Careers Brief - Business Information Technology FdSc
Overview
The Foundation degree in Business Information Technology offers opportunities for progression onto honours degree programmes and 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 for 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). Use the website links below to check out opportunities, searching under Business studies and Computer science/Information Technology.
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 for job profiles and further information.
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 and Job Search sections of this Careers Guide.
Further Study
Top-up degree programmes are designed as a direct progression from Foundation degree to qualify for an Honours degree.
Use the Links on the HE Home page for information on the BSc (Hons) Business Information Technology Systems and BSc (Hons)Computing and Internet Technology one-year top-up courses at Bournemouth University.
You can also progress onto the third year industrial placement of the BSc (Hons) Business Information Technology. With appropriate background you can also apply to enter other related degree courses. The university link tutor visits the college to make contact with interested students and provide further information.
To find other suitable courses use www.ucas.com/search (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for the UK). Use university/college links for course details. Entry could depend both on your grades, experience and overlap between courses.
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 website www.aimhigher.ac.uk for information on student support and the main section on Further Study of this Guide for more information and help.
Resources
www.bcs.org
The British Computer Society - click on 'Careers' for 'Job Profiles' 'Selling yourself' and more
www.prospects.ac.uk
Graduate Prospects is the careers website for higher education students in the UK:
- Drop down 'Careers advice' and click on 'Use your qualification' for 'Your foundation degree...what next?'
- Also click on 'Options with your subject'
- Drop down 'Jobs & work' to 'Explore job sectors'
- Drop down 'My Prospects' 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 'careers' and 'choosing a category' or typing in job title.
www.insidecareers.co.uk
Inside Careers (publisher) graduate jobs and careers guide
www.get.hobsons.co.uk/advice
Hobsons (publisher) Graduate Employment and Training
http://targetjobs.co.uk
GTI (publisher) graduate jobs and careers
www.learndirect-advice.co.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles
Learn Direct - national learning advice
www.connexions-direct.com/jobs4u
Jobs4U Careers Database - click on 'Job Families & Articles' or Quick Search by typing in job title
www.computerweekly.com
Computer Weekly magazine
www.imis.org.uk
The Institute for the Management of Information Systems
www.iap.org.uk
The Institution of Analysts and Programmers
www.ncc.co.uk
National Computing Centre
