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, which is useful in most careers. Also you will have demonstrated key transferable skills and competencies in demand with recruiters, 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).
With your subject of study, in addition to IT jobs, you could be looking at a wide range of business related occupations, or using your IT knowledge in a linked career (such as teaching or journalism).
Every organisation needs IT systems to carry out its functions, providing opportunities for IT professionals in both IT companies and 'end-user' organisations, from multinationals to small consultancies across the UK. After the boom years of the 1990's, there has been a 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.
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.
Use the website links below to find out more.
You should be aware that many of the multi-national companies recruit honours graduate trainees from the Autumn Term of the final year. If you plan to continue onto one-year top-up honours degree courses, 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 a direct progression from Foundation degree to achieve an Ordinary or Honours degree.
Alternatively, you could transfer into a related Honours degree. Entry point would depend on your grades, experience and overlap between courses but could be into the final year.
Progression would normally be onto the BSc Software Systems Framework level H at Bournemouth University.
Use the Links on the HE Home page for information on degree courses (full-time or part-time) at Bournemouth University (click on sub-heading 'Courses').
Institutions offering related Top-ups include:
University of Hertfordshire; Leeds Metropolitan University; London South Bank University; The Manchester Metropolitan University; University of Northampton; University of Wolverhampton.
To search for other 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 all postgraduate courses and research, go to the national online directory at www.prospects.ac.uk/links/pgstudy/ .
Go to the main section Further Study in this Careers Guide for additional help.
Resources
BCS The Chartered Institute for IT - drop down sub-heading 'Qualifications, Training, Careers' to click on 'Careers' + 'Students'
Graduate Prospects - online national careers service for HE students studying in the UK:
- Drop down 'Careers advice' and click on 'Use your qualification' for 'Your foundation degree...what next?'
- Drop down 'Sectors' to click on 'Business & management' + 'IT & information services'
- Drop down 'Jobs & work' to 'Explore types of jobs'
- Drop down 'Jobs & work' and click on 'What jobs would suit me?' for 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
Hobsons/GTI graduate careers publication - Careers advice section
GTI publication for graduate jobs & careers intelligence - go to sub-headings 'Career sectors' + 'Careers advice'
http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/
Careers Advice Service
Creative Choices - online service supporting the individual and business in the creative industries and cultural sector.
Drop down sub-heading 'Knowledge' + go to sector side-headings.
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.
