Information Technology is a very topical and prominent thing in the world we live in. Our generation is controlled by Technology, therefore it is more than vital we understand it as best we can. To ensure this happens we were given a talk today on IT by Peter and Marie, two Dell employees. My first thought when I heard we were having an ‘IT Talk’ was that it might be slightly boring as I am not really interested in IT itself. However this talk exceeded my expectations! As opposed to being explained all the engineering and technical side of IT, the speakers gave us a wonderful and entertaining presentation on the creative and social side of IT. They explained to us the vast variety of jobs available in this sector from product designing to product marketing and many more career possibilities. I felt the speakers connected very well with us. They first briefly told us a bit about themselves, and created a positive atmosphere in the room, as everyone was paying attention and absorbing the information given to us. After being lectured on the job possibilities at Dell and many other IT companies I personally feel my eyes were opened.
I almost automatically closed down IT as a career possibly as I never showed much interest in IT nor did I possess any skill or talent with technology. However this talk has broadened my horizons as I fully understand how IT companies function and what other careers they provide apart from designing products and creating computers and microchips etc. The speakers presented us with a few examples of people who have ended up in the industry having no specific qualification in IT. For example both of our speakers had not intended to work for Dell but through various jobs and contacts got the opportunity to. Peter has a degree in Marketing, German and French and he is in charge of the process of creating and marketing Dell products. Marie intended to do social work but, falling one point short of the university course after her leaving cert decided to look at different options. Now she is Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition in Dell and is responsible for hiring all employees within Dell. At the end of the Talk we were provided with some valuable and useful information regarding deciding on what to pursue after our school education, and what traits and qualities are sought after in the competitive work industry. I learned that when deciding on what we would like to do in the future, we must always keep our options open as opportunities could be given to you at any point in your life. In addition we must pick something that we love to do and that we have an interest in. There is no point doing a job for the rest of our lives that we don’t enjoy. Very importantly employers look out for people who are hard working, enthusiastic, have a good attitude to work and are flexible.
This talk has given me a new view on my future. It has opened up my options and inspired me to work hard to achieve my goals in life! I will now be more open to new ideas and industries as I can’t decide whether I like it or not until I try it out. After watching the video on the work environment in Google, I must admit it did seem quite appealing!