Careers 101: Arizona IT Jobs

Published on 2008-08-26

Schools:

Along with Arizona's rapid expansion have come increased business opportunities and increased need for IT professionals to ensure that today's computer-based operations run as smoothly as possible. But before these professionals accept jobs in IT, they are first trained at educational institutions in Arizona such as Arizona State University (ASU). With four campuses in the Phoenix metropolitan area and an enrollment of almost 65,000 students as of fall 2007, ASU is the largest single-administration public research university in the U.S. Its applied computer science, computer information systems, computer hardware technology, and other computer-based undergraduate and graduate degrees make it a comprehensive stomping ground for students who wish to pursue IT jobs. ASU is hardly the only university serving up coursework for information technology careers, however. The University of Arizona, the state's flagship public university located in Tucson, also offers bachelors, masters, and doctoral programs in computer science that provide skills and knowledge for students who later embark on IT careers. And farther north in Flagstaff, students can prepare to launch into information technology jobs by earning undergraduate degrees in computer information systems or computer science at Northern Arizona University.

For an education at a private university, Arizona students can enroll at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott and enroll in the joint B.S. in Computer Engineering/Master of Software Engineering program. Or they can find a springboard to computer jobs in the information technology systems program at the Phoenix campus of Ottawa University. The College of Information Systems and Technology at the eponymous University of Phoenix serves as a pathway to computer related jobs as well.

Employers:

According to a 2007 study by the Arizona Department of Commerce, high-tech Arizona jobs, including those related to data processing, hosting, and computer system design, account for roughly 5.4% of the state's employment. The same study placed the percentage of in-state high-tech establishments around 4.1, just slightly higher than during the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. The hot spots for IT jobs in Arizona include Insight Enterprises, Inc., a Fortune 500 provider of IT products and services with global headquarters in Tempe, and IBM, the largest information technology employer in the world, with a large office in Phoenix. Go Daddy, the hosting company and Internet domain registrar, is also Arizona-based, with its headquarters in Scottsdale offering many different computer science jobs.

Arizona's high-tech manufacturers also provide computer engineering jobs. Aerospace manufacturer and technology company Lockheed Martin advertises computer networking jobs that help the company maintain its computer systems. Honeywell, a manufacturer of aerospace systems, transportation systems, automation and control solutions, and specialty materials, provides IT jobs in Phoenix and Tempe. And there are even government jobs in IT through the Government Information Technology Agency, which coordinates information technology for the state.

IT professionals use career search engines such as Fresho.com to find IT employment in the state of Arizona. For free resume posting, location-specific job searches, articles, updates on new jobs, and much more, check out Fresho.com.