Natalia Kolganova
CEP 121
10/30/07
Personal Career Development
Passion is what keeps us moving forward. In order to be happy, we have to have
something special, something we want to dedicate our life to. Some people know for sure
from their early childhood what they want to do in future, and for some people it is very
difficult to discover their real interests. They can spend an entire life trying to find out
what they are really into. I can consider myself lucky because I have a real passion in my
life – computers, and I have already made up my mind about the sphere I want to connect
my professional life to; this is Computer Information Systems.
Computer Information Systems is a very broad field and there are a lot of
opportunities out there. It is not a secret that we live in the era of Informational
Revolution, and the amount of information produced by our society is enormous. Once
information is generated, it has to be organized, stored, and used in a proper way. It is
especially important in the sphere of business. Nowadays it is hard to imagine any
business functioning without using computer systems. Computers are in charge of
successful operation of the company, of course, with the right professionals controlling
them. Specialists are needed to produce and install computer information systems and to
develop software for them. Besides technician, the industry also needs professional
managers that oversee computer-related activities of the business and create business plan
for future development of the company.
I have to admit that I am not sure what particular career I would like to peruse. At
the moment, I find myself in the stage of self exploration. I know that my future
profession will be related somehow to the computer word; however, I am still exploring
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the field of possibilities. I have gone thought a long process of the development of my
skills, interests, and personality traits. There were a lot of changes in all these areas;
nevertheless, one aspect remains static – my passion to computers.
I can not recall a particular moment in my life when I discovered this passion
within myself. More over, I struggled a lot with computers during my first semester in
college in Russia. By the time I finished high school, I had learned only how to run one
specific application. However, when I went to college, I had to establish a much closer
contact with a computer because all the work was required to be done on the computer. I
did not know even where to place a floppy disk at that time, not talking about coping files
or doing any other kind of primitive operations. It took me three months to figure out the
concepts of computer structure. Since then, computer and I are the best friends.
Before I go any further, I would like to say couple of words about how I got to the
university. Despite of my absolute computer illiteracy, when it was time to decide what
college to go to and what major to chose, I selected Computer Information Systems (CIS)
applied in Business major in the State University Higher School of Economics (HSE,
Moscow, Russia). To tell the truth, it was not my conscious choice. In my hometown,
Lipetsk, there were no colleges that attracted my attention; besides, it was obvious that
there were much more opportunities available in the capital of Russia, rather then in a
small industrial city like my hometown. Moreover, I was a very ambitious young girl;
looking at my parents who had been working hard all their life and received nothing else
in return but health problems, I had absolutely no desire to follow their example.
Therefore, I had no other choice rather then applying to the colleges in Moscow. I went
through a tough time trying to choose the right university because at that time I could
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hardly imagine what profession might be interesting for me. My teacher of economics in
high school who, being just couple of years older, was also one of my friends told me that
there were special courses in Lipetsk that prepared students for the entering exams to the
HSE. He persuaded me to give them a try. Why did after all I choose the Computer
Information Systems major? The answer is very simple, it was a totally new curriculum
not presented in any other university. New opportunities are always attractive. Though, I
had a very little idea about the sphere of CIS at that time, I had a feeling that I was doing
the right thing.
During three years in the HSE I had numerous courses related to programming,
computer architecture, software applications, etc. I must say that I was very good at
programming and I was really into it; I used to spend days in front of the computer trying
to make the program run. However, I could not imagine my future life sinking in the
world of FORTRAN, C++, and other languages of programming. My willingness to
work also with people, not only with computers, made me to change my major to
Business Administration when I transferred to LaGuardia Community College in Spring
2007. My next step is to obtain BBA in Computer Information Systems in Baruch
College.
My educational journey turned to be a little longer than I planed because it was
possible to transfer only the third part of my credits from the HSE. More over, as an
international student I have to pay the full amount of tuition, and in order to afford it, I
have to face certain difficulties trying to combine a job in the restaurant with school. It is
difficult to survive in nowadays tough conditions; however, the ambitions of that young
girl that I used to be years ago still keep me moving forward. I have a clear goal in my
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life – to be successful. I want to do it for my parents, so that they can be proud of me; I
want to do it for my future children, so that they will not have to go through financial
struggles that my family had to face; and finally, I want to do it for myself.
While being in college, I am thinking about the possibilities of finding a job in the
sphere related to my major. Though, I have been working since I was seventeen, none of
my previous jobs were in the field of CIS. I consider the lack of the experience to be my
greatest obstacle. Nevertheless, working as a coordinator of marketing projects in an
advertising company and as an assistant manager in a restaurant helped me to improve
my communication skills which are becoming more and more valuable in a business
world. Moreover, my personal qualities can be also useful in my future career. I am
responsible and extremely hardworking, self-motivated, reliable, and patient. I can easily
adapt to changing conditions and stay calm and rational under pressure. Besides that, I
consider myself to be a conscientious and diligent student. Having a GPA 4.0 is a good
example of my hard work at school.
In order to prepare myself for a competitive job market, I started doing a research
about the nowadays situation in the CIS sphere paying close attention to such topic as
CIS outlook, qualities and qualification needed for specific occupations, working
conditions, etc. The position of Computer Information Systems Manager looks the most
attractive to me; therefore, I am concentrated the most on finding information about this
particular job. According to U.S. Department of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics),
Employment of computer and information systems managers is expected to grow
faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2014. Technological
advancements will boost the employment of computer-related workers; as a
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result, the demand for managers to direct these workers also will increase. In
addition, job openings will result from the need to replace managers who retire or
move into other occupations. Opportunities for obtaining a management position
will be best for those with computer-related work experience; an MBA with
technology as a core component, or a management information systems degree;
and strong communication and administrative skills.
Despite the downturn in the technology sector in the early part of the decade, the
outlook for computer and information systems managers remains strong. To
remain competitive, firms will continue to install sophisticated computer networks
and set up more complex Internet and intranet sites. Keeping a computer network
running smoothly is essential to almost every organization. Firms will be more
willing to hire managers who can accomplish that.
With the explosive growth of electronic commerce and the capacity of the Internet
to create new relationships with customers, the role of computer and information
systems managers will continue to evolve. Persons in these jobs will become
increasingly vital to their companies. The expansion of the wireless Internet will
spur the need for computer and information systems managers with both business
savvy and technical proficiency.
Looking at the information above, it is clear that the CIS market retains stable. It
seems like dedicating myself to CIS field can result in perspective job opportunities, but I
have to make sure that I will be qualified and well prepared for them. I believe there is
nothing impossible in this world. You just have to truly believe in yourself and work hard
on the way to success.
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