Data Snapshot
The Data Snapshot for Information Technology (PDF) helps educators, students and parents see connections between the Plans of Study and career opportunities in high-skill, high wage, in-demand fields.
Brandon Miles
Webmaster/owner of Milestat.com, Midlothian, Virginia
- Jamestown High School/Midlothian High School, Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools/
Chesterfield County Public Schools - CTE studies: Webmaster, Finance, Accounting
The right stats
Brandon Miles never thought his sports-results Web site, MileStat. com, would turn into a full-time business when he created it as a side project in high school. But nearly 12 years later, the hobby he began as a sophomore provides 2,000 yearly subscribers with articles, photos, videos, and rankings for high school cross country and track and field events around the state.
As the webmaster of MileStat, Brandon makes sure all of the athletes’ results, rankings, photo galleries, advertisements, and overall coverage are accurate and up-to-date. He also works as a beat reporter and stays in touch with athletes and coaches to stay aware of what is going on in cross country and track and field.MileStat is now part of the Mile-Split network, which features high school cross country and track and field coverage for more than 30 states.
While Brandon started his Web site before he took webmaster, finance, and accounting CTE classes, he says the courses helped his Web site evolve.
“I started to think ahead to where my work turned out to be not just a hobby, but a business.”
Brandon initially wanted to become a high school teacher and coach, but he decided to make MileStat his full-time career. This decision helped transition the Web site from a free access Web site with local sponsors to a subscription-based site. He now has several freelance contributors and hopes to hire full-time employees in the future.
Brandon says it is important to take risks to get to where you want in your career.
“You have to pay your dues early on, but once you get to the point where people know about your product or service or Web site and become dependent on it, that’s when you can capitalize on it and do what you love and make money doing it.”
|
Mathias Turbessi- Heritage High School, Newport News City Public Schools
- CTE studies: Computer Systems Technology
- Additional studies: Certifications – Sec+, Net+, Fiber Optics Association. Working toward an associate’s degree from the Community College of the Air Force
Read More...
High-tech job in the U.S. Air Force
Mathias Turbessi grew up fascinated with science technology, taking apart anything he could get his hands on and even building a shop vacuum powered hovercraft. In high school, he first considered pursuing an engineering degree but decided instead to serve his country by joining the U.S. Air Force.
Today Mathias is a cyber-transport technician with the Air Force in Hawaii, where he works on everything from depot-level electronics to Predator control communications and enterprise networking systems. He’s been able to work with some of the latest technologies and directly with major vendors, such as Cisco, McAffee, Nortel, and Riverbed.
“As of right now I’m staying in the Air Force as long as they will let me,” Mathias says. “I’m in the greatest shape of my life, love my job, live in Hawaii, and they constantly send me off to train on new technologies.”
At his technology magnet high school, Mathias had quite a few CTE courses to choose from. He started with computer science and then networking and robotics, and says these classes made a lasting impact. “These classes opened my eyes to all of the possibilities in front of me. I realized that I could be anything from a game programmer to an electrical engineer, which was very exciting for me.”
Though he learned a lot about networking and electronics during training with the Air Force, he says he always falls back to his high school computer science education for special tasks. “One idea was to write a computer script to do daily tasks across multiple (Air Force) networks that would check switching and routing devices for any unauthorized configuration changes and then report them back to the (communications) guys. This saved technicians many hours of work and allowed them to focus on more complex tasks.”
The Information Technology cluster is about building Linkages in IT Occupations Framework: For Entry Level, Technical, and Professional Careers Related to the Design, Development, Support and Management of Hardware, Software, Multimedia and Systems Integration Services. Opportunities for employment in Information Technology are promising. As technology advances across the globe, it is important to have individuals who understand and can support the new technological demands. This field required employees to have high-level degrees in certification.
  PLAY VIDEOProduced by: Stafford Academy for Technology, Governor’s STEM Academy, Stafford County Public Schools |
Employment Projections: 2010-2020
Information Technology is one of the fastest growing career clusters. According to estimates by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Information Technology employed 3.7 million people in 2010 and is expected to employ 4.5 million by 2020. Employment in IT occupations is projected to grow by 22 percent between 2010 and 2020 – faster than the expected growth rate for all occupations of 14 percent.
The report Employment Projections for Information Technology, 2010-2020 includes data on occupations growing faster that the nation average, pathways employment overview, occupations with the most job openings, and employment projections.
Occupations in this cluster and what they make in Virginia |
|||
| Occupation | # Employed in VA | Typical salary | Education level** |
Computer hardware engineers |
1,830 |
$62K – $147K |
4C/MD |
Computer programmers |
9,110 |
$41K – $115K |
4C |
Computer scientists, research |
2,600 |
$56K – $151K |
4C |
Computer support specialists |
24,190 |
$28K – $81K |
4C |
Computer systems analysts |
30,290 |
$49K – $120K |
4C |
Computer, ATM, and office machine techs |
3,110 |
$16K – $33K |
HS/CC |
Database administrators |
5,800 |
$42K – $116K |
4C |
Information security analytics, web developers and computer network architects |
20,530 |
$43K – $125K |
HS/4C |
Network and systems administrators |
20,030 |
$43K – $112K |
4C |
Software developers, applications |
31,290 |
$54K – $136K |
4C/MD |
Software developers, systems software |
30,700 |
$62K – $147K |
4C/MD |
Statisticians |
490 |
$39K – $119K |
4C/MD/DP |
** | HS: High school | CC: Community college | 4C: Four-year college | MD: Master’s degree | DP: Doctoral or Professional degree |
Career Cluster Planning
A resource for counselors, administrators, and educators
CTE Administrative Planning Guide (APG) – includes information to help local school divisions plan and schedule instructional programs. The APG is organized by career clusters, with a complete listing of courses, concentration sequences, and credentials available to students as they plan for career entry and continuing education. Users may access course information by cluster or by searching for specific courses or certifications.
Career Planning Guide – includes an easy way for students and counselors to look for courses to further career goals. One can search for occupations, browse by Career Clusters or favorite academic subjects.
Academic and Career Plans of Study
Development Information
Information and tips for instructional leaders, administrators, counselors and teachers/faculty for creating a career pathway academic and career plan of study.
- Information Technology Cluster Information
- Checklist for Developing Career Clusters Plans of Study (Word)
Sample Academic and Career Plans of Study
School divisions are asked to develop sample plans of study based on the courses offered within their schools, the employment needs of the region, and the post-high school educational opportunities needed for these careers. Once these sample plans are developed, they can be customized to the needs of individual students so that all students have the opportunity to have an individualized academic and career plan of study.
Sample Pathway Plans of Study for Information Technology:
- Information Support & Services (Word)
- Network Systems (Word)
- Programming & Software Development (Word)
- Web & Digital Communications (Word)
- Blank Plan of Study (with fields) (Word)
Also see Sample Plans of Study for all clusters and pathways.
Resources
- National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies
- Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals
- Center for Innovative Technology
The Career Clusters logo and its extensions are the property of the National Career Technical Foundation, as managed by NASDCTEc. Some content on this page is from the publication, R U College & Career Ready? - 2013 Edition; and is used here with permission from the Virginia Business Publications LLC and Trailblazers in the Demographics and Workforce Section of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.
View VDOE's Expenses