My name is Terris Greene, and I currently attend New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn. My major is Computer Information Systems, under the Computer Systems Technology Department of the School of Technology and Design. My goal is to graduate from the program with my Bachelor’s degree in Computer Systems Technology to become a Computer Systems Analyst. I chose this career path because of the high availability of this job and the pay, based on the Occupational Outlook Handbook from the Department of Labor Statistics. I also have a passion for being able to find solutions to problems that are found within the software of computer, and being able to keep the computing aspect of a company running smoothly would be a great thing to do in my opinion career wise. Using the City Tech College Catalog, I will be able to see how my major and classes will help me achieve this goal.
My major is Computer Information Systems, which is the Associates major to Computer Systems Technology Bachelors major. According to the City Tech College Catalog, the Associate’s program provides students with “a solid foundation in the field of computer systems which enables them to make a seamless transition to the bachelor of technology in Computer Systems” (College Catalog p. 222, par. 2) For the current semester, I am taking Introductions to Computer Systems, Problem Solving with Computer Programming, English Composition I, and Public Speaking. These classes serve as the basic skills needed for the field that I hope to progress in, with Intro to Computer Systems and the Problem Solving class being two of the more important since they are two of the Program-Specific classes. Public Speaking also has great value since it teaches me the skills needed to give presentations and talk in front of a group of people. Along with 9 other CST classes, such as Web Programming I and Introduction to Computer Security, I have to take other Flexible-Core classes, for example Introduction to Psychology, to at least receive my Associate’s Degree. Using what I plan to learn, I hope to find an internship within an organization, and then eventually become a Computer Systems Analyst, which “study an organization’s current computer systems and procedures and design information systems solutions to help the organization operate more efficiently and effectively”, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Handbook par. 1)
Like most computer based jobs these days, computer systems make a very decent salary. Based on the Occupational Outlook handbook, the median annual wage for computer system analysts was $79,680 in May 2012 (United States par. 5), and $81,190 in 2013, based on The U.S. News website (U.S. News). This salary is based off working full-time hours, usually more than 40 hours a week, with the pay rate being at average $38.31 per hour. Compared to other computer based careers, computer system analysts have one of the top salaries, having only software developers making more. The highest paying cities in the United States for this occupation are more within the West Coast, such as San Francisco and San Jose, California. The exceptions of this would be the District of Columbia and Bridgeport, Connecticut. I find this to be a really great rate of pay, especially since the average salary for computer systems analysts increase every year.
Another thing that intrigues me about this career is the extraordinary job availability. Technology continues to advance daily at a very fast pace, so there will be a need high demand for technicians and analysts in this field. Holding over 520,000 jobs in various industries, systems analysts manage to maintain positions to work based off their high demand alone. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the top industries hiring these computer workers are computer system companies, being responsible for 27% of the hiring of analysts. Other industries hiring such workers are finance and insurance companies (Handbook par. 3). It is predicted that the employment rate for this career will be faster than all occupations continuing to 2022. What also appeals to me is the work environment for this profession. My personal preference is to be able to have chance to work alone and in a group, and being a systems analyst will give the best of both worlds. There is even the possibility of traveling to other places to manage your business, even though most of the communication done is this field is telecommunication, or communication done through technology.
While money plays a key part in me choosing this career, I feel I want to be a computer systems analyst to be able to help others and say that I was a part of something major. There are numerous opportunities to do something spectacular in this field, including analyzing and designing information systems. They research the problem found in the system, plan out a solution to the problem and then recommend software and other possible systems to resolve the issue. This is key to help keep things running within industries, especially majority, if not all, major companies today are ran off a large network computer system. So being in control of how well that functions is not only an outstanding accomplishment, but a rather great honor as well. A good example of how systems analysts help solve problems is shown in the Nature article entitled “Security ethics”. This article discusses the challenges that computer-security researches have with finding solutions, due to the fact that their method of troubleshooting consists of hacking the security of the systems. Although they are attacking the security, the researchers do it to find the flaws in the systems for a solution to be found. This method seemed to be unethical, stirring up controversy within companies even though the flaws in the system weren’t announced to the public until a resolve to the issue was identified. Still these analysts continue to do their job in order to better other companies, hoping that more industries become more open to their strategies. This example shows the dedication that these workers have and the risks they are willing to take in order to fix all the possible problems within a computer system. This is something that I would like to be a part of, hoping to see a growth in my work ethic and determination towards tasks, regardless the difficulties of them.
I hope that the goals that I set for myself aren’t ones that are impossible to reach, knowing that this is something that I want to dedicate a lot of time and effort towards doing. I expect my journey to becoming a computer systems analyst to be a challenging one, but I know once I finish school and find a job within the field, everything will start to look up from there. I feel more than ready to start a successful and happy career in the technology field, bringing the most help that I can to anyone that’s in need.
Works Cited
“Computer Systems Analyst Job Overview.” U.S. News. U.S. News, n.d. Web. 8 Nov 2015
New York City College of Technology College Catalog 2015-2016. New York: New York
City College of Technology; 2015. PDF
“Security Ethics.” Nature 463.7278 (2010): 136. Web
United States. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Computer Systems
Analyst.”
Occupational Outlook Handbook. Washington: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8 Jan 2014.
Web. 8 Nov 2015.
