IT Career News

ITCareerFinder highlights some of the most popular and accomplished women in computer science.

Women account for only 19% of computer science graduates in the US, according to the latest data from the National Center of Education Statistics. This disparity is confirmed by an extensive study from the Allen Institute for AI which place the rate of male to female computer scientists at 4:1.

Despite representing a small percentage of the CS workforce, female computer scientists have made some revolutionary contributions to the field. These achievements are made doubly special because women have historically had far less access to education and employment.

This page will spotlight the great women of computer science and outline some of their key accomplishments.

Here are the 5 most famous female computer scientists:

Ian Clark, Head of Americas at cloud staffing firm Frank Recruitment Group, breaks down the key reasons IT professionals are moving to The Windy City.

When you think of the world’s great tech cities, Chicago may not always be top of your mind, but its transformation over the last decade makes it impossible to omit from any discussion about the best American cities for IT professionals.

The global skills gap in technology means that professionals hold most of the cards when it comes to choosing how and where their career pans out, but Chicago has a lot to offer to make sure people want to be there.

Of course, there must be opportunity, and there’s plenty of that. Tech giants such as Google, LinkedIn and Salesforce all have offices in the city, which is partly why CompTIA named Chicago as one of the largest tech employers in the US last year.

Here are the top three reasons tech professionals are packing an extra layer and heading to the Jewel of the Midwest:

A technical staffing advisor with 20+ years of experience lays out the path for military veterans to successfully transition to a career in information technology.

If you’re nearing the end of active service and looking for a fast growing, high paying career with a bright future, you may want to consider a job in IT. Given that many of the skills and qualities you developed in the military apply to roles in information technology, a career in IT could be your best move.

Why IT? Let’s start with demand. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects employers to add about 668,000 computer and information technology jobs by 2030 to reach a total of 5.7 million jobs. In fact, businesses would like to hire more tech workers but they can’t find qualified candidates — especially developers, engineers and cybersecurity pros. Even so, U.S. IT job growth is still in record territory with no signs of slowing down.

Then, there’s the money. The median salary for Computer and Information Technology Occupations is $86,320 as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than double the $41,950 median wage for all jobs nationwide. What’s more, the military or a prospective employer may even pay for IT training and certifications that will further enhance your skill set and market value.

There’s also a huge range of entry-to-mid level jobs that are appropriate for veterans who are just starting their civilian careers. Ready to get started? Here’s how veterans can navigate the transition into employment in the IT job market.

The demand for dedicated cyber security talent is higher than ever before, and it's unlikely to decelerate any time soon. Many companies are feeling the pressure from an ever-growing threat landscape, and are compelled to seek out professionals who can help protect the organization from harm. According to a study conducted by the Center for Cyber Safety and Education and (ISC)², the workforce shortage in the cyber security industry is projected to hit 1.8 million by 2022. There's no better time for professionals in the cyber security field to hone and expand their skill set, becoming a valuable asset in the process.

When it comes to developing these skills, it helps to view them in the context of cyber security specialties. While job roles and day-to-day responsibilities often overlap, and professionals must adapt to new knowledge all the time, these specialties can still help an aspiring cyber security professional focus on a group of skills that are most appropriate for them.

The following are in-demand cyber security specialties and the skills you need to excel in each one:

A new survey from Computerworld indicates the most in-demand IT skills for 2012.

Computerworld polled 353 IT executives about their technology and hiring plans for 2012 in its annual IT forecast survey. The results provide valuable insight into which IT skills and expertise are likely to be the most sought-after in 2012. Companies will make significant investments in their IT workforces to bolster business in the year ahead; nearly 29% of respondents plan to take on new IT staffers through Summer 2012 – a whopping 45% increase in IT hiring expectations over last year's poll. The survey also reveals that companies will seek to gain a competitive advantage through technological innovation, not just “keeping the lights on,” as they plan next year’s IT hiring.

Here are the top IT skills in demand for 2012:

Experienced tech consultant and enterprise architecture PhD, Eetu Niemi, explores the importance of setting and meeting realistic expectations in the IT job market - both for employers and employees.

• Every organization wants to profile itself as modern, innovative, financially solid, a forerunner in diversity - and generally the best place to work. Naturally, not just anyone can work in such a great place, so also the positions have matching requirements. Nothing less than a world-renowned expert will do. You must have 20 years of relevant work experience, proficiency in all the technologies the recruiter can think of, a doctorate - and of course, be less than 30 years old.
• To have a chance of being picked, potential employees must do even better. They must take every achievement in their resume to at least the power of ten. “Implementing a SalesForce SaaS solution” turns into “leading strategic transformation on the enterprise level.” If their work history has unexplainable gaps, they need to invent “jobs” to fill them. Acting as a board member in your in-law’s startup or a neighborhood nonprofit will do nicely.

As a result, we arrive at a match made in hell. New employees will get fed up when they discover the truth behind clever employer branding. Still, they will need to suffer in a stressful or tedious job long enough not to ruin their resume. Employers will get disappointed when new employees cannot deliver to the standards they led the employer to expect. There is a thing called a probationary period - and it works both ways.

Still, you can be different! Let’s take a look at an alternative approach:

An increase in high-profile cyber security breaches is driving new and emerging opportunities in the IT job market. This article presents a look at noteworthy attacks and the in-demand skills and cyber security job roles employers must fill to combat future threats.

Despite recent advancements in cyber security infrastructure and technologies, the frequency and severity of high-profile attacks is on the rise. A January 2013 attack on the U.S. Energy Department is the latest in a string of malicious technological assaults targeting The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and social media giant, Twitter. During the last several years, governments and corporations alike have seen critical digital defenses circumvented by sport-hackers, political dissidents and technologically-inclined malcontents. These attacks and thousands of others have reinforced the demand for a competent cadre of next-generation IT security specialists.

ITCareerFinder interviews technology, business, staffing and education leaders to identify the most desirable skills in the post-Corona IT workforce.

The global pandemic has thrown organizations large and small into turmoil as offices shuttered overnight, and employees began a trial-by-fire adjustment to home office environments.

This has had a profound impact on the IT needs of businesses, and offers those in the tech job market a series of opportunities in the areas of IT service management (ITSM), unified communications, security, and a host of areas where businesses will need to ramp up their acumen—quickly and permanently.

“The most shocking thing about the pandemic was not that people were starting to work from home, it was how quickly it happened,” explains Shirin Mangold, senior director of IT at software and information solutions specialist Deltek.

She notes the company immediately lost their ability to go in and pick up IT equipment, and had to support employees who had never worked outside the office. This requiring providing an avalanche of information her team needed to communicate to people working remotely, without the ability to rely on traditional in-office communications.

“We had an increased reliance on online collaboration tools and that became extremely important for communicating information to people,” she says. “As people went home, they asked for support on consumer products, home printers, WiFi and cable providers, and it challenged our ability to troubleshoot, so we really had to share knowledge more creatively.”

She sees business needs for IT Service Management and Unified Communications ramping up dramatically as IT departments struggle with a deluge of tickets, a view shared by Matt Hackney, regional vice president for the New York region at the staffing firm, Robert Half Technology.