What does an information technology professional do?
The duties of an information technology professional depend on their line of work or place of employment. In a company setting, their responsibilities typically revolve around installing and repairing systems, conducting maintenance checks to ensure optimal performance, designing new programs and applications, and improving existing computer systems to fit the needs of a company. They may also provide technical support to employees, answer inquiries, troubleshoot, or resolve issues promptly and efficiently. Furthermore, an information technology professional must take part in optimizing network operations, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Information technology professional responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real information technology professional resumes:
- Lead virtualization efforts to reduce hardware, enhance lab infrastructure, and achieve high availability within server environment.
- Lead the architecture, installation, and migration to SAN environment from SCSI attach infrastructure.
- Install new networking cabinet, run new cables, install new switch, manage SonicWall firewall, manage VPN users.
- Create and effectively manage important HIPAA compliance programming.
- Manage customer data extraction projects including analyzing and reporting from multiple POS systems.
- Manage the data center and provide user desktop support at this manufacturing facility.
- Configure and deploy software and software updates with in SCCM 2007 R3 and WSUS.
- Develop web content for customers using Wordpress, Magento, HTML, PHP, CSS, JavaScript and MySQL.
- Appoint lead of a major account and drive planning and execution of compliance testing for Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX).
- Help upgrades/updates on security, change management, and disaster recovery procedures per recommendations of ITIL.
- Job shadow network professional setting up and configuring LAN connection with Cisco routers and switches within office effectively alleviating connectivity issues.
- Work with PHP, HTML, JQuery, and CSS to build and maintain Wordpress sites.
- Implement NIST base risk management framework.
- Design and implement Sarbanes / Oxley SOX controls.
- Learned payroll and how to cut checks for employees.
Information technology professional skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Information Technology Professionals are proficient in Customer Service, Network Administration, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Customer-service skills, and Listening skills.
We break down the percentage of Information Technology Professionals that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 8%
Provide exceptional customer service; ensure customer satisfaction through consistently achieving quality in food preparation, presentation, and service.
- Network Administration, 8%
Reduced company overhead by providing web master, contact database management, and network administration services.
- Project Management, 7%
Established project management office which led to improved prioritization, tracking, reporting, and accountability of enterprise IT initiatives.
- Java, 7%
Implemented an application performance monitoring using open-source JAMON (Java Application Monitor) interceptor and Aspects.
- SQL Server, 5%
Developed reporting applications based on MS SQL Server, MS Access, Oracle and supported financial applications across EMEA.
- Troubleshoot, 5%
Utilized LanDesk Remote Control to access company supported computers and troubleshoot issues pertaining to propriety clinical hardware and software applications.
"customer service," "network administration," and "project management" are among the most common skills that information technology professionals use at work. You can find even more information technology professional responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling information technology professional duties is customer-service skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "computer support specialists must be patient and sympathetic." According to an information technology professional resume, here's how information technology professionals can utilize customer-service skills in their job responsibilities: "developed web content for customers using wordpress, magento, html, php, css, javascript and mysql. "
Listening skills. information technology professionals are also known for listening skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to information technology professional responsibilities, because "support workers must be able to understand the problems that their customers are describing and know when to ask questions to clarify the situation." An information technology professional resume example shows how listening skills is used in the workplace: "communicated client needs utilizing a variety of corporate approved templates stored and exchanged on sharepoint. "
Speaking skills. information technology professional responsibilities often require "speaking skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "support workers must describe the solutions to computer problems in a way that a nontechnical person can understand." This resume example shows what information technology professionals do with speaking skills on a typical day: "represented apex as the sole government cleared java specialty recruiter. "
Writing skills. Another crucial skill for an information technology professional to carry out their responsibilities is "writing skills." A big part of what information technology professionals relies on this skill, since "strong writing skills are useful for preparing instructions and email responses for employees and customers, as well as for real-time web chat interactions." How this skill relates to information technology professional duties can be seen in an example from an information technology professional resume snippet: "work covered writing java, javascript and sql modules for workflow administration, data manipulation and ui implementation. "
Problem-solving skills. Lastly, "problem-solving skills" is an important element of what an information technology professional does. Information technology professional responsibilities require this skill because "support workers must identify both simple and complex computer problems, analyze them, and solve them." This resume example highlights how information technology professional duties rely on this skill: "provide integration and implementation of the computer system security solution. "
See the full list of information technology professional skills
The three companies that hire the most information technology professionals are:
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Compare different information technology professionals
Information technology professional vs. Information engineer
An information engineer is responsible for monitoring the efficiency of computer systems and network infrastructure, performing configuration to boost the optimal performance of the technology systems. Information engineers assist end-users in resolving network issues, identifying the source of inconsistencies, and create resolution reports for reference to avoid reoccurrence. They also design new network systems according to business needs and client specifications, running multiple diagnostic tests to ensure effectiveness before the release of final deliverables. An information engineer should have excellent technical skills, as well as a strong command of programming languages and system codes.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, information technology professional responsibilities require skills like "network administration," "project management," "printers," and "sox." Meanwhile a typical information engineer has skills in areas such as "azure," "pc," "c++," and "lan wan." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Information engineers tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $107,435. In contrast, information technology professionals make the biggest average salary, $100,838, in the finance industry.On average, information engineers reach similar levels of education than information technology professionals. Information engineers are 1.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Information technology professional vs. Senior consultant, information technology
A senior consultant of information technology is primarily responsible for developing strategies and procedures to optimize a company's information technology systems and infrastructure. It is their duty to assess existing networks and systems to identify their strengths and weaknesses, develop solutions in problem areas, perform risk assessments, and provide advice on how to achieve the best information technology practices. Furthermore, as a senior consultant, it is essential to lead the efforts and serve as a role model for the workforce, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real information technology professional resumes. While information technology professional responsibilities can utilize skills like "customer service," "network administration," "troubleshoot," and "system troubleshooting," senior consultants, information technology use skills like "architecture," "client facing," "healthcare," and "shared services."
Senior consultants, information technology may earn a higher salary than information technology professionals, but senior consultants, information technology earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $117,869. On the other hand, information technology professionals receive higher pay in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $100,838.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Senior consultants, information technology tend to reach higher levels of education than information technology professionals. In fact, they're 9.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for information technology professionals in the next 3-5 years?
Babak Beheshti Ph.D.
Dean, Professor, New York Institute of Technology
-We will be witnessing a more widespread commercial deployment of 5G in 2020. With the implementation of the Standalone 5G devices based on the 3gpp release 16, we should be seeing the more robust mobile broadband deployment of 5G, wider availability of 5G smartphones, and a push towards an all 5G Network in select urban areas around the world.
-Significant growth in AI-based technologies, from face recognition and voice recognition to business intelligence and market predictions. As machines and deep learning algorithms get integrated into many applications, many industries will undergo substantial changes. AI systems will continue to interact with our phones; cars will interpret and analyze their surroundings and intelligently drive themselves. Online vendors will monitor our browsing habits, and Google decides what kind of search results to give us, based on who it thinks we are.
Information technology professional vs. Information systems technician
An information systems technician is responsible for maintaining the efficiency of various network systems' performance. Information systems technicians provide network troubleshooting, upgrading systems for optimization, maintaining the security of databases, managing the interaction of networks, and inspecting and troubleshooting system inconsistencies. Additional duties include creating network designs based on clients' specifications, configuring software and hardware applications, and creating reports on system issues and resolutions. An information systems technician must have excellent knowledge of information systems procedures, programming languages, detecting malfunctions, and making resolutions promptly.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from information technology professional resumes include skills like "network administration," "project management," "java," and "c #," whereas an information systems technician is more likely to list skills in "phone calls," "desk support," "user support," and "network printers. "
Information systems technicians earn the highest salary when working in the government industry, where they receive an average salary of $63,116. Comparatively, information technology professionals have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $100,838.Most information systems technicians achieve a lower degree level compared to information technology professionals. For example, they're 6.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Information technology professional vs. Information technology supervisor, information technology
An information technology supervisor of information technology is primarily in charge of overseeing a company's IT operations, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. It is their duty to spearhead projects, set goals and objectives, coordinate staff, manage budgets and timelines, perform installations and upgrades, and develop strategies to optimize operations. They must remain knowledgeable of the latest technologies, liaise with external parties, and produce progress reports. Furthermore, as a supervisor, it is essential to monitor the performance of the IT teams, all while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
Types of information technology professional
Updated January 8, 2025
