Information Systems
Jobs, Careers, and Opportunities in Information Systems (IS)
How can jobs that require close interaction with customers, colleagues, or partners be sent overseas? How can hands-on IT tasks that are tightly integrated with existing information systems be sent overseas? They can't!
It is a myth that all IT jobs are being sent overseas. The jobs related to information systems that are most likely to get outsourced are those that involve little interaction with people or existing systems.
Depending on your level of experience, information systems graduates can pursue jobs as web programmers, systems analysts, system administrators, database developers or administrators, network administrators, software or quality assurance testers, network security administrators, pre or post sales technical support staff, help desk staff, business analysts, and technical project managers. These are job categories within existing organizations, but keep in mind that you can also leverage your IS skills to be an entrepreneur.
Recognize the value of studying IS in the San Francisco Bay Area. You are living in the midst of two world famous technology clusters -- Silicon Valley and San Francisco.
If you take advantage of this proximity -- through participation in student groups, discussions with faculty that are involved with the business community, attendance at special events organized by SF State or the Bay Area business community -- you will be poised to launch a great career after you graduate. This will be possible through greater familiarity with the business community as well as refined communications and administrative skills.
Check out the Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the U.S. Department of Labor for more detail on promising opportunities for computer and information systems managers: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos258.htm.
What exactly is IS?
The phrase "Information Systems" or IS refers to a field of study and also to the systems that professionals build.
The systems are just tools to create, store, exchange, search, and/or manipulate information. Information systems are everywhere -- at the BART station, behind the ATM, on the Web, in your online banking, behind your favorite search engine, enabling your social networking site to manage content for millions of users, etc. You likely use information systems every day of your life. Information systems are built using computers (e.g. mobile devices), communications (e.g. Wi-Fi, Internet), software (e.g. instant messaging, browsers, multimedia tools), data (e.g. user profiles), business rules (e.g. how work really gets done inside the organization), and people (e.g. you).
When you study information systems, you join a group of forward thinking people who live at the intersection of technology and business. These are people who keep an eye out for state-of-the-art information technologies and then figure out if and how they can be used to better manage information, or to build really unique information services, or to improve business processes.
Information systems professionals get a unique view of an organization because they are responsible for the lifelines that enable information to flow between all other business functions. Just think of the future management opportunities that such a view might lead to later in your career!
How do I get started in IS at SF State?
Send an email to is@sfsu.edu with any questions you have.
Many of the professors that teach information systems at SF State were educated at excellent universities, have practical industry experience, and are very accessible.
Can I just take one IS course without committing to the IS concentration?
- Introductory classes for everyone, such as Introduction to Information Systems (ISYS 263), Information Systems for Management (ISYS 363), Information Systems for Management (BUS 782)
- General Education (Segment III) classes, such as Information Technology in a Global Society (ISYS 338), Information Technology for International Hospitality and Tourism (ISYS 339)
- Speciality courses such as Business Intelligence (ISYS 650), Healthcare Information Systems (ISYS 573), Information Systems Issues for Global Business (ISYS 582, IBUS 582), Multimedia Business Application Development (ISYS 568)
- More in-depth courses, such as Information Systems Analysis & Design (ISYS 463), Managing Enterprise Data (ISYS 464), Information Systems for Strategic Advantage (ISYS 814)
This is not a complete list of courses, so check out the IS department web site (http://is.sfsu.edu) or contact the IS department (is@sfsu.edu) or simply pick up the phone and call (415)-338-2138
