact, thirteen of the top fifteen hottest jobs in IT (according to CIO magazine) are directly related to enterprise integration and architecture careers.
The IT integration option is designed to prepare you with a combination of organization and technology skills so you can attack problems just like these. The option is for people that want to understand and use enterprise technology to solve complex business problems and is designed to provide a solid understanding of enterprise systems, integration approaches and technologies, process modeling and re-engineering, as well as an understanding of organizations and human dynamics.
There are several trade publications that best describe the concerns this option addresses. These include CIO, CIO Insight, Information Week, Knowledge Storm and Datamation. You will also benefit by keeping up with news magazines like Business Week, The Economist, and newspapers such as Wall Street Journal and New York Times Technology section.
IT & Business Consultant - Strategy and Management
Job Description:
Company XYZ is a leading Information Technology company empowering businesses and governments to plan, manage, and maintain their integrated, ultra-high availability, and secure operations. This is a position in the Enterprise Services - U.S. Public Sector Consulting organization. This organization provides Information Technology consulting services to United States Federal Government agencies and departments.
We are looking for motivated, analytical, and fast-learning individuals who are interested in contributing to this very important function of the company. The individuals will have the opportunity to work with a very competent global team in a collaborative atmosphere, in the delivery of the next generation of IT applications.
This position will have responsibility to work in the different phases of the development life cycle from business requirement gathering, to system configuration, to development, testing, and delivery of the enterprise IT solution. The candidate must be capable of working independently as well as with a team. This individual will collaborate with other team members in creating solutions that meet identified business requirements, participate in the design of large-scale systems and assist other team members with completion of their projects. In addition, the selected candidate will be expected to follow company processes and standards, and to study new technology and remain technically current.
Responsibilities include:
The goal of Company XYZ’s US Public Sector Consulting is to establish Company XYZ as the world's leading information technology company; to be the best at helping customers manage and transform their IT environments to optimize business outcomes; and to be the provider of choice for IT infrastructure solutions that support the mission of our clients in the Federal marketplace. Enterprise Services US Public Sector Consulting specializes in systems integration, IT strategy, and infrastructure disciplines for a wide variety of US Government and State and Local accounts.
Company XYZ IT Career Foundation Program
Position Description:
Are you looking at the vast landscape of technology professions and trying to see where you fit in? Would you like to take a few jobs out for a test drive to see if it's right for you - or just to build skills that you would like in your toolset? Company XYZ IT is currently hiring talented and motivated college graduates into the IT Career Foundation Program. Participants in this program will be assigned challenging work assignments and be mentored by technology professionals who provide industry leading solutions. You will assist in delivering best in class technological solutions to our business, our partners, and our customers. You will be assigned tasks that will help you apply and expand on the skills you have developed at school and will assist in building a solid foundation for your future career with Company XYZ. Participants in the program will be exposed to software development and sustainment, Company XYZ's IT infrastructure, customer engagement, and information security.
Example positions include: System Integration, Systems Analysis, Enterprise Architecture, Programmer Analyst, and Project Management.
Company XYZ Information Technology is more than just the help desk. An organization of 8,000 employees, we support all aspects of The Company XYZ Company from Commercial Airplanes to Space and Defense Programs. We're responsible for business systems which support our finance, human resources and Company XYZ Capital Corporation. IT designs, deploys, operates and maintains the computing and telecommunications infrastructure for The Company XYZ Company. We also establish common processes, standards and procedures to use, protect and share information, and comply with government, regulatory and competitive obligations. We develop and sustain product systems which include our engineering, manufacturing, quality and supplier management organizations throughout the company. We are able to accomplish these goals by investing in both our people and our leadership.
Competencies
General:
Technical:
*Please be advised that this is simply a brief list containing some of the career positions a graduate from this option may encounter. It is not intended to serve as a comprehensive career guide, but rather to give students a sense of the general pathways to which this option may lead. Graduates from IST successfully apply their broad-based technology background in myriad professional settings. Some IST graduates also choose to continue their studies in graduate or professional schools.
The Information, Society, and Public Policy option focuses on the human dimension of information technology. This option provides students with the skills and knowledge to understand how people influence the design, development, diffusion, use, and management of information technology. Students in this option will also learn how information technology is implicated in social change, and the affects of these social changes for individuals, communities, organizations, economies, nations, and global environments.
Specific skills for studying in this option include:
The prescribed courses, IST 302 or IST 413 (spring only), IST 431, and IST 432 (fall only), expose students to a broad perspective of the user, and how the user integrates with systems, technology, and contexts, and examine the significant social and policy implications that result from the design, implementation, and use of modern information technologies.
After taking these three courses, students will also be able to discuss the major themes in information policy studies (e.g. community, privacy, access, economic participation, security) and user studies (human-computer interaction, computer supported cooperative work), and be able to relate these themes to the applications of particular technologies. They will be able to describe policy frameworks and issues, as well as the legal and social implications of these choices.
The following is a representative list of work assignments from each of the three courses in this option:
Trade eMagazines
Scholarly eJournals
The ways that people communicate and utilize information is being changed dramatically by new information technologies. Information and the technologies that are employed to create, organize, transfer and utilize that information in a networked environment, using such global networks as the Internet or internal networks such as Intranets, have become a key component of the global economy. This global environment is changing the way we interact, communicate, and function on the job and in our daily lives. The new technologies also raise new economic, cultural, legal, ethical and social issues that are of grave importance to society. For these reasons, increasing attention is being paid to the human context that surrounds the information technology. We want to be sure that the technology is being used in appropriate and effective ways, and that the needs of people are being taken into account.
Emerging Leaders Management Development Program
This highly-selective management development program looks for college graduates from top schools that are ready to make a commitment to a growing and dynamic organization! Emerging Leaders learn the ins and outs of our property-casualty business while participating in one of two career tracks: Operations Management or Information Technology. As an Emerging Leader in the Information Technology track, you will spend 2 ½ to 3 years learning our business by rotating through our information services and systems operations departments, located in our corporate headquarters. Rotations may include database upgrades, business analysis, development and design, new application rollouts, data migration, documentation and/or project management. In addition, you’ll learn about our fiscal year planning and budgeting cycle, work on special projects, participate in management meetings, receive mentoring from directors and officers, and learn how to become a successful manager. Twice a year, all of our aspiring managers travel to our corporate headquarters for week-long leadership conferences and team-building. Emerging Leaders are given the opportunity to make a real contribution to the company’s bottom line and to interact with senior executives and associates at all levels. When participants complete their program, they are placed in positions of significant responsibility within the technology-operations of our company. The Emerging Leaders work in a stable and fun environment, and are compensated for performance!
IT Trainee Program
Technical competency may include, but are not limited to: Track 1: C++, Visual Basic, SQL, COBOL, UNIX, DB2, Java, HTML Track 2: HTML, WebSphere, J2EE, Network Protocols.
Information Technology Team Program
The Information Technology Team specifically focuses on:
* Please be advised that this is simply a brief list containing some of the career positions a graduate from this option may encounter. It is not intended to serve as a comprehensive career guide, but rather to give students a sense of the general pathways to which this option may lead. Graduates from IST successfully apply their broad-based technology background in myriad professional settings. Some IST graduates also choose to continue their studies in graduate or professional schools.