Information technology is one of the fastest growing employment sectors in the state, which means if you have the education, there’s probably a job for you.
NorthWest Arkansas Community College offers several degree and certification programs that prepare students for an IT career.
IT refers to a wide range of industries, including telecommunication, web design and security and programming, just to name a few. Because of this diversity, NWACC offers classes in networking, web server administration, network security, command line scripting, microcomputer hardware, C++ programming and more. Students can earn an associate degree, which typically takes two years to complete, in Business Administration, Computer Aided Design (CAD), and Computer Information Systems. In a year or less, students can also get a technical certificate in CAD Architecture, Civil, or Mechanical Design as well as Networking and Cyber Security.
Graduates of NWACC programs have landed jobs in organizations of all sizes, working in software development, website maintenance, computer software sales engineering and network administration. There are thousands of information technology jobs currently in NWA, and NWACC makes sure its students become qualified candidates for those openings. They partner with Cisco Networking Academy, EC-Council and Amazon Web Services for some of the content offered in classes. An industry advisory board representing various organizations in the area ensures that NWACC’s degrees are addressing the correct job skills.
Since practically all businesses have technological needs, having an IT background means an applicant can likely find an open position in any sort of organization or industry they’re interested in. There is a certain amount of job security, and those employees can be well-compensated even at the entry level. The tech worker shortage also means that employers are often willing to negotiate on benefits in order to hire and retain qualified employees. And there’s always more to learn, more skills to obtain and opportunities for advancement to seize due to technology’s ever-changing nature.
NWACC’s information technology degrees and certifications are an excellent starting point for either a new career or the next step of an existing one. Learn more at NWACC’s website.
