BS in Information Technology Management: Degree Overview

In a BS in Information Technology Management program, students learn to analyze and understand information systems, hardware and networks. Students experiment with programming languages, such as Java and Visual Basic. Some sample courses that information technology management major students may encounter include:

• Business Communications: In order to work in information technology management positions, students will need to learn in detail how business communications work. They will need to learn to write in formal business English and how to do technical writing and editing.
• Database Management: Many IT management workers provide services in database management. This means helping businesses to create and maintain database systems that they can use for all of their data needs, from payroll to metadata analysis to productivity trackers.
• Software Concepts: Courses like these teach students the basics of what software is, how to develop and maintain it, and how different pieces of software interact with one another to create more complex systems. Information technology management specialists need to be excellent at working with a wide variety of software.
• Operations Management: Operations management is all about creating and maintaining systems in the digital sphere. It is about creating systems that are flexible and that can evolve with the needs of a company. It is also about updating older systems to make them run more efficiently.
• Desktop Applications Support: Many information technology management students go on to perform user support for individuals. This means the that they will need to develop the ability not only to solve common applications issues, but also to do so in a way that communicates clearly and effectively with individuals who may not have an information technology background.

What can you do with an IT management bachelor degree? Graduates can use their skills to work as technical personnel or managers in private businesses, educational institutions and the government. Working as a consultant is another possibility. Some job titles graduates may hold include:

• Application Developer: Application developers create software for specific purposes, either for a company's particular use or for broader use by the public. They need to be highly adept at coding and have a good understanding of how to create digital architecture. They also need to be able to fix bugs in their own work so that anything that they create can perform efficiently.
• Computer Specialist: This is a general term for a wide variety of different specific job positions. Computer specialists are often hired by companies to perform a variety of tasks to improve the digital functioning of a workplace. They may also be called in to solve major problems with computer systems that have had meltdowns, security breaches, and other kinds of issues.
• Data Communications Analyst: Understanding how data works is a very specific kind of knowledge that many information technology managers specialize in. These professionals know how to gather and interpret data for a given company or prompt and can organize it into a system that promotes readability and understanding for those who need to extract information from that data.
• Database Administrator: Databases are highly complex and ever-evolving systems that are becoming more and more essential to the way we live our lives and do our jobs. Making sure that these databases are secure and that they are producing and compiling the correct information is a job done by many IT managers, usually for companies but sometimes for individuals or even governments.
• Communication Analyst: Humans communicate more and more in the digital sphere, producing data as we do so. Communication analysts compile and analyze that data to understand how people are communicating, about what, and under what circumstances. Social media companies and advertisers may be particularly interested in employing communication analysts.

How much do IT managers make? There is not just one Bachelor of Science in information technology management salary outcome, because there are so many jobs that these professionals can have. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports an estimated 22% job growth for applications developers over the 2019-2029 decade, and the median annual wage for these professionals in May 2019 was $107,510 (www.bls.gov). The expected job growth for database administrators from 2019-2029 is 10%, which is much faster than average, and median earnings for these professionals were $93,750 in May 2019. Overall 8% growth is reported for computer support specialists during the 2019-2029 decade. The BLS reports May 2019 median annual earnings of $52,270 for computer user support specialists and $63,460 for computer network support specialists.

What continuing education is available for IT managers? Graduates who wish to further study the integration of technology and business may pursue a Master of Science in Information Technology Management. Those who want to focus on advanced business concepts may consider a Master of Business Administration that has a concentration in information technology. A doctoral degree in information technology management is also available for students interested in advanced teaching and research pursuits within colleges and universities.

To summarize, a BS program in information technology management provides a highly interdisciplinary education for students who are interested in careers that require training in both business and technology.