Many residents of South Florida are not aware of the many contributions that this part of the world has provided to information technology and various related fields. For example, in Palm Beach County in 1981, the first working prototype of the IBM Personal Computer was developed by engineers in Boca Raton. Eight years later, and before the internet became a household service, Citrix moved its operations from Texas to Coral Springs, where it eventually grew into a pioneer in remote access and desktop virtualization technologies such as the popular GoToMyPC.
In 1996, the computer PC gaming giant Alienware started operations from a warehouse in West Miami, and it would later become acquired by Dell. These days, South Florida continues to be a major technology hub with companies such as Magic Leap, an exciting virtual reality startup based in Plantation, and iTopia, a Miami provider of Desktop-as-a-Service solutions.
FNU’s IT Degree Program
For the purpose of this article, we are going to focus on the two IT degrees offered by FNU, which you can complete entirely online if that happens to be a better fit for your work and personal schedule. Our financial assistance counselors can help you with applying for tuition aid and scholarships, and you also have the opportunity to take classes in our two campus locations near Miami.
Education Requirements
The Sunshine State can be described as a tech corridor where IT degree graduates can find employment in a variety of companies and workplace settings. Florida National University, a private college properly accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges to grant higher education degrees, has a number of programs that focus on IT, including:
- AutoCAD Certificates
- Computer Office Specialist Career Education Diplomas
- Web Page Developer Associate of Science
- Networking System Administrator Associate of Science
- Computer Developer Associate of Science
- Computer Information Technology Associate and Bachelor of Science
Information Technology Career Opportunities
IT degrees can give you significant flexibility when you start applying for jobs. Compared to a computer science degree, which happens to be more academic and focused on software development, an IT degree will tell employers that you have a certain range of the technical know-how needed to start working right away. Here are the top five jobs you can apply for when you complete your IT education at FNU:
Cloud Networks Architecture Specialist
You will definitely need a bachelor’s degree to land this position, which is one of the most handsomely paid because you are looking at a median salary of around $120,000 per year. For this job, you may work at a data center or be assigned to create enterprise networks for companies that run their own private clouds. With cloud computing largely replacing the old client/server model that Citrix revolutionized right here in South Florida, cloud network architects are bound to be in high demand.
IT Consultant
This is another position that will require an IT bachelor’s degree along with the ability to work independently. This is a job where you will find competition from computer science graduates; in essence, you will have to look at systems, conduct research, propose solutions, and manage their implementation. Your salary will be a little lower than a cloud network architect, but the bonuses can make this job very lucrative.
Healthcare IT Specialist
In the United States, you will need a good understanding of electronic health records and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which you can complete through continuing education programs. At the associate’s degree level, you are looking at an annual salary of about $50,000 with this job. If you need more information about whether the associate or bachelor’s degree aligns with your career goals, please contact one of our admissions counselors.
Web Design and Development Specialist
As a web designer, your job will call for an understanding of aesthetics and user experience. As a website developer, your job will focus more on functionality, capacity, and the ability to expand operations. The skills you can augment on an individual basis will determine the demand for your services and your earning potential; these are jobs you can get with an associate’s degree.
Software Engineering
If you have what it takes to compete with computer science graduates, you may be able to get ahead of them in this particular position, but you will have to sharpen your coding skills so that you can create advanced web applications. With regard to salary, the sky is the limit when you are able to sell the work that you have developed as intellectual property.
Salary and Job Outlook
The national average for IT graduates who have completed a bachelor’s degree program is about $50,899 per year. Salaries around the $86,000 range are not uncommon, but IT consultants and cloud network engineers will typically earn more than that. For more information about your academic and career expectations as an IT college student, contact the admissions department at FNU.
