– Different Platforms (Mainframes, Servers, PCs) – Different Languages (HTML, C, Visual Basic, COBOL,
Vendor Specific)
Industries/Clients
What’s an Industry? Type of Work can Vary by Industry Can Change Industries/Clients Frequently My Experiences
Project Duration: Several Months to Years Clients: Usually Large Companies Demand: Always High, but Requires Periodic Re-tooling of Skills
System Administrator
Description – Provide Technical/User Support
Project Types – Set up/Maintain LANs, PCs, User IDs, etc. – Install Software – Support Help Desks
Project Duration: Years or Multiple Clients at Once Clients: Large and Small Companies Demand: High, Increasing as Companies Look More to Outsource Support Functions
Consulting = Variety
Technologies/Vendor Software ies/Clients Applications Geographic Locations Responsibilities People
Technologies/Vendor Software
– Insurance/Financial Services – Government (Federal & State) – Light Manufacturing – Distribution & Logistics – Transportation – Travel – Healthcare
Applications
Project Types – Business Application Development – Technology Strategies
Project Duration: Many Months to Years Clients: Usually Large Companies Demand: High
Project Duration: Days to Few Months Clients: Large and Small Companies Demand: High when Specialty is Hot
IT Consultant/Analyst
Description – Client’s Partner - True “Consultant” – Solve Business Problems through Technology
Technologies Change - Only Limited by Yourself Not Limited to Your Companies Products Your Degree Suited for this Variety My Experiences
– Different DBMS (Oracle, DB2, Sybase, Teradata, MSAccess, IMS)
Geographic Locations
Technical Specialist
Description – Expert in Specific Technology/Product (ie. Web Development, Object Oriented)
Project Types – Application Development/Maintenance – Performance Reviews – Product Sales Support
A Career in Consulting for Computer Science Majors
Vince DeGiulio Accenture - Associate Partner
Purdue CS ‘87
Types of Consultants
Application Programmer System Administrator Technical Specialist IT Consultant/Analyst
Transaction Processing (i.e. Order Entry) Knowledge Worker (i.e. EIS) Database Systems My Experiences
– Patient Administration – Inmate Inventory – Unemployment Check Processing – Customer Information – Underwriter Decision Analysis – Logistics Network Analysis – Vehicle Tracking – Fleet Management
Application Programmer
Description – Hired Guns of Programming - Contractor – Many Languages/Tools
Project Types – Application Development – Application Maintenance