Options with your subject: Information systems

A modern-day organisation depends on the design, implementation and management of its IT. As an information systems graduate, you will therefore possess relevant skills for a diverse array of sectors and roles...

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Database administrator
• Information systems manager
• IT consultant
• IT technical support officer
• Systems analyst

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

• Applications developer
• Geographical information systems officer
• IT sales professional
• Management consultant
• Quality manager
• Systems developer

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here. To find out what jobs would suit you, log in to My Prospects.

Work experience

Aside from your degree, a wide range of paid or unpaid work experience in hardware, operating systems, software and team leadership will enhance your skills portfolio. Work experience gained in a corporate environment will help to develop your commercial awareness, client management skills and ability to understand and communicate the business benefits of IT. Global companies may also be interested in work experience abroad, even if this is not directly related to ICT.

It would also be advisable to consider becoming a member of a professional body, such as the BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT)  or IEEE  (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), which would allow you to take advantage of networking opportunities, engage with specialist groups and continue your professional development, leading to Chartered IT Professional status if desired.

Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.

Typical employers

Opportunities for information systems graduates can be found at any organisation that makes use of ICT facilities, meaning the range of potential employers is vast. Recruiters include organisations in the private sector, including ICT consultancy firms, software houses, ICT service providers and telecom companies, as well as those in the not-for-profit and public sectors, such as local/central government, secondary, further and higher education, and the NHS.

Typical employers within the ICT sector include: IBM; Microsoft; Accenture; Cisco; Logica; and Oracle.

Find information on employers in IT and information services and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

An information systems degree will provide you with core transferable skills, including:

• ability to adapt to a changing environment;
• ability to contribute to a team objective;
• problem-solving and change management skills;
• commercial awareness and business acumen;
• ability to understand and respond to user/customer requirements;
• project management experience;
• planning and organisational skills;
• negotiation and influencing skills.

At a technical level, it will also equip you with specific technical skills in:

• databases;
• data-mining;
• hardware, software and programming;
• SAP business software applications;
• SQL;
• Visual Basic, C++ and Java.

Further study

Research areas for postgraduates are wide and varied but may include:

• 'design and build' projects;
• data analysis to provide interoperability between systems;
• website development and evaluation;
• web search evaluation. 

Relevant professional qualifications are also available, for example, the BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT)  offers professional certifications in business and IT areas.

Regular training in technical products is also important and will be offered by product suppliers and ICT training providers. Taking additional courses, especially with market-leaders such as Oracle  and Microsoft , will aid career progression.

Advice and information on training in IT is offered by e-skills UK - The Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology , and the Institute for the Management of Information Systems (IMIS)  provides a continuing professional development (CPD) scheme.

For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see postgraduate study in the UK and search courses and research.

What do information systems graduates do?

Just under two-thirds of information systems graduates are employed six months after graduation. The majority of these (around a third) are employed as information technology professionals. Approximately 14% continue their studies, either full time, or part time while working.

Find out what other graduates are doing six months after finishing their degrees in What Do Graduates Do?  

Graduate destinations data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

AGCAS

Written by Alex Elkins, City University

Date: 

December 2011

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