Greg
I'm thinking about doing it as a career. What exactly do they do? What's there work environment like? Do they get paid good?
Answer
To give you the background â There are a number of viable IT majors but the names are often confusing so I will hit the big 4 ones.
You need a 4 year degree. If all you have time for is a 2 year degree then that is ok for starters but you will still need to complete years 3&4. Don't get a certificate type degree or a Devry or ITT Tech degree- not recognized by many employers and credits may not transfer in the future. There are several main Computer majors and their associated career categories and you need to know these just to get the lay of the land. These degree titles are often found in Associates, Bachelors and Masters degree programs. Generally most IT employers are looking for a 4 year Bachelors degree in an IT related major as a minimum requirement. For working people some of these majors are offered by schools in night classes and we are beginning to see online or hybrid online/classroom options available. Depending on the school, a Bachelors degree in an IT field may be a BA or a BS. There does not seem to be any problems for employers with a BA or BS as long as it is a bachelors degree. If you already have a degree in another major, if you have an Associates degree or if you have a bunch or college credits and no degree you can usually find a degree completion program that will allow you to take 14-16 months of classes and graduate with a Bachelors in a computer related major.
Now some of the titles colleges use may consist of different course curriculums. As an example one school may have more programming classes in the same major while another school has fewer. Schools may call their general IT program Computer Information Technology, Computer Information Systems or Computer Information Science. To really tell what the major is about you should look at the courses that a particular school offers in that major. Another point of confusion is job titles you will see. For example, I am called a Computer Systems Engineer but I don't do anything associated with Computer Engineering. One job I had I was Systems Programmer but I did not do any programming. So the titles for majors and for jobs in IT can be very confusing. Sometimes I will hear someone say they want to pursue Computer Science or Computer Engineering and once they find out what it involves they realize that is not what they want to do. If this is old info, that you already know, apologies. Here are the majors and some associated jobs:
Computer Science (CS) - A technical degree which usually has a Programming emphasis - people with this major usually are developing application software, web development, embedded code and robotics. Sometimes depending on the college the degree may cover some more general topics as listed under CIS below. CS is a difficult major and may include a number of advanced math courses. Many CS students find themselves not enjoying programming, not being gifted at it or not having the math and logic skills to be good at programming and they will switch out into CIS. CS majors that are able to graduate can also qualify for jobs listed below under CIS.
Computer Information Systems (CIS) - This may also be called a variety of other names like Information Technology (IT), Information Systems (IS), etc. This is a general technical degree and is the degree that I have. Holders of these degree work in a variety of technical jobs like these:
Computer Technician, Service Center Coordinator, Help Desk Staff, Storage Administrator, Network Administrator, Systems Administrator, Systems Engineer, Enterprise Administrator, Active Directory Administrator, Exchange and Messaging Administrator, Backup Administrator, Disaster Recovery Specialist, Database Administrator, Computing Security Specialist, Corporate IT Acquisition Specialist and Data Center Administrator, just to name a few.
Computer Engineering - This is a technical engineering and design degree. These degree holders get jobs related to designing and manufacturing computer related hardware. Obviously when you think of hardware you think of laptops and PCs but this might be all kinds of computer devices like tablets, processors, memory, storage, networking equipment and components of computers.
Management Information Systems (MIS) - This is a business degree that prepares non-technically trained people to manage projects, budgets and people. Traditionally, senior IT technical pros would eventually be promoted into management positions after years of technical work. The good news is they understood technical challenges their people were working with but the bad news was that some were great tech people but poor people managers. I have had both types of these managers and the new trend is definitely towards these non-technical managers.
Hope this helps.
Best Wishes!
To give you the background â There are a number of viable IT majors but the names are often confusing so I will hit the big 4 ones.
You need a 4 year degree. If all you have time for is a 2 year degree then that is ok for starters but you will still need to complete years 3&4. Don't get a certificate type degree or a Devry or ITT Tech degree- not recognized by many employers and credits may not transfer in the future. There are several main Computer majors and their associated career categories and you need to know these just to get the lay of the land. These degree titles are often found in Associates, Bachelors and Masters degree programs. Generally most IT employers are looking for a 4 year Bachelors degree in an IT related major as a minimum requirement. For working people some of these majors are offered by schools in night classes and we are beginning to see online or hybrid online/classroom options available. Depending on the school, a Bachelors degree in an IT field may be a BA or a BS. There does not seem to be any problems for employers with a BA or BS as long as it is a bachelors degree. If you already have a degree in another major, if you have an Associates degree or if you have a bunch or college credits and no degree you can usually find a degree completion program that will allow you to take 14-16 months of classes and graduate with a Bachelors in a computer related major.
Now some of the titles colleges use may consist of different course curriculums. As an example one school may have more programming classes in the same major while another school has fewer. Schools may call their general IT program Computer Information Technology, Computer Information Systems or Computer Information Science. To really tell what the major is about you should look at the courses that a particular school offers in that major. Another point of confusion is job titles you will see. For example, I am called a Computer Systems Engineer but I don't do anything associated with Computer Engineering. One job I had I was Systems Programmer but I did not do any programming. So the titles for majors and for jobs in IT can be very confusing. Sometimes I will hear someone say they want to pursue Computer Science or Computer Engineering and once they find out what it involves they realize that is not what they want to do. If this is old info, that you already know, apologies. Here are the majors and some associated jobs:
Computer Science (CS) - A technical degree which usually has a Programming emphasis - people with this major usually are developing application software, web development, embedded code and robotics. Sometimes depending on the college the degree may cover some more general topics as listed under CIS below. CS is a difficult major and may include a number of advanced math courses. Many CS students find themselves not enjoying programming, not being gifted at it or not having the math and logic skills to be good at programming and they will switch out into CIS. CS majors that are able to graduate can also qualify for jobs listed below under CIS.
Computer Information Systems (CIS) - This may also be called a variety of other names like Information Technology (IT), Information Systems (IS), etc. This is a general technical degree and is the degree that I have. Holders of these degree work in a variety of technical jobs like these:
Computer Technician, Service Center Coordinator, Help Desk Staff, Storage Administrator, Network Administrator, Systems Administrator, Systems Engineer, Enterprise Administrator, Active Directory Administrator, Exchange and Messaging Administrator, Backup Administrator, Disaster Recovery Specialist, Database Administrator, Computing Security Specialist, Corporate IT Acquisition Specialist and Data Center Administrator, just to name a few.
Computer Engineering - This is a technical engineering and design degree. These degree holders get jobs related to designing and manufacturing computer related hardware. Obviously when you think of hardware you think of laptops and PCs but this might be all kinds of computer devices like tablets, processors, memory, storage, networking equipment and components of computers.
Management Information Systems (MIS) - This is a business degree that prepares non-technically trained people to manage projects, budgets and people. Traditionally, senior IT technical pros would eventually be promoted into management positions after years of technical work. The good news is they understood technical challenges their people were working with but the bad news was that some were great tech people but poor people managers. I have had both types of these managers and the new trend is definitely towards these non-technical managers.
Hope this helps.
Best Wishes!
Will this card work on my computer? (repost)?
Max M
Hi, I am currently about to buy a VisionTek - ATI RADEON HD3650 OC 1GB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card. Here is the bestbuy link: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?...
i know i have a 300w power supply on my comp. but it also says it requires a PCI Express x16 graphics card slot on the motherboard. (I believe my comp has PCI... but I don't get the x16 part)
My motherboard type is an Intel Pentium D 925. Can anyone tell me if this card is compatible with my computer? thanks in advance.
it is an HP Pavillon a1620n
Manufacturer: HP Pavilion 061
Model: RC655AA-ABA a1620n
Answer
Either come back with the computer manufacturer name and model number, or email me it. Have to look the computer up, to see if it has a PCI-Express x16 slot.
PCI, and PCI-Express are Two different technologies altogether.
Plus the slots used for them are physically different.
1.PCI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Local_Bus
(PCI slots are always Whitish in color)
2.PCI-Express
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express
This info may help explain PCI-Express a little better,
http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2006/techtips-16feb06.htm
EDIT: A PCI-EXPRESS x16 graphics card, WILL NOT work in a PCI SLOT!!
The technology is as different as Night and Day!
PCI is a shared -> PARALLEL Bus architecture, and PCI-Express is a -> Point to Point SERIAL link.
Edit: Main page HP.com/Support for HP Pavilion a1620n
1.http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=3245025&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&submit.y=7&submit.x=9&lang=en&cc=us&y=7&x=7
2.Product Specifications:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00754198&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3245025
Expansion Slots:
PCI -> Three (Two available)
PC Express x16 -> One (One available)
Motherboard specifications:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00783668&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3245025
(Scroll down to see an illustration and photo of your bare motherboard. No processor, ram, etc.)
The BestBuy link doesn't work. (Typical of BestBuy! lol! But if you saved this on a wish list, or something like that, it won't let anyone else see it anyway. Or maybe the link just doesn't work for me)
I searched it down, http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8761878&type=product&id=1202650704648
300 watt Psu, an available PCI-Express x16 slot,
plus 1GB of ram memory, are the Minimum System Requirements.
This is the Minimum System Requirements.
Bear this is mind. Although HP indicates you have a 300 watt Psu, it is really only a 210 watt Psu. This is because in 2006, when this computer was made, the manufacturers of Psu's (Power Supply Unit's) didn't have to follow a standard.
Computer manufacturers tend to put in a cheap power supply. Cheap components making up the power supply = cheap cost. Therefore, saving the pre-built computer manufacturer money. This savings (?) is given to the consumer who bought the computer. This, is the bull the computer manufacturer states. In reality, it just saves the pre-built computer manufacturer money, and costs the consumer in the long run.
The power supply's made in 2006, only met 70 percent of the stated Maximum wattage rating. Now they must meet 80 percent, and most Psu's have a higher ratio. Some meet 90 percent of what is stated. SOME, EXCEED the Maximum wattage rating. (Certain after market units)
Not only this, but your Psu is two and a half years old.
(11-Aug-2006) As time goes by, Electrolytic Capacitors inside a Psu break down. This is a normal thing. Designers who use Electrolytic Capacitors know this, and take this into account. They use capacitors that are rated at 50 percent better than needed. As the capacitors break down, they are still at the level needed.
However, now you are going to add a graphics card, that exceeds what the designer of the computers system, has designed. More power than the original design is called for, and the Psu may not handle it, or at least not for very long.
At first everything may be chilly. Then as time goes by, weird things will happen when you play a game. You'll think it's software related, or something to do with your Windows operating system. It won't be. It can be traced right back to that weak Psu.
It is for this reason, that I recommend buying a better, more reliable Psu.
I also recommend, buying 1 more GB of ram. 2GB's of ram, will keep you smiling for a long time.
Games run very smooth with 2GB's of ram.
Now I'm probably gonna' sound like a real bummer, but depending on what games you wish to play, that HD 3650 isn't Even going to cut it!
Better to tell you straight up, then have you find all this out, and think, "I'll never listen, to those answerer's on Yahoo Answers again!"
I recommend an ATI HD 4670, with 1GB of graphics ram, at least.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4252544&CatId=28
After the $10 mail-in rebate, it's $85 bucks.
I also recommend this Psu,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001
Looks pricey, but after mail-in rebate it's $60 bucks.
Why this OCZ StealthXStream 600 watt Psu?
Because if you keep this Psu at around 118 degrees Fahrenheit, (47.9 degrees Celsius) it can put out 728.8 watts reliably! Your body temperature is 98.6 degress Fahrenheit.
Be aware, that a computer only uses the power it needs, and NO more. If it only needs 100 watts to surf the 'net, it only uses 100 watts. If it only needs 400 watts to play a game, and it is capable of 728.8 watts, it ONLY uses 400 watts!
This Psu has Four 12 volt rails, and 18 Amps (18A) for each rail. You can combine them to equal 72 Amps!
It has,
1.One ->20pin + 4pin ATX motherboard power cable.
2.One ->4pin ATX power cable. (P4 MB) (12 volt)
3.One ->8pin power cable (12 volt)
4.Six -> Peripheral power cables (4pin Molex connector)
5.Two -> 6pin PCI-Express power cables (12 volt) (2X PCI-E)
6.Six -> Sata power cables.
Your computer was made in August of 2006. PCI-Express 2.0 came out 15 January 2007.
Therefore the PCI-Express technology used on your computer is the PCI-Express 1.1 technology.
The HD graphics card you listed, and the one I listed, uses the PCI-E 2.0 technology.
IT'S OKAY!
PCI-E 2.0 is Backward Compatible with PCI-E 1.1!
You won't get the full capability of a PCI-E 2.0 graphics card.
You WON'T NOTICE either!
You may get a frame rate drop of 2 to 4 frame rates. You won't even be aware of it!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI-Express
PCI Express 2.0
"PCIe 2.0 motherboard slots are backward compatible with PCIe v1.x.
PCIe 2.0 cards have good backwards compatibility, new PCIe 2.0 graphics cards are compatible with PCIe 1.1 motherboards, meaning that they will run on them using the available bandwidth of PCI Express 1.1.
Overall, graphic cards or motherboards designed for v2.0 will be able to work with the other being v1.1 or v1.0."
Either come back with the computer manufacturer name and model number, or email me it. Have to look the computer up, to see if it has a PCI-Express x16 slot.
PCI, and PCI-Express are Two different technologies altogether.
Plus the slots used for them are physically different.
1.PCI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Local_Bus
(PCI slots are always Whitish in color)
2.PCI-Express
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express
This info may help explain PCI-Express a little better,
http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2006/techtips-16feb06.htm
EDIT: A PCI-EXPRESS x16 graphics card, WILL NOT work in a PCI SLOT!!
The technology is as different as Night and Day!
PCI is a shared -> PARALLEL Bus architecture, and PCI-Express is a -> Point to Point SERIAL link.
Edit: Main page HP.com/Support for HP Pavilion a1620n
1.http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=3245025&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&submit.y=7&submit.x=9&lang=en&cc=us&y=7&x=7
2.Product Specifications:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00754198&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3245025
Expansion Slots:
PCI -> Three (Two available)
PC Express x16 -> One (One available)
Motherboard specifications:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00783668&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3245025
(Scroll down to see an illustration and photo of your bare motherboard. No processor, ram, etc.)
The BestBuy link doesn't work. (Typical of BestBuy! lol! But if you saved this on a wish list, or something like that, it won't let anyone else see it anyway. Or maybe the link just doesn't work for me)
I searched it down, http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8761878&type=product&id=1202650704648
300 watt Psu, an available PCI-Express x16 slot,
plus 1GB of ram memory, are the Minimum System Requirements.
This is the Minimum System Requirements.
Bear this is mind. Although HP indicates you have a 300 watt Psu, it is really only a 210 watt Psu. This is because in 2006, when this computer was made, the manufacturers of Psu's (Power Supply Unit's) didn't have to follow a standard.
Computer manufacturers tend to put in a cheap power supply. Cheap components making up the power supply = cheap cost. Therefore, saving the pre-built computer manufacturer money. This savings (?) is given to the consumer who bought the computer. This, is the bull the computer manufacturer states. In reality, it just saves the pre-built computer manufacturer money, and costs the consumer in the long run.
The power supply's made in 2006, only met 70 percent of the stated Maximum wattage rating. Now they must meet 80 percent, and most Psu's have a higher ratio. Some meet 90 percent of what is stated. SOME, EXCEED the Maximum wattage rating. (Certain after market units)
Not only this, but your Psu is two and a half years old.
(11-Aug-2006) As time goes by, Electrolytic Capacitors inside a Psu break down. This is a normal thing. Designers who use Electrolytic Capacitors know this, and take this into account. They use capacitors that are rated at 50 percent better than needed. As the capacitors break down, they are still at the level needed.
However, now you are going to add a graphics card, that exceeds what the designer of the computers system, has designed. More power than the original design is called for, and the Psu may not handle it, or at least not for very long.
At first everything may be chilly. Then as time goes by, weird things will happen when you play a game. You'll think it's software related, or something to do with your Windows operating system. It won't be. It can be traced right back to that weak Psu.
It is for this reason, that I recommend buying a better, more reliable Psu.
I also recommend, buying 1 more GB of ram. 2GB's of ram, will keep you smiling for a long time.
Games run very smooth with 2GB's of ram.
Now I'm probably gonna' sound like a real bummer, but depending on what games you wish to play, that HD 3650 isn't Even going to cut it!
Better to tell you straight up, then have you find all this out, and think, "I'll never listen, to those answerer's on Yahoo Answers again!"
I recommend an ATI HD 4670, with 1GB of graphics ram, at least.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4252544&CatId=28
After the $10 mail-in rebate, it's $85 bucks.
I also recommend this Psu,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001
Looks pricey, but after mail-in rebate it's $60 bucks.
Why this OCZ StealthXStream 600 watt Psu?
Because if you keep this Psu at around 118 degrees Fahrenheit, (47.9 degrees Celsius) it can put out 728.8 watts reliably! Your body temperature is 98.6 degress Fahrenheit.
Be aware, that a computer only uses the power it needs, and NO more. If it only needs 100 watts to surf the 'net, it only uses 100 watts. If it only needs 400 watts to play a game, and it is capable of 728.8 watts, it ONLY uses 400 watts!
This Psu has Four 12 volt rails, and 18 Amps (18A) for each rail. You can combine them to equal 72 Amps!
It has,
1.One ->20pin + 4pin ATX motherboard power cable.
2.One ->4pin ATX power cable. (P4 MB) (12 volt)
3.One ->8pin power cable (12 volt)
4.Six -> Peripheral power cables (4pin Molex connector)
5.Two -> 6pin PCI-Express power cables (12 volt) (2X PCI-E)
6.Six -> Sata power cables.
Your computer was made in August of 2006. PCI-Express 2.0 came out 15 January 2007.
Therefore the PCI-Express technology used on your computer is the PCI-Express 1.1 technology.
The HD graphics card you listed, and the one I listed, uses the PCI-E 2.0 technology.
IT'S OKAY!
PCI-E 2.0 is Backward Compatible with PCI-E 1.1!
You won't get the full capability of a PCI-E 2.0 graphics card.
You WON'T NOTICE either!
You may get a frame rate drop of 2 to 4 frame rates. You won't even be aware of it!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI-Express
PCI Express 2.0
"PCIe 2.0 motherboard slots are backward compatible with PCIe v1.x.
PCIe 2.0 cards have good backwards compatibility, new PCIe 2.0 graphics cards are compatible with PCIe 1.1 motherboards, meaning that they will run on them using the available bandwidth of PCI Express 1.1.
Overall, graphic cards or motherboards designed for v2.0 will be able to work with the other being v1.1 or v1.0."
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