According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, careers in information technology are projected to grow 15 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average occupation, and offer very competitive salaries.
While it’s common knowledge that IT is a booming field, it might surprise some people that most industries, including healthcare, education, manufacturing and finance, have job opportunities in IT.
Whether you’re interested in cybersecurity, software development and testing or another IT career path, pursuing a degree or certificate in IT through one of Virginia’s Community Colleges can open the door to careers with potential for growth.
And with the help of G3 tuition assistance, you can step through that door without carrying college debt with you.
Here are some of the courses you may take if you pursue a degree or certificate through one of Virginia’s Community Colleges.
Introduction to Digital and Information Literacy and Computer Applications
This intro course will help you develop an understanding of digital and information literacy. It will introduce basic computer concepts in hardware, software, cyber, cloud, database and operating systems and includes hands-on experience developing word processing, spreadsheet and presentation documents.
Software Design
This class will introduce principles and practices of software development. It includes instruction in critical thinking, problem solving skills, and essential programming logic in structured and object-oriented design using contemporary tools.
Personal Computer Hardware and Troubleshooting
In this course you’ll learn what to do if “turning it off and back on again” doesn’t work. It includes specially designed instruction to give students a basic knowledge of hardware and software configurations as well as the installation of various peripheral devices and basic system hardware components.
Network Attacks, Computer Crime and Hacking
If you pursue a degree or certificate in cybersecurity, you’ll likely take this interesting course. It will provide you with an in-depth exploration of various methods for attacking and defending a network. You’ll explore network security concepts from the point of view of hackers and their attack methodologies. It will also cover hackers, attacks, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), malicious code, computer crime and industrial espionage.
Quantitative Reasoning
Believe it or not, computers can’t do all the problem solving. This course will present topics in proportional reasoning, modeling, financial literacy and validity studies. It will also focus on the process of taking a real-world situation, identifying the mathematical foundation needed to address the problem, solving the problem and applying what is learned to the original situation.
