Information Technology

Information technology (IT) is the application of computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data,[1] often in the context of a business or other enterprise.

The term is commonly used as a synonym for computers and computer networks, but it also encompasses other information distribution technologies such as television and telephones. Several industries are associated with information technology, including computer hardware, software, electronics, semiconductors, internet, telecom equipment, e-commerce and computer services.

Humans have been storing, retrieving, manipulating and communicating information since the Sumerians in Mesopotamia developed writing in about 3000 BC,[5] but the term information technology in its modern sense first appeared in a 1958 article published in the Harvard Business Review; authors Harold J. Leavitt and Thomas L. Whisler commented that "the new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information technology (IT)." Their definition consists of three categories: techniques for processing, the application of statistical and mathematical methods to decision-making, and the simulation of higher-order thinking through computer programs.

Salaries in Information Technology

According to a bureau of labor statistics report released in 2012 the average median pay for someone working as a computer and information research scientist was $102k/year. Computer network architects made on average $91k/year, computer programmers made on average $74k/year, computer system analysts brought home $80k/annually, information security analysts brought home $86k/year, database administrators $77k/year, networking and computer administrators $72k/year, software developers $93k/year, web developers $62k/year and computer support specialists $48k/year.

Careers in Information Technology