Saturday 22 April 2006

Sound Advice for College Students from an IT Professional

Many times in the past, I have come across news articles which dwell on the lack of interest shown by students in the west for a career in Information Technology. Among the many reasons sited, one thing that stands out is the inherent fear on the number of IT jobs going to third world countries like India and China. And there is a good amount of FUD spread in news forums like slashdot.org where one come across people who post comments ridiculing and lambasting Indians for grabbing others jobs. True IT has provided employment to a good number of Indians and there are a lot of software companies coming up in major metropolitan cities in India. But this picture being painted of lack of IT jobs in the west attributed to Indians is far from the truth.

Joel Spolsky has written an informative article where he explains why a career in Information Technology is something to look out for by budding students who are passionate about programming. He goes on to list a few things which might go a long way in snagging a good career in IT after graduation. Them being :
  • Learn how to write before graduating.
  • Learn C before graduating.
  • Learn microeconomics before graduating.
  • Don't blow off non-CS classes just because they're boring.
  • Take programming-intensive courses.
  • Stop worrying about all the jobs going to India.
  • No matter what you do, get a good summer internship.
Sound advice from an established software professional I would say!

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