News Release

IT Day provides glimpse into area technology careers

January 3, 2008

Susquehanna Township High School student David Curry likes checking out different Web sites, but he had not really considered leveraging his interests into a possible career – until IT Day at Penn State Harrisburg.

Curry was one of about 80 students from 10 school districts who were introduced to possible careers in information technology at the recent morning-long event organized by the University’s College of Information Sciences and Technology and Penn State Harrisburg’s School of Business Administration. This is the third year for the event geared to high school students taking computer courses.

But the sessions on IT jobs weren’t just for students. About 20 career counselors/technology teachers also attended.

"We like teachers to come, too, so they can hear the job forecasts and take that information back to their schools," said Betty Holmboe, director of the Capital Region Partnership for Career Development, who helped with the event.

Bob Scaer, president of GeoDecisions and member of the Penn State Harrisburg School of Business Administration IT Advisory Board, said his firm should have 25 more employees, but can’t find people with the right IT skills. The company designs GIS-based technologies to track data such as equipment and shipments and their locations. He estimated that the number of unfilled IT positions in the Harrisburg area is in the "hundreds."

Not only is demand high for those with IT skills, but opportunities are extensive as organizations are providing IT employees with multiple career tracks, making IT "a great field to get into," Scaer said. At GeoDecisions, for instance, employees can advance from entry-level jobs to management or stay more technology focused and advance through a technology track.

Like Scaer, IST student Dan Masoero advised the high school students to pursue internships in IT to help them identify their interests. Masoero, who is graduating from Penn State Harrisburg in December, has a full-time job waiting at the company – Med-Media, Inc. – which had previously employed him as an intern.

Lindsey Wright, also an IST student, said experience is key. Prior to landing a position with the Navy Supply Information System Activity (NAVSISA) in Mechanicsburg, Wright worked on a helpdesk for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

"I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I was in high school," Wright told the students. "But my parents said I needed to pick a skill area, so when I came to Penn State, I chose information sciences and technology."

Curry, the Susquehanna Township student, isn’t sure what he will do after high school and is considering carpentry. But the experience at Penn State Harrisburg showed him that he can take his interests in computer technology into the work place.

"I definitely will take a class in Web site design," he said.

That is exactly the kind of interest which Jane Kochanov, IST Program Coordinator at Penn State Harrisburg, hopes to spark with IT Day. "Many parents and career counselors in high schools have been directing students away from information technology careers because of the misinformation associated with outsourcing and offshoring of jobs in the industry," Kochanov said. "The purpose of this event is to increase awareness of job opportunities in the field and of the postsecondary education options for students – and career counselors – in the region."