InsideTech

If you want to start developing leadership skills in your first job, here’s Lindsey Pollak’s advice: Begin with your eyes and ears. That’s what she did in her first role as a program coordinator for the American Woman’s Economic Development Corp. in Stamford, Connecticut. “My pay was very low, so my terrific boss - the executive director of the organization - ...

Welcome to InsideTech, an online resource focused on helping both new and established IT professionals get the news they need, gain knowledge from peers, tap career resources for moving ahead and collaborate in forums where you can share valuable workday solutions and advice on issues to help you do your job better and make your day less stressful. Here’s a guide ...

You've just been offered your first professional job in the real world. You breathe a sigh of relief: The search is over. Unfortunately, it's not. In many ways, the real work, deciding whether this job is really the one for you, is just about to begin. Looking for a job after college is difficult enough. Deciding on a job offer when ...

Help Desk What they do: Help-desk workers answer support questions, from the silly to the serious. They may handle questions from a company's own computer users, or they may respond to queries, via phone or email, from individuals using a product produced by the company. Skills: Help-desk staff must have a comprehensive understanding of specific systems and applications, with the ability ...

PC Tech Support Specialist What they do: You need the latest version of Internet Explorer on your PC? Call tech support. Tech support specialists are responsible for the maintenance and support of a company's PCs. Tasks include troubleshooting, responding to technical problems, and performing maintenance, upgrades and configurations. Skills: Tech support specialists should have knowledge of assorted operating systems, such as ...

PC Tech Support Specialist What they do: You need the latest version of Internet Explorer on your PC? Call tech support. Tech support specialists are responsible for the maintenance and support of a company's PCs. Tasks include troubleshooting, responding to technical problems, and performing maintenance, upgrades and configurations. Skills: Tech support specialists should have knowledge of assorted operating systems, such as ...

LAN Manager What they do: The LAN manager provides assorted services, from design to administration, of an organization's local area network, which connects staff within an organization. Skills: A LAN manager needs to know the intricacies of the specific systems being used by a company: Windows NT, Novell, Unix and so forth. Knowledge of networked applications, virus-protection schemes, system diagnostic utilities, ...

Project Manager: What they do: The project manager develops requirements, budgets and schedules for IT projects. Project managers may coordinate multiple projects, from development through implementation, working with both clients and project leaders. Project managers report on the project's status to clients, manage project resources and timelines, and write proposals and other project documentation. Skills: Project managers must know the technology, ...

Chief Information Officer (CIO): What they do: The CIO serves as a company's technology guru, overseeing everything from the purchase of computer systems to overarching plans to use technology to gain a competitive edge. With technology often viewed as central to a company's mission -- and not simply as serving "back office" functions, like accounting -- the role of the CIO ...

Quality Assurance Engineer: What they do: Complex technology projects require testing -- lots of it -- in order to avoid gaffes (and outright disaster). QA engineers work to execute testing plans and goals to ensure systems work properly. Tasks include the design and implementation of testing procedures, interaction with support staff, categorizing bug fixes and enhancement requests, and reviewing bug reports. ...

Technology professionals often think about pursuing project-management opportunities, but whether they end up filling that job role depends on factors far beyond their technical expertise. Would-be project managers may like the idea of being in charge of a project, but the skills developed as a network engineer or programmer do not always make for an easy transition to project management. Project ...

Working as a Web developer is something like playing a sport with a continuously changing set of rules. One minute you’re charging down the field at full throttle, and then suddenly the rules change and you need to readjust your strategy - fast - or find yourself benched. Successful Web developers - at least, those who enjoy their work - thrive ...

"Robotics is growing, and the opportunities for new applications are everywhere - in every chore, every difficult and dangerous task," says James English, president of Energid Technologies, a provider of engineering services for robotics. "I can't imagine a field that excites the imagination more today than robotics." According to Judy Reed, vice president of human resources at iRobot, maker of the ...

The Carly Fiorinas of the world are few and far between. Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard, was one of only a handful of female top executives at Fortune 500 companies. Although women make up nearly half of the total US workforce, they represent only about a quarter of all information technology workers, according to Boulder, Colorado-based National Center for ...

All job hunters are waiting for that call - the one that says they've landed the job. But as eager as you may be to escape either your current job or the unemployment ranks, don't abdicate your power position once the offer comes in. Now it's your turn to sit in the interviewer's seat and ask the company and yourself some ...

When you start a new job, human nature is to focus on the surface of things: the photocopied vision statement included in your orientation package, how your peers dress and the date HR designates for your first performance appraisal. But if you’re going to use this job to further your career goals - or even if you just want to last ...

After you’ve successfully completed a job search, shouldn’t networking be the last thing on your mind? Not so, say networking experts. In fact, internal networking, right from the beginning, is key to maintaining the upward trajectory of your career. Here’s how to successfully launch your networking campaign at a new job. Why Network from the Start? “When you start in a ...