[thesuit]

Hello!

I am student in social economic field study, so as you may imagine (and you are right) I don't understand a thing about any topic related to computer science. (So every information given to me must be said as I am retarded).

Beside the fact I am student I am also an entrepreneur. I have already started a clothing company, but it's 3-5 month startup, so I want to try new projects and do new stuff.

Considering that I don't understand much about computer science, and the increasing need for companies to have everything computerized. Made me want to know more about this subject.

My idea is to understand the market needs and what can "computer guys" do for companies.

So if someone could someone explain me what can you do with a computer science degree. (the question is really broad, but i just want to get as much answer possible, since there many different areas an especializations.

P.S: Sorry if anything is not perfect english, but i am not native speaker.

[macosxnerd101]

I'm going to move this to the Corner Cubicle for better visibility.

For the basics- graphic design, accounting software, etc., you don't need IT people. When you move into things like websites, which for start-ups are a big deal, you will want an IT person. Do you want to sell things online? That's more functionality, and more skill you need on your team to have an e-commerce site developed. Databases are another big one. Most business people think Access will cut it. As your business grows, you and your small team will have less time to manage the database. And Access is really a poor choice of tool for scaling.

Another thing IT people can do are mobile apps. And Android and iOS are two very different platforms. Networking and server maintenance is another thing that comes to mind.

One thing as well that I want to mention- IT people are not necessarily jack of all trades. Don't assume that as your needs grow that the IT person will know how to do everything. The web, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, etc., are all very different platforms with differing technologies.

[thesuit]

Thanks for your answer.

But I actually was wondering what IT people can do in the sense that I was wanting to invest in a new business.
The idea is mainly to get a team of IT people from different areas put them work together and get stuff done.

In order to do so, on my free time I started to investigate what can IT personal do. Knowing that I will know which different skills there are put them together and offer a new service for companies.

Basically I want to come up with a new idea for a business.

macosxnerd101, on 30 June 2012 - 06:50 PM, said:

I'm going to move this to the Corner Cubicle for better visibility.

For the basics- graphic design, accounting software, etc., you don't need IT people. When you move into things like websites, which for start-ups are a big deal, you will want an IT person. Do you want to sell things online? That's more functionality, and more skill you need on your team to have an e-commerce site developed. Databases are another big one. Most business people think Access will cut it. As your business grows, you and your small team will have less time to manage the database. And Access is really a poor choice of tool for scaling.

Another thing IT people can do are mobile apps. And Android and iOS are two very different platforms. Networking and server maintenance is another thing that comes to mind.

One thing as well that I want to mention- IT people are not necessarily jack of all trades. Don't assume that as your needs grow that the IT person will know how to do everything. The web, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, etc., are all very different platforms with differing technologies.

[modi123_1]

I think you are putting the cart in front of the horse here. Typically you start with an idea and fill the personal gaps as you go.

Do you plan on writing everything on paper? If not then you'll probably need a systems person to deal with hardware issues as they come up.

Do you plan on having your computers talk to each other, a common company printer, or email? Then you'll need someone with networking skills.

Do you need a website, mobile app, or code related? Then get a programmer.

Ignore the "mystical world" of IT and look at it like any other job. Do you want someone to talk to clients face to face? Then you need a marketing or pr person.

Do you feel like answering the phones and scheduling meetings? Then get an office admin..

[macosxnerd101]

So you want to invest in an IT consulting firm? You are asking a very broad question. You can't just throw IT people together and say make me money. IT people develop solutions for problems. As tlhIn'toq likes to say, find a problem and write code to make people's lives easier.

Quote

Basically I want to come up with a new idea for a business.

Do yourself a favor- find a partner with more knowledge of the IT field. If you have a unique skill set like management, accounting, getting startups going (ie., paperwork, legal), focus on that. I know you're coming here to do your research, but you'll be jumping into the field blindly still.

[thesuit]

Well i don't consider I'm putting the cart in front of the horse in the sense, I am just doing some research because i do not know anything about the topic, it is not like investing in IT and so one.

I thought of IT, because it's seems there is a lot to do. It's has so many different areas and in a world that has increasingly more informatic systems it seems something quite huge. Beside this fact in my country there are a lot of people unemployed or with really bad jobs, in this area for example.

So I'm aware that there are many people, that can do stuff in this area. But if you ask me what can an IT personal do for me or for a company? I can't answer that because i don't know much about the subject.

That's why I was asking a really broad question on person. I want to get as much information about IT personal and their different areas.

Knowing that, I will sooner or later come up with an idea. I don't believe that ideas come up out of nowhere, I think you have to look for them.

Sorry if my post is a bit confusing =S

modi123_1, on 30 June 2012 - 07:26 PM, said:

I think you are putting the cart in front of the horse here. Typically you start with an idea and fill the personal gaps as you go.

Do you plan on writing everything on paper? If not then you'll probably need a systems person to deal with hardware issues as they come up.

Do you plan on having your computers talk to each other, a common company printer, or email? Then you'll need someone with networking skills.

Do you need a website, mobile app, or code related? Then get a programmer.

Ignore the "mystical world" of IT and look at it like any other job. Do you want someone to talk to clients face to face? Then you need a marketing or pr person.

Do you feel like answering the phones and scheduling meetings? Then get an office admin..

[modi123_1]

As it's been said - there are many facets to the pan-title of "IT" person. Just like there are many facets to "Doctor" or "Lawyer" or "Teacher".

That being said - just look at a job board. See what people are hiring.. what skills they do.. etc.

http://jobsearchtech...areer_Paths.htm

http://www.it-careers.org/

http://www.cioinsigh...T-Roles-770285/

http://www.careerove...gy-careers.html

[thesuit]

ok nice that's a starting point.

So from IT what do you consider the major areas of intervention/specialization?

modi123_1, on 30 June 2012 - 07:47 PM, said:

As it's been said - there are many facets to the pan-title of "IT" person. Just like there are many facets to "Doctor" or "Lawyer" or "Teacher".

[macosxnerd101]

There are desktop applications, web applications, web design, enterprise grade applications, mobile apps, networking, server maintenance, low-level work, robotics programming, database administrators. The list could go on.

[thesuit]

Thanks a lot.
I will do my research on those topics, read about it and do a different post with a more specific question later

macosxnerd101, on 30 June 2012 - 07:53 PM, said:

There are desktop applications, web applications, web design, enterprise grade applications, mobile apps, networking, server maintenance, low-level work, robotics programming, database administrators. The list could go on.

[Martyr2]

I would have started my search at good old Wikipedia where you look up the topic "Information Technology". Once you understand the definition (the manipulation of information by means of technology) you can get an idea of the tasks and some of the roles involved in this field.

How an IT person can help is simply by storing, manipulating and retrieving data to support business processes (through things like automation) and offer guidance in making business decisions.

Have a product you want to sell? IT people can help you market it on several mediums like the web or help you gather stats on the people who would buy your product or even analyze and report on the state of the industry (aka generate reports).... all this typically done through computer systems.

[AVReidy]

macosxnerd101 pretty much summed up what IT guys and computer science majors do.

You only need a dedicated team of people with IT skills if your company revolves around providing a tech-related solution or if it's so large that (despite not providing a tech-related product/service) it would greatly benefit from a custom, high-traffic website.

If you're starting a single clothing retail store, you don't need to hire a single IT guy. You might want a consultant to get a simple website up for you, but with GoDaddy you can easily get a WordPress (or other content management system) site up by paying about $6/month and clicking a button or two. You don't need IT people to start a business.

That said, if you think of a useful web/software related idea and you hire excellent developers who share the same enthusiasm about the idea, you could potentially start a very successful company. When it comes to computers, good IT people can make Googles and Facebooks happen.

This post has been edited by AVReidy: 04 July 2012 - 11:40 AM

[Choscura]

Might be too late for this party, but I don't think you need an IT department,thesuit. Having an IT department is something you do because you need one, and investing in IT companies- or starting them- is something you should do because you are familiar with the market and know the gaps and how to exploit them. It is completely within the ability of nearly anyone to learn how to program on some basic functional level, and learn something of how various systems work, so you can educate yourself, but it's irresponsible- at best- to try to break into a market you know nothing about by hiring people to think for you, especially when you aren't really capable of judging the quality of their thoughts.

[Paul_E_T]

Choscura, on 08 July 2012 - 08:46 AM, said:

... but it's irresponsible- at best- to try to break into a market you know nothing about ....

Also it is a loosing position from the start. Best to find a group of IT people, socialize and ask simple questions. It'll take some time -- well spent and rewarding.