To say that our lives are driven by technology is no overstatement. Information technology, particularly the Internet, has single-handedly expanded the horizon of possibilities for everyone. And that’s just one form of technology; there’s an entire industry full of them!

Communication technology, for instance, has brought people closer together. Distance has been rendered irrelevant with the advent of mobile, all-in-one phones. Then there are specific technologies for the myriad of professional work at present. In the medical field, breakthroughs in health and medicine are all made possible through research that makes use of modern technology. In actual medical operations, lasers, x-rays, prosthetics and microscopes have saved countless lives. Businesses are also heavily influenced by technology. Companies that manufacture goods rely on the production capacity of their equipment; the more advanced, the more efficient their processes become. Research and development in product innovation is recognized as a crucial department in the modern organization. The only way businesses with international divisions can thrive is with the use of technology for sales, accounting, marketing, etc.

Other technology fields include aerospace, agricultural, biotech, construction, environmental, process and chemical, transportation, geographic information systems and the ever-developing microtech and nanotech.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer sums up the benefits of technology as something that empowers people to become productive and creative; something that allows people to learn things they didn’t think they could learn before. For Steve Ballmer, technology is all about potential. And many people have found success in harnessing that potential as a professional career choice.

Career choices in the technology field include:

• Chief Information Officer, Management Information Systems worker, IT manage, Data Analyst: Recent years have seen the rise of information officers in a company, even in non-strictly technological ones. The position of CIO is a recognized board level position, the role upgrading the level of the IT Director. The much-valued MIS team handles the creation and maintenance of processes and practices supporting the flow of information. They are also consulted in the creation of company strategies, in order to integrate technology in improving the competitive advantage of a business.

• Software and Application Developers/Analyst/Engineers:
These are the people responsible for the creation of new programs that are meant to make our lives easier, whether it’s for school, work or fun. Involved in the software development process, they are involved in business problem analysis, writing/coding, testing, deployment and bug fixing. Beyond being technically competent, these are visionary employees who seek to provide the best business solutions they could think of.

Other less commonly-known jobs include that of information/data architect, enterprise project manager, desktop virtualization expert, storage directors, and statistical analysis system (SAS) managers.

More and more jobs are created to cope with the growing demand for technology across industries. To stay ahead of the curve, it pays to know more about the latest trends and developments in this field. This can easily be done through online sites such as:

• For mobile technology updates, forum, rankings, glossary and a lot of other neat stuff : www.gsmarena.com
• A wider range of gadget information as well as reviews can be found in: www.engadget.com, www.gizmodo.com
• Useful downloads as well as online tricks of the trade: www.lifehacker.com, www.downloadsquad.com
• Up-to-the-minute news on significant technology developments: www.allthingsd.com, www.silicon.com, www.gizmag.com , www.technologyreview.com.

Tags: career, Internet