Advice for the next generation of IT execs

How should today's IT students prepare for the next 20 years?

IT students today are entering a different world from the one graduates 20 years ago saw. Students of all disciplines are getting at least some IT education these days, meaning that computing is less often regarded as a black art - and that people with a business education are now competing for IT jobs.

"If I want to start a business, I can do it in about 15 minutes, over the Web," says Marc Cangemi, a 21-year-old MIS major at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. "I feel that I am more prepared than students from 20 years ago, because our world is so much smaller today. We are no longer restricted to bricks-and-mortar jobs; we are wireless. We are constantly connected, which is a little scary, but I feel that it allows us to make more thorough and well-informed decisions."

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IT students today are entering a different world from the one graduates 20 years ago saw. Students of all disciplines are getting at least some IT education these days, meaning that computing is less often regarded as a black art - and that people with a business education are now competing for IT jobs.

"If I want to start a business, I can do it in about 15 minutes, over the Web," says Marc Cangemi, a 21-year-old MIS major at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. "I feel that I am more prepared than students from 20 years ago, because our world is so much smaller today. We are no longer restricted to bricks-and-mortar jobs; we are wireless. We are constantly connected, which is a little scary, but I feel that it allows us to make more thorough and well-informed decisions."

Awareness of the business side of IT - and the IT side of business - is going to be crucial for anyone starting out in today's workforce. A report issued by Gartner last September predicts that by 2010, six out of 10 people affiliated with IT will assume business-facing roles. Gartner says "technical aptitude alone will no longer be enough" as IT execs will need to "possess expertise in multiple domains." CIOs want IT pros with breadth and depth of skills and diverse experiences, rather than deep and narrow specialization, Gartner says.

Many IT execs agree with Gartner's predictions and are urging IT students to gain as much business knowledge as they can. Here's advice from six execs for students as they prepare for the next 20 years in IT:

Jeffrey van Brunt, assistant vice president of finance and IT, Salt Lake Theological Seminary, Utah

"Today's students should focus more on general business skills than on specific technology skills. Businesses will want IT professionals [who] understand how IT really relates to the basics of what businesses do. This is why more and more, companies are looking for those who have skill sets related to things such as Six Sigma, process analysis and design, and general business knowledge, in addition to some set of technical skills."