Study- Six Top demanded IT fields

With the economy in upheaval, here are some IT fields that probably polish new upcoming student's career:

If you want to stay employed in IT amid the economic uncertainty, look for jobs in software design and development, networking and systems administration, software implementation analysis, testing and quality assurance, database administration and general IT management with cutting-edge mobile IT and Web 2.0 skills.

These above mentioned IT field are the top demanded IT job fields today, according to a new report on the "Top 20 Most Recession-Proof Professions," recently released  by McLean, Va.-based online job placement firm JobFox.com.

The top recession-proof professions, according to the list, based on JobFox's analysis of monthly rankings since last November are sales representatives/business development, software design and development, nursing, accounting and finance executives, and accounting staff.

Among the jobs on the top 20 list of recession-proof professions are six in IT fields.

"That general category of IT popped through as the biggest winner" at this time, said Barry Lawrence, a JobFox.com spokesman. "We know our recruiters are dying to get people with those skills. Everybody is trying to improve the ways they do business, to streamline in a tough economy," so companies are seeking workers with these qualifications.

JobFox.com compiled the study from online job listings that are placed by employers. JobFox.com then takes detailed resumes and employment profiles from prospective job candidates and matches them up to the job listings, Lawrence said.

"Think eHarmony.com for jobs," he quipped, referring to the online dating service that conducts online profile interviews of each applicant and then matches them up to potential dates by comparing their responses.

Other online job posting boards, such as Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com, post ads that users can search using keywords, but JobFox uses a database to query and match applicants to jobs, Lawrence said.

The company was founded by Rob McGovern, who founded CareerBuilder.com before selling it in 2002. In 2004, he began a new online employment company, Market10.com, in the Washington area. Last year, he changed the name to JobFox.com and went national. The site tracks jobs in about 170 professions and includes job postings for about 1,700 employers across the nation. Fees for the services are paid for by the employers, not by the job candidates.

The recession-proof job rankings are an outgrowth of the company's regular monthly "JobFox Top 25 Most Wanted U.S. Job Candidates" listings, Lawrence said. The top 25 lists have been done for the last five months, using data on job listings since last November. "We don't pretend that this is scientifically perfect, but we think it gives you a nice snapshot," he said.

In July's monthly rankings of most wanted job candidates, the hottest IT jobs are:

• Software design/development (No. 4)
• Networking/systems administration (No. 10)
• Database administration (No. 18)
• Software implementation analyst (No. 19)
• Testing/quality assurance (No. 20).

JobFox.com compares report data with findings from other employment research businesses and government data from the U.S. Department of Labor, Lawrence said. "I feel very good about what we're reporting in the Top 20. The numbers are there."

Paul Holley, a spokesman for employment services company Manpower Inc.in Milwaukee, said in an e-mail that his company conducts similar research, but that it can't be compared directly because the methodologies used are different. What is comparable, Holley said, is that data from the "Manpower 10 Hardest Jobs to Fill" survey contains several jobs also found in the JobFox.com listings, including engineers, sales representatives, IT and accounting/finance.

"One thing that we have noted about the Top 10 list at Manpower is that many of the positions (i.e., skilled manual trades, sales representative, mechanic) require a personal touch -- direct contact or service -- and therefore are difficult to offshore," Holley said.

John Challenger, president of Chicago-based outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., said the JobFox.com studies "hit a number of jobs that will be in strong demand. ... They are all core functions that most companies need."

Source: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9110173/Study_Six_IT_fields_in_top_20_recession_proof_professions

Career Focus: Software Engineering

Career Focus: Software Engineering

BY JOHN R. PLATT

A few weeks ago, the IBM-built supercomputer named Watson made worldwide headlines by beating several human contestants on the game show, Jeopardy!. It's a feat that would not have been possible without the software engineers behind the scenes. [Editor's Note: On Monday, 28 February, physicist and Congressman Rush Holt (D-N.J.) saved face for humans by topping Watson in the first of three rounds of an exhibition Jeopardy! match.]

"Software engineering is one of the fastest growing fields in the world today," says Ben Amaba, worldwide executive for IBM Complex Systems. "What we're seeing across all other disciplines is that software is becoming an invisible thread tying all disciplines together. Software is now embedded in almost all devices, mechanical devices all talk with each other, and developing products using software is faster and poses fewer risks than physical prototyping."

CAREER PROFILES

Sandra Robinson Occupation: Software Engineer Experience: 30+ years Employer: Lockheed Martin + See Sandra's full profile

Phillip LaPlante, PE Occupation: Professor of Software Engineering Experience: 28 years Employer: Penn State University + See Phillip's full profile

Why Software Engineering is Important

Software engineering was recently dubbed the best job of 2011 by career site Career Cast, and magazines like Forbes and Fortune have also extolled the virtues and importance of the field. Heck, even toy company Mattel recently introduced Computer Engineer Barbie to help inspire young girls into the profession.

So why are these employees so valuable? Look no further than the often-cited Standish Group "Chaos" reports, which most recently (2009) found that only 32% of software projects are, in their terms, "successful." The Standish report found that 44% of software projects were "challenged," usually involving cost over-runs and late delivery, and a full 24% of projects failed. Since companies often can't afford these costly delays or failures, engineers who operate by a set of standard development principles, such as those defined in the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK), can help keep costs down and products flowing out the door.

"Software engineers can also have higher innovation rates," says Amaba, "because they aren't tied to the physical world. Their only constraint is time. Other areas are more limited by materials and manpower."

The Field

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of employed software engineers has grown more than 25 percent in the past decade, from 745,000 in 2001 to 1,206,000 in 2010. The earning potential for software engineers is also strong, with both computer systems and applications software engineers averaging more than $90,000 in annual wages in 2009, according to BLS data (see table below). Among all other engineering fields, only chemical engineers averaged higher annual wages in 2009 at just over $96,000.

Source: US Department of Labor/Bureau of Labor Statistics (Occupational Employment Surveys)

That doesn't mean there are jobs for everybody, but the prospects are good for software engineers, and they have one of the lowest levels of joblessness among engineering professions. According to the BLS, software engineering unemployment was 4.6% in 2010, compared to 5.4% for electrical engineers.

Chris Ruoff, Sr. Manager of Sales and Channel Development for the IEEE Computer Society points out that professional certifications, like the IEEE Computer Society's Certified Software Development Associate and Certified Software Development Professional, are now becoming recommended or even required by companies seeking to hire software engineers. "More and more organizations are recognizing the benefit of hiring someone who has a solid foundation in software engineering and provides a lower risk as a new hire." The SWEBOK Guide is used world-wide in academia and in industry and provides a great resource to build this foundation.

What Employers are Looking For

"Software engineers need good communication skills, both spoken and written," says Amaba. "They need an analytical capability, and they need to be able to manage a project from end to end while working well with their colleagues." He says employees also need to be able to keep up with rapidly changing technologies. "Also, the more they know about the social sciences, physical sciences and mathematical sciences, the better they will be able to succeed."

"As a hiring manager, I'm looking for candidates to show me two things: that they are smart and can get things done," says Jensen Crawford, director of engineering for Fetch Technologies. "The former includes being able to communicate about, analyze and solve problems. The latter is being able to deliver those solutions." If you're looking for experience, Crawford recommends a few steps, especially for anyone who is still in school: "Contribute to open source projects, work as an intern, and enter programming contests," he says. "Having proof that you delivered software will give you a real advantage over other candidates."

Software engineering will be of great need in a number of fields in the coming years, says Bruce Douglas, chief evangelist for IBM Rational. A few examples include probability and statistics, environmental engineering, economics, ethics, and electric vehicle mechanics. "Software engineers with knowledge and fundamentals on electric vehicles will be in better position to create complex battery systems, electric drive units and cabin electronics," he says.

"What we have found is you need product-oriented people," says Arvind Srinivasan, chief technology officer and co-founder of ZL Technologies. "They need to be able to work on a project from A to Z and solve problems at every level, not just be able to write code. We hire people with a mathematical background and a strong engineering sense." Srinivasan says one of the main things he wants to see from a job candidate is if they have already shipped a product. "If not, it doesn't matter how well you write code."

A software engineer is the best support engineer, says Srinivasan. "They can support what they write, find a problem and fix it. They have a good sense of what the customer is thinking and can respond to customer requirements. They also understand the quality assurance process and make sure that products are of high value."

All of the people I spoke with this article discussed how important software engineering is not just for today, but for the future. "Software engineering is going to change the world," says Amaba. "It's becoming embedded in the devices we all use every day." Srinivasan agrees: "Software engineering is the nuts and bolts for the entire future. You need software for everything these days. It's deeper than deep. I think it's going to become the new English."

IEEE Software Engineering Resources

Don't miss the recent Today's Engineer article, "IEEE-USA and IEEE Computer Society Cooperate in New Professional Software Engineering Licensure Initiative."

You can find information on the IEEE Computer Society's certification programs here.

The Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) is available here.

Source: http://www.todaysengineer.org/2011/Mar/career-focus.asp

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Perception of university students about annual system and semester system

Introduction: Academic concerns have now become an extensive debate for understanding the concept of enhanced academic quality. Educators and higher authorities are always trying to devise new ideas and explore several options for making education as effective as possible in terms of outcomes. Outcomes in an academic set up means achievement of overall excellence in terms of results. This research is an analysis of the focus group discussion that we conducted in University of Gujrat. This research aims to investigate and present a comparative analysis of annual and semester system which one is the best one. In order to compare the semester and annual system the researcher has taken into account the qualities, advantages and disadvantages of both the systems. Annual system has been a successful system for our education in the past. However there were many loopholes in the system. This research talks about the possibilities of comparing the two systems as well as finding out which one is better to ensure quality for the students. Review of the Literature: Rana Muhammad Dilshad in 2004 on Students' Perceptions about the Quality of Semester System and Annual System. Researcher use multi stage ram dam sampling. The study concludes that semester system is better as compare to annual system. Tayyaba Malik & Tahira Khanam in 2010 on Comparative analysis of MA English Results under Annual and Semester system: Quality Assurance in Pakistan. Researcher use Focus group discussion. The study concludes that the students from semester system have good results as compare to annual system. Methodology: Sample: Our topic is perception of the university students about annual system and semester system. First of all we took appointment from the students of different departments and from the different age groups. As we want take the perception of the university students about the system of examination. So we conduct a focus group discussion to take the perception of the university students. Instruments: We used tape recorder and writing materials to pinpoint their discussion. After that we coded their arguments and then analyzed them. Procedure: In order to take the perception of the students we developed themes of the topic and after that we conducted a focus group discussion according to those themes. Our focus group was comprises on 9 members. We were 5 group members. One of us adopted the role of moderator, one of us was taping the discussion, and two were writing the discussion and was taking their snaps. After collecting the information we pinpoint them and analyzed. Findings: According to our themes the major findings of the study are; Confidence Level: We started our focus group discussion with confidence level. When we asked them about the of confidence level, 5 from the 9 respondents replied that semester system provide a lot of confidence. As one respondent asked that; "When I got admission in the university, I was unable to speak with strangers but now I don't hesitate." So from their discussion it is clear that semester system is more reliable in the increasing the confidence of the students as compare to the annual system. Communications Skills: Communications skill is an art. Without getting proficiency on communication, nobody can convey his message. In this way communication skill is very necessary for surviving the society. So, when we asked them about the improvement in the communications skills in the annual and semester system. 6 respondents were in the favor of semester system. They argued that; "The semester system presentations processes improve their communication skills". So the findings suggest that semester system is very convenient method for improving the communication skills of the students as compare to the annual system. Relationship with Teachers: Teachers and students relation have also an important role the learning of the students. On asking about the students and teachers relations, 8 respondents were in the favor semester system, they argued that; "In the semester system teachers and students have very close relationship because teachers have to provide material for the study, in these way students and teachers have very close ties among them". So it is clear from the findings that semester system is very beneficial for creating a strong relationship among teachers and students. Learning Chances: When we asked from our respondents about the learning chances in the both systems, 7 respondents were in the favor of semester system. They argued that; "In the semester system the different parts of examination (assignments, presentations, quizzes and midterm) provide more chances for the learning". Findings suggest that semester system provides more chances of learning as compare to the annual system. Favoritism: On asking about the favoritism in the examination 7 respondents were in the favor of semester system, they argued that; "In the semester teachers room interaction count very much". So in this way we can conclude that most respondents were in the favor of annual system as compare to the semester system. Sr.# Themes Annual System Semester system Total 1 Confidence Level 04 05 09 2 Communications Skills 03 06 09 3 Relationship with Teachers 01 08 09 4 Learning Chances 02 07 09 5 Favoritism 07 02 09 Summary: Both the education systems, i.e., semester and annual have their weak and strong presentation skills. However the annual system gives an opportunity to develop through concepts and in depth study of texts. In this system students get ample time to mastery over the subjects. Smooth running of the semester system means being careful about timelines and constraints of concepts that can be comprehended in a concise manner. It trains the students through a process of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. For cognitive learning semester system moves to the higher level of learning and student is evaluated on both intellectual and behavioral grounds. Check and balance system can facilitate the learners with the full benefit of the system. Teacher training can help both the semester and annual systems to assure quality. In this study we conclude that 55.55% respondent in the favored that semester system increase their confidence level and 44.45% were disagree with this argument and 66.66% respondent is in the favor that semester system increase their communication skills, while 88.88 % respondents were stressed that semester system increase the relationship between teachers and students. 77.77% respondents have believed that semester system increase their learning process, while only 22.23 % respondents argue that semester system grading based on favoritism.

Source: http://www.ilmkidunya.com/student_articles/perception-of-university-students-about-annual-system-and-semester-system-1416.aspx

How to Be a Career Online Writer

By Jacob Malewitz

Online writing is a growing field. It seems every month there is a new place to publish articles-and for profit. I have made more money writing online articles than doing anything else-even my newspaper work. If you are ready to begin a new career, let this piece guide you.

Understand the Basics:
In short, people like reading short, to the point articles online. This isn't new, nor will it change for a while. Every week more newspapers and magazines begin publishing online. However, there are some basics to know. You will need to know what a keyword is, for example, and how many words the typical online piece has. Keywords are how search engines find your articles. And the typical online piece is 400-600 words, rarely pushing 1,000.

Remember: the more you understand the more you will make.

Set a Writing Schedule:
Treat internet writing like a business. This career can lead to much profit, and all from your words. The only way to profit, in my mind, is to have a regimen of writing almost every day. In the beginning, you may want to write every day. You can keep it at five days a week later. This means developing a set routine of working when you can. If you have the ability to work from home, you will often succeed in setting this schedule. If you don't, it's still more than doable. A good method is to start small: write 4-5 hours a day, early in the morning or at night, finding the time to make this a career.

Publish Often:
The only way to profit from your words is to publish as much as possible. Some sites will pay you a few dollars for your piece, while others will pay you hundreds. What matters is, either way, you need to stay focused on publishing articles. The more articles you publish, the more your checking account will rise.

So you will need to apply the second step here too. Publishing often means having a schedule for writing, editing, and publishing. The more quality articles you publish, the better said savings balance will be.

Running out of Ideas...
When you run out of ideas, it's time to start rethinking your goals. Goals are important to internet writers too. Many times, when you run out of ideas, you can look to the past articles you published. Often there will be a small gold stone in their: the idea which could be another article or more. You might try writing for a different site too. Different sites allow you to write similar articles in a different vein.

For example, you can turn one article into three, if you really try. A movie review could turn into an actor biography, then the biography could turn into an article on action films. One keyword is switched, the theme of the article changes, and you have a new title. This helps when you run out of ideas-or stops it from happening in the first place. That's a new online article.

Search for new Sites Monthly:
You should be writing for more than one site in the beginning. Perhaps when you are more financially stable you can afford to focus on one site. Right now, keep searching for new internet sites. This doesn't have to be all content sites, where you publish freely for set rates; there are many popular online magazines accepting articles every day. Your job is to find these. Again, use a schedule. Work once a week on finding new internet publishing avenues.

Enjoy the Ride:
This will be fun for you, in the end, even if all doesn't go well. Internet writing will keep growing as long as new, ambitious companies want to tap the power of the internet. A good method for having fun is to use your internet income to reward yourself. You can buy a new book or film, for example, or just take the family out to a restaurant. You will, at some point, realize your writing can be a career.

By profiting from writing, you will learn that if you improve as you go along, you have a good chance of being a top internet writer. And that this can be a career.

Tip
Focus on a few topics in the beginning, and then expand when you start running out of ideas.
One online, non-content site is Salon.com. This site publishes all kinds of pieces. They pay more than most, but there is stiff competition.

Warning:
Don't write for sites that only pay you per page views-at least exclusively. Page views are how many hits your article gets and how many ads are clicked on. This does turn into income over time. Some of these sites are better than others. Helium, in my experience, is one that rarely pays writers well. If they don't offer an upfront payment, look elsewhere, as some sites offer both upfront payments and page view bonuses.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jacob_Malewitz

9 Steps for Managing Small Business IT

By Tom Ledford

Information Technology has never been more affordable. Small businesses can now take advantage of technology that will help them level the playing field and compete with larger companies, even on a global scale. Yet, the costs for small businesses that compete with you have come down too. How do you use IT to gain a competitive advantage?

Business leads - IT follows

1. Use IT to provide value to your customers

If IT doesn't add value for your customers, what's the point? Technology should allow you to either, lower costs, provide better customer service, or develop new products and services your customers need. If deploying new technology doesn't do one of these, don't bother.

2. Don't buy more complexity than you need.

Efficiency is found in simplicity - fewer moving parts. Don't buy feature laden software if simple software gets the job done. However, you should take care to analyze and anticipate your needs so you don't under buy. A good tactic is to plan for a progression of features or capabilities that match your expected growth. Choose software that is easily upgraded and allows you to use your existing data with new versions or modules.

3. Apply technology only if it improves a process

A manual process is often the most efficient. Don't spend 200 man hours implementing a technology that will save you 8 man hours a month. Any technology should also add customer value over and above the manual process.

4. Monitor capacity, performance and health

Don't just set it and forget it. There are too many inexpensive management tools that will allow you to monitor your systems and alert you in time to avert a disruption of service. Something as simple as running out of disk space can cause a service outage that takes days to recover from.

5. Be proactive instead of reactive

Monitoring your systems also allows you to collect data that can be used for trend analysis. For example: By knowing the rate of increase in your disk space usage you can predict when you will need to add capacity and plan accordingly.

Replace your equipment before it wears out or becomes unreliable. Practice "life cycle management." Budget for computer replacement every 3 to 5 years. For example: if you have 40 computers, consider budgeting to replace 10 of them each year.

6. Plan for contingency

Hardware fails. Users screw up. Viruses are always a threat. It's prudent and cost effective to use redundant disk technology on your server, but you don't have to go crazy trying to build fault tolerance into all your systems. If you have 20 computers, having a spare ready to go only costs you an additional 5%. That's a very cost effective way to increase availability. I've worked with large companies that will spend days trying to source parts and repair a computer while the user cannot work.

7. Provide operational structure

Define the processes you will use to manage your information technology just as you would any other business process. Use a regimented approach to performing the tasks needed to complete the processes. For example: backing up your data requires a number of specific steps. Write them down, perform them at the same time every day, and train more than one person to do them. Plan how you will update software and apply patches. Create processes, document them and develop a routine.

8. Train users

Your users don't need to know how to use every little bell and whistle. If they help them do their job faster, they'll learn them. Train them how to use their hardware and software to complete the business processes they are responsible for first. Teach them about Internet safety and help them organize their files and data.

9. Hire professionals to do the technical stuff

Find competent and reliable professionals to help you plan and maintain your systems. A good professional will want to understand your business, your customers, and your plans for the future. Once you have a good technology partner, you can focus on your business and customers.

Simplify

Information technology supports your efforts best when it is reliable, predictable and efficient. The best way to improve all three is to simplify.

For more about Tom Ledford:
Tom Ledford, Owner
South Side Tech
http://www.southsidetech.com
3849 Wyndsong Trl
Lexington, KY 40514
859-577-2403
Blog: The Practical Computer - http://praccomp.southsidetech.com
Twitter: @tcledford

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Ledford

Free Vector Analysis* By Murray R. Spiegel* Schaum's Outlines

Free Vector Analysis* By Murray R. Spiegel* Schaum's Outlines* For Students

Students, Vector Analysis which had its beginnings in the middle of the 19th century, has in recent years become an essential part of the mathematical background required of Engineers, Physicists, Mathematicians and other scientists. 

This book is designed to be used either as textbook for a formal course of students in vector analysis or as a very useful supplement to all current standards text. Each chapter in this book is provided with well defined explanations as well as solved examples and supplementary questions. Each question is presented with its answers at the end. This should very helpful for every student.

To me as a student, this book was really excellent and informative. Now its your turn to judge it, So here's the free download for you. . . .  . and ya don't forget to comment . . . . . .

First skip the ad, then it will start the download.