How Computer Have Changed Our Lives Essay Example

How Computer Have Changed Our Lives Essay Example How Computer Have Changed Our Lives Paper How Computer Have Changed Our Lives Paper Information Technology Majors in High Demand Overseas: How Computer Technology Have Changed Our Lives? 1. INTRODUCTION The 21st century is the age of computer technology and it has brought about a fundamental change in every facet of our life. It has largely influenced the way we communicate and the way information exchange is facilitated in todays world. An emergent phenomenon that is a byproduct of advances in computer networking technology is the Internet. It has truly transformed the world into a global village, with every part of the world linked to its vast network. This happened out of the evolution of the field of information technology (IT), which harnesses the power provided by computer technology so, why is it Information Technology is in demand not only in our country and how does it affects our lives? 1. 1. Background of Information Technology: In the era of 1960s and 1970s, information technology was limited to people working in the banking sector, mathematical engineers and computer scientists. In 1980s, the arrival of personal computers made it possible to be used in many more sectors and gave rise to a surge in the field of information technology. Previously, for the purpose of business, storage tapes were created by a single network administrator to interconnect employee workstations. The information stored in this workstation was placed in a server farm, located far off from the industry. However, now people have started communicating, using e-mails instead of snail-mails. It is an industry which deals with the usage of computer hardware and software and networking. Information technology has accomplished a lot in the 21st century. IT is a combination of computer and communication technology and a transfer of information from one peer to another. The backstory of information technology precedes the invention of the computer. The abacus, used by Asians, Egyptians, Romans, and the Greek can be termed a source of information technology. Calculators, the first mechanical one built by German polymath Wilhelm Schickard, or the slide rule, developed in 1622 by William Oughtred, also comes under the heading of information technology. Another example would be punch card machines, expanded upon by IBM in the early to mid 1900s, qualifies the term information technology. As time progress along with the advances of inventions and applied knowledge, computing took shape and became useful in a variety of ways other than calculations. Computer science became an academic specialty, creating computer science departments and classes. As these classes took shape, separate branches of computer science became distinct areas of study. Today, Information Technology departments use computers, data centers, servers, database management system, specialized software applications and more, managed by system and database administrators, an Information Technology Manager and other department heads, including a Chief Information Officer (CIO). Even though information technology has a long reach into history, only recently has it been associated with the use of computers. 1. 2. Definition of Information Technology: When the terminology information technology is used, mistakenly it describes the entire industry. Information technology basically refers to the employment of computer hardware and software applications to manage data. The term information technology evolved in the 1970s and if we consider a medium or large company providing goods or services, its information technology department will be responsible for storing, protecting, processing, retrieving and transmitting the information (Information Technology Association of America or ITAA). Information, meaning processed form of raw data, is something to be valued with your life in todays world. A person possessing right kind of information and using it at the right time, can surely work wonders. From the credit card numbers which we use for shopping, to the confidential bank account details, everything is stored in the form of binary digits in computers. These details can be used or misused depending on what kind of people have authorized or unauthorized access to it. With the help of information technology and our increasing dependency on machines, our life has become far easier, but we are more vulnerable now than before. Information Technology (IT) is a wide and varied sector, and is represented in some form in almost all the industries. It is a blend of computers and communication technology where IT professionals perform variety of duties, ranging from development and installation of applications to designing complex computer networks and databases. The information technology industry consists of computers, communication mediums, peripherals, electronics-related organizations, softwares and services. Usage of information technology for the completion of tasks in any organization, speeds up the processing and information mobility, and also improves the reliability and integrity of information. Information technology, while stirring thoughts and visions of networks, the Internet, server rooms, racks of switches and routers, and advanced terms including VoIP, TCP/IP addressing, security and more, the technology doesnt necessarily refer only to computer related issues. Any medium or channel that stores and processes information enters the category of information technology. The brain is an information processor, working to process and manage information that controls our every movement, body functions, and habits. Whichever procedure or attempt to communicate, store and manage information as well as utilize and administer the data will fall under the classification. 1. 3. Components of IT: * Computers: Computers are very important in order to store and process data. Depending on the size, cost and processing ability, computers are divided into four categories. They are mainframes, supercomputer, minicomputers and microcomputers (desktops or personal computers). Servers: A server is a combination of hardware and software, and is used to provide services to the client computers. These services generally include storage and retrieval of information. A standalone computer can also act as a server, provided its running on server operating system. * Database Management Systems (DBMS): Database Management System is basically a set of software programs which ma nages the storage and retrieval and organizes the information in a computer. This information is in the form of a database and is managed with the help of software. The DBMS accepts requests from the application program and instructs the operating system to transfer the appropriate data. There are various departments to monitor the flow of information, which include System Administrators, IT Managers, Database Administrators and Chief Information Officers (CIOs). * Networking: A computer network is a collection of computers and peripherals connected to each other through different modes. These modes can be wired or wireless. The network allows computers to communicate with each other (share information and resources like printers, scanners, etc. ). Network Security and Cryptography: Network security is one of the most important aspects of information technology. It consists of all the provisions made in an underlying computer network, in order to prevent unauthorized usage of information. It also includes implementing the policies adopted by the government and the applicable cyber laws. It is also helpful in providing protection from computer ha cking at the cyber boundaries of an organization. The cost of transmitting information has fallen dramatically, and according to a study, the cost of transfer of one trillion bits of information from Boston to Los Angeles has come down from a whopping $150,000 in 1970 to merely 12 cents today. With the help of internet technology, emailing a document of 40 pages from Chile to Kenya costs less than 10 cents, which is nothing as compared to the faxing price of $10 or sending it by courier for $50. Hence, it can be clearly seen that there are many advantages of information technology and it has drastically decreased the cost of information transfer. It has also increased the efficiency of employees in all organizations, allowing them to focus on core competencies rather than the technological issues. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Using a computer to write about computers is like searching for ‘Google’ on Google! Computer technology is so much a part of our lives, that we cannot imagine a life without it. Computers serve as efficient data storage systems and excellent information processors. They can store, organize and manage huge amounts of data. Moreover, they operate on incomparable speeds, thus saving human time and effort to a large extent. True, they are an integral part of our lives. It is said that inventions change the way we live. Computer technology is a classic example of this adage. It has indeed changed our way of living. . 1 Made IT in demand abroad: Information Technology or IT departments for some of the largest corporations in the world, in an effort to keep up with increased demand for database administrators, computer support specialists, computer scientists, computer engineers and systems analysts, have recently started recruiting graduating IT degree students from top tier u niversities. The shift toward finding qualified personnel prior to graduation is a stark departure from years past when IT gurus were competing for the few available positions that werent outsourced to overseas companies or individuals. Outsourcing has again become a major concern for corporations, not because of increased profits or savings, but because of the lack of IT personnel available in the U. S. and in some countries. In fact, the U. S Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that 8 of the 10 fastest growing occupations between now and 2010 will be computer related. This sudden shift in employment opportunities has led to high demand for IT degree program graduates especially abroad. After a period in which IT was considered a poor career choice following the tech stock fallout of the mid to late nineties and massive job cuts for major IT employers, those graduates are now harder and harder to find. Many corporations have relegated customer support operations to overseas companies while returning their database administrators and network support specialist positions to the U. S and some foreign countries. As security concerns over data theft and system security has become more prominent as of late, many of these positions are returning to these shores as well. The impact this is having on job availability for recent grads can only be described as positive. Enrollment numbers for IT degree programs are on the rise as well, which is a good sign that many are taking note of the current employment market for IT specialists. With the turnaround in IT employment coinciding with an increase in enrollment, many industry analysts are predicting that current shortages will be met over the next several years. In the meantime, many companies are choosing to restructure their existing IT departments to avoid outsourcing jobs overseas that will be temporary at best. For those who are currently grappling with the lack of qualified and well trained IT personnel, it is less a question of if supply will ever meet demand, but when. 2. 1. 1. In demand IT jobs abroad: *Software Developers and Engineers Software developers and engineers perform the important task of developing new software to fulfill the need of the clients of their company. They work hard to create new software for clients in fields such as banking, insurance, financial services, and information technology and telecoms services. Software developers work in teams and report their work to their departmental heads. They work in large IT parks and software development centers of IT majors. A graduation or post graduate degree in computer science or a degree in software engineering can land you a job as a software developer. Software developer salary and software engineer salary can be anything between $55,000 to $150,000 per year depending on their experience. These jobs are always at the top of the computer careers and salaries list. You should also be aware of the application developer job description which involves conversion of software requirements into coding and then the actual execution of programs. System analyst job description, which includes providing solutions for business efficiency and productivity, is challenging and this makes it one of the most sought after IT jobs. On the other hand, the web developer job description consists of managing all the aspects of clients web based systems and databases *Software Testing Professionals The job of a software tester is to check whether the quality of the prepared software is up to the mark and that it is functioning well. He detects the faults in the software and suggests corrections and solutions to rectify the same. Software testers are employed by large as well as mid-sized software companies to do the software testing jobs in a team. A graduation degree in information technology followed by a course in software testing can get you a job as a software tester. Salaries for these professionals vary as per their location and kind of employer. The quality analyst job description involves checking of new as well as old programs for their durability and relevance. *Programmers Among the different IT fields or different IT jobs, the job of a programmer is considered to be a prestigious one. Software programmers prepare programs for fast computation and solving numerical problems effectively. A programmer should have knowledge of the computer programming languages such as C, C++, Java, etc. They can find placements in many multi-national organizations and local software companies and can earn between $40,000 to $100,000 per year. This is surely amongst the different IT careers in demand. Computer programming careers have created ample job opportunities in the US in the past few years. Software development for external clients is a part of the programmer analyst job description. Since it is an important responsibility, the programmer analyst salary is quite good and is in the range of $45,000 to $70,000 per year. *Technical Writers Among the different IT jobs, career prospects for technical writers are believed to be the best. Technical writers are being hired in plenty in the information technology sector due to their expertise in writing down useful information about different kinds of software and preparing manuals and user guides along with online help solutions. An educational background in computer science and software with a course in technical writing from a recognized institute can help you in getting the best technical writing jobs. Having a knowledge of technical writer job description is essential for all budding technical writers. Technical writer can earn around $35,000 to $45,000 in the beginning and in excess of $60,000 per year after five years of experience. In a recent survey, this was regarded as one of the best careers in information technology. *IT Lecturers The job of an IT lecturer also features in the list of different careers and jobs. IT lecturers teach information technology subjects to students in high school, college and universities. They also get the opportunity to teach students in private coaching centers where the pay packages are quite lucrative. To become an IT lecturer, you need to have educational qualifications in the fields of software engineering, computer science and a love for teaching. IT lecturers can earn anything between $45,000 to $100,000 per year depending on their post and experience. *IT Director The job of an IT director is the best of all in the different IT jobs. An IT director job description includes supervising the work done by all IT employees in the organization and looking after the daily operations of the organization. He sees to it that the clients of the company are satisfied and gives suggestions and tips to his juniors for improving their performance. Several years of work experience in the IT field along with a degree in IT is what it takes to become an IT director. They can earn handsome salaries between $80,000 to $160,000 per year. As important as this post is the one of chief information officer of a company. The CIO job description includes developing, executing, and managing computing and information technology strategies of the company. The chief information officer job description can slightly change from one organization to another. *Networking and Technician Jobs in IT Network administrators and database managers also get work in IT firms depending on their capabilities to handle daily operations. Network administrator job description includes planning the network of computers in a systematic way for efficient daily use. IT technicians also have openings in the information technology sector. The computer technician job description mainly involves troubleshooting problems and maintenance of systems in IT offices. Computer technician salary largely depends on your skills, on an average it is between $40,000 to $65,000 per year. *Software Engineers With a bachelors degree in computer science and deep interest in programming, one can get a lateral entry into this career. For senior position in programming field, one requires a masters degree. Just studying computer science is not enough. One must have a flair for programming and must be good at coding, application modules and locating errors in coding programs. In the initial years, the pay scale for junior software engineers would be between US$50,000 to US$70,000, though it may vary depending on several factors. *Database Administrator Maintaining and managing databases of firms and business enterprises has led to the development of database administrator careers. Database administrators are known as DBAs and they design databases, conduct security checks, implement database designs and are actively involved in safeguarding the threat to a firms data security. A bachelors degree in computer science is necessary. In case of certifications and other diplomas, relevant years of work experience are important. The yearly income of database administrators is near about US$50,000 to US$85,000. *System Administrator Good technical skills and knowledge about Local Area Network (LAN) and awareness about the integration of software and hardware with the entire network system are some of the tasks of a system administrator. If you read the system administrator job description, youll know that system administrators must have good knowledge about Linux, Windows and several OS. *System administrators Also look after the maintenance and up gradation of computer systems, hardware and software, if required. Being aware of information infrastructure design in IT is always helpful for system administrators to understand intricacies of computer systems. The system administrator can earn anywhere between US$42,000 to US$65,000. *Web Developers Web developing and web designing are some of the top careers in demand. The need for skilled web designers and web developers has grown since the last ten years. Every firm or e-commerce website that you see on the Internet has been developed by web developers and this field has expanded significantly. Knowledge about XML, HTML and other programming languages is essential to know more about web designing. The web designer salary can be anywhere between US$31,000 to US$50,000. The web developer salary is between US$40,00 to US$65,000. *IT Consulting Jobs As business enterprises have entered in the manufacturing and development areas, the dire need for expert researchers to chalk a strategy for them, to make intelligent decisions, analyze requirements, help in system selection and work for several improvement services for the firm has become important. By handing your projects to an expert IT team, you can focus your attention to the other departments of your firm. IT consulting jobs have become one of the most sought after careers by IT professionals who have years of work experience. The annual income of IT consultants depends on several factors, mostly work experience. Salaries are very high, in case youre a senior consultant. Fresher can expect to earn around US$60,000 as the base salary. With work experience (and high educational degrees), they can even earn around US$100,000 to US$300,000. A career in information technology is rewarding and is certainly an opportunity to make money. Even in IT marketing field, there are several opportunities to work. This was all about some of the top IT careers in demand. If an individual has interest in this area, he can certainly make a good career. 2. 2. The importance of IT: For many years after 1960, when the third generation computers were created, desktops remained to be popular for personal and business use. Research in computer technology continued, giving rise to the development of laptops, palmtops, miniature tablet PCs and PDAs. As we see today, they serve as ‘personal digital assistants’ in the literal sense of the term! Their small size endows them with portability, thus adding to user convenience. As they can be operated on batteries, they provide computer users with mobile computing capabilities. How has this affected our lives? Well, we can remain connected to the world at all times. Work is no more location-dependent! Computer operating systems are a vital component of the computer technology. They help in the management of a variety of computer operations and in the sharing of computer resources. They handle the scheduling and execution of computer programs, help in the management of files and handle interrupts. They manage multiple user profiles and user accounts, thus playing a major role in maintaining computer security. Certain types of operating systems offer distributed processing capabilities and support multitasking and multi-user operations. The most important role of an operating system is to provide the users with an interactive interface. They have made the interaction with computers, a user-friendly experience and made it easy for the common man to make friends with the computer technology. Computers, as we all know, can perform complex mathematical operations and process large amounts of information. Thanks to their computational powers, long and complex calculations can be performed within seconds. They can be programmed to execute complex instruction sequences through the use of programming languages. That reminds me of the software industry, one of the most progressive industries of the world. Computer technology gave rise to this industry and changed the face of the world. The multimedia capabilities possessed by the computers make them one of the ideal audio-visual media. They can be made to play movies and music. They offer support to a variety of storage media like CDs, DVDs, floppy disks and USB drives. Computer hard disks are also capable of storing and playing audio and video. And how has this affected our lives? Well, it is due to these storage and audio-visual media, that we can maintain soft-copies of data. Gone are the days, when we used to document on paper! Gone are the days when students maintained traditional notebooks. Many of them possess notebook computers today. Today’s education is about PowerPoint presentations and e-homework assignments. TVs and radios were once, the only means of entertainment, but not any more. Today’s entertainment is about the computer and Internet technology! Perhaps, one of the major advantages of the computer technology is its ability to provide us with Internet access. Computers possess networking capabilities, which makes it possible to connect multiple computers and achieve an exchange of information between them. Network communication is possible, thanks to the networking features offered by the computer technology. 2. 2. 1. The importance of IT in Businesses: There are many businesses which are in need of the software packages for satisfying their operational as well as functional needs. For fulfilling this requirement, these companies sign deals with the software manufacturing companies. Information technology is useful in ensuring the smooth functioning of all the departments in a company such as the human resource department, finance department, manufacturing department and also in security related purposes. With the help of information technology, the companies in the automobile manufacturing sector are able to get rid of any sort of errors or mistakes in the proper functioning of the tools used for designing and manufacturing purposes. Due to the development of the information technology sector, the companies are being able to keep themselves aware of the changes in the global markets. Read more on IT jobs. The software applications and the hardware devices are known to be the main elements of the use of information technology. The web browsers, the operating systems, ERPs and special purpose applications are the software which are used in information technology. Information technology plays an important role in easily solving the mathematical problems and also in the project management system. Information technology has a great use in the automated production of sensitive information, automated up gradation of the important business processes and the automated streamlining of the various business processes. It has also played an important role in the areas of communication and automated administration of entire systems. 2. 2. 2. The importance of IT in Education: Importance of information technology in educational sector is well known. Information technology helps the students as well as the teachers in studying the course material easily because of fast access. Studying the subjects with the help of online libraries and dictionaries has made grasping and increasing the knowledge easy for the students. The inclusion of information technology in the syllabus in schools, colleges and universities has helped them in grasping the subject well and getting their basics cleared. Since, many educational centers have the online grading system; it has been a boon for the parents of the children to keep a tab on their performances. Parents can also get the details of the attendance record of their child in schools These were some of the important effects of computer technology on our lives. The list can go on. However, the very fact that you are on a computer reading about the effects of computer technology, which I have typed into a computer, speaks a lot about the effects of computer technology on our lives. Don’t you think so? 2. 3. The advantages of IT: The advantages of information technology are many. True globalization has come about only via this automated system. The creation of one interdependent system helps us to share information and end linguistic barriers across the continents. The collapse of geographic boundaries has made the world a global village. The technology has not only made communication cheaper, but also possible much quicker and 247. The wonders of text messages email and auto-response, backed by computer security applications, have opened up scope for direct communication. Computerized, internet business processes have made many businesses turn to the Internet for increased productivity, greater profitability, clutter free working conditions and global clientele. It is mainly due to the IT industry that people from diverse cultures are able to personally communicate and exchange valuable ideas. This has greatly reduced prejudice and increased sensitivity. Businesses are able to operate 247, even from remote locations. Information technology has rippled on in the form of a Communication Revolution. Specialists in this field like programmers, analyzers and developers are able to further the applications and improve business processes simultaneously. The management infrastructure thus generated defies all boundaries. Among the many advantages of the industry are technical support post-implementation, network and individual desktop management, dedicated business applications and strategic planning for enhanced profitability and effective project management. IT provides a number of low-cost business options to tap higher productivity with dedicated small business CRM and a special category for the larger operations. Regular upgrades have enabled many businessmen to increase productivity and identify a market niche that would never have been possible without the connectivity. With every subsequent increase in the ROI or Return On Investment, businesses are able to remain buoyant even amidst the economic recession. Not only do people connect faster with the help of information technology, but they are also able to identify like-minded individuals and extend help, while strengthening ties. This segment revolves around automated processes that require little or no human intervention at all. This in turn has minimized job stress levels at the work place and eliminated repetition of tasks, loss due to human error, risks involved due to negligence of timely upgrades and extensive paper-intensive business applications that result in the accumulation of unnecessary bulk. The sophistication of the modern work stations and general working conditions is possible only due to the development of Information Technology.