Despite the worldwide economy facing a slowdown, career opportunities continue to grow in the information technology (IT) sector. According to the latest quarterly survey from IT staffing specialist Robert Half Technology, 8% more chief information officers (CIOs) say they plan to hire new staff in the last three months of this year than intend to make cuts, PC World reported. The biggest areas for job growth are expected to be in helpdesk and tech support, while 70% of CIOs said network administration remains the most in-demand skill in the industry. The ability to administer systems for Windows Server 2000 and Windows Server 2003 were also among employers' most widely requested skill sets. Increased demand for customer support is the main driver of recruitment in IT, followed by business growth and installing or creating new applications, the survey said. According to the Department of Labor, network administrators are responsible for designing, installing and supporting an organization's computing system. They oversee both local and wide area networks, intranets and internet systems, analyzing problems and generally ensuring the smooth running of the network. In 2006, there were 309,000 network and computer systems administrators in the US. This number is expected to grow by 27% by 2016.  |