Information technology is a branch of computer engineering that focuses on the collection, storage and disbursement of information. IT specialists are people who are employed to study, create and run information systems and computer applications that do this work. The job of an information and technology systems manager is to oversee and manage the different types of IT specialists and computer-related operations at an organization. Information and technology systems managers usually assign projects, control the flow of work and supervise areas that hold many programmers, systems analysts and peripheral equipment operators.
The minimum degree that someone can have and become and IT systems manager is a bachelor's degree. The first two years of a B.S. in IT would focus on ensuring that students have the necessary math skills to succeed in the program, require students to take general education courses and introduce students to the field of information technology. Some typical courses that you might take during these two years are Introduction to Information Systems, College Writing, Precalculus Mathematics, Technical and Scientific Communication and Introduction to Computer Programming.
The last two years of a B.S. in IT would go further into the complexities of IT. The goal of these years are to make sure that students have the necessary skills in areas such as marketing, finance, management, systems design, systems security and networking. Some specific courses that you might take are Computer Ethics, Introduction to Data Structures, Graphics for Multimedia and the WWW, Website Development, Java Programming, Introduction to Linux and Shell Scripting.
Although a bachelor's degree is the minimum, many employers prefer a graduate degree. Master's programs are different from bachelor's because the graduate program is an intensive specialization program for IT professionals. Professors expect you to already know the fundamentals of information technology. Their intent is to go deeper into a specific aspect of IT. Some courses that you may take are Advanced Algorithms, Programming Language, Software Entrepreneurship, Information Theory, Computer Architecture and Principles of Software Engineering.
A second graduate school option for a management in IT position is getting an MBA. Employers also like this option because they know that graduates will have knowledge and skills of business administration and will most likely have had a chance to apply them in a business setting. The program generally lasts around two years, and students will have the opportunity to take classes like Management of Information Systems, which teaches the strategic role of information systems and technologies; Operation Management, which reviews decision making and the creation of value when producing goods and services; and Managerial Economics, which instructs students on economic analysis for decision making in a business.