Careers Brief - Business Information Technology FdSc
Overview
The Foundation degree in Business Information Technology offers you the opportunity for progression onto an Honours degree programme or direct job entry, although the career advantages of being an Honours graduate can be significant.
Success in your course will not only have given you technical IT skills but also business awareness, useful for most careers. Additionally, you will have demonstrated key transferable skills and competencies in demand with recruiters. Key skills such as: communication, team working, analytical thinking, logical problem solving and multi-tasking.
You can improve your prospects further by gaining appropriate work experience (or industrial placement).
After the boom years of the 1990's, there has been some contraction in the industry, with fewer opportunities for IT graduates and increased competition from non-IT graduates, overseas graduates and out sourcing. With a projected slower growth pattern over the next few years, a good level relevant qualification and up-to-date skills have become more significant.
As every organisation needs IT systems to carry out its functions, this provides opportunities for IT professionals in both IT companies and 'end-user' organisations, from multinationals to small consultancies, in both the UK and overseas.
Graduate IT job titles include: IT consultant; systems analyst; network engineer; software trainer; technical author; technical marketing executive; database administrator; user support; applications programmer. Your initial post could be as a software engineer, IT consultant, programmer or systems analyst.
You could be looking at a wide range of business occupations or using your IT knowledge in a linked career (such as teaching or journalism).
Go to the website links below to find out more.
Be aware that many of the multinational companies start their recruitment programme for honours graduate trainees from the Autumn Term of the final year. If you plan to continue onto a one-year top-up honours degree or final year honours degree, you should be prepared for job-hunting before you start your final year.
Go to the Job Applications section of this Careers Guide for help and advice.
Further Study
You will be able to apply for a top-up degree. Top-up degrees are designed as direct progression from Foundation degree to achieve an Ordinary or Honours degree, though entry may be selective.
Alternatively, you could transfer onto a related Honours degree. Entry point would depend on your grades, experience and overlap between courses but could be the final year.
Go to http://onlineservices.bournemouth.ac.uk/courses/ for information on the BSc (Hons) Business Information Technology Systems Top-up degree course at Bournemouth University.
Other institutions offering related Top-ups include:
University of Glamorgan, Cardiff & Pontypridd; London South Bank University; Manchester Metropolitan University; Nottingham Trent University
To search degree courses go to www.ucas.com/ (UCAS - Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for the UK). Use university/college links for course details.
You will need to use UCAS to apply for courses. Contact the Course Tutor of your chosen course to find out your position, before you make your formal application.
Find out how much this will cost you. Where is the funding coming from? Go to the university/college website for information on course costs and finance and to www.direct.gov.uk/uni for additional help with student support.
With a good Honours degree (First or 2.1), you could progress onto an appropriate higher level degree to attain a Masters and/or PhD doctorate. This could be to develop your area of study to a more in-depth practical and/or academic level or to gain other specialist training.
For information on postgraduate study, go to the national online directory at www.prospects.ac.uk/study.htm .
Go to the main section Further Study in this Careers Guide for additional help.
Useful Links
BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT
Drop down sub-heading 'Qualifications, Training, Careers' and go to sections on 'Careers' + 'Students'.
www.prospects.ac.uk/starting_out.htm
Graduate Prospects - national careers website for HE students studying in the UK:
Drop down 'Job sectors' to click on 'Business and management' + 'IT and information services'
Drop down 'Jobs' for 'Types of jobs'
Drop down 'Jobs' and click on 'What jobs would suit me?' to use Prospects Planner
http://jobseekers.direct.gov.uk/
Careers database and links to jobs nationally. Search by either clicking on side-heading 'Careers' and choose a category or type in job title.
Inside Careers publication - specialists in Graduate Careers
GTI Media graduate careers publication - Advice by graduate career area
GTI Media publication for graduate jobs and careers advice - click on sub-heading 'careers advice'
http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/
Government Careers Advice service
Creative Choices - online service supporting the individual and business in the creative industries and cultural sector
www.connexions-direct.com/jobs4u/
Jobs4U Careers Database - click on sub-heading 'Job Families & Articles' or Quick Search by typing in job title
Computer Weekly magazine
Computing magazine online
The Institute for the Management of Information Systems
The Institution of Analysts and Programmers
National Computing Centre
Go to the Job Applications section of this Careers Guide for advice and help with making applications.
