Reading. 1. Read the text and decide on the best title for it.

1. Read the text and decide on the best title for it.

When you are preparing for a computer career, keep one thing in mind: change, not continuity, is the norm. Throughout the ages, mankind has always managed to find the technology to achieve its goals. Whatever our personal views on the future might be, most of what is impossible today will no doubt become commonplace at some time in the future. New technological developments will give new opportunities, create new kinds of jobs—and make old ones obsolete. The scientific and technical revolution is sweeping the world.

Today, hardware and software technologies allow people to work and play together in interactive and immersive 3-dimencional environments. Technology is also offering us new ways of exploring both the real world and the ‘virtual’ world of Cyberspace. Technology is reducing the need for travel and transportation, enabling us to gather information from anywhere in the world within minutes, to cut down on the use of material resources and allowing us to perform many activities simultaneously. Time and space are becoming compressed as communication networks bring us closer together and enable the formation of ‘virtual communities’ where, for instance, colleagues around the world work together via their computers in shifts. This can result in an uninterrupted 24-hour activity.

Consider computer information systems (CIS) professionals. Twenty years ago, they worked in a central computing facility, where they wrote programs or designed systems. When the microcomputer came along, these professionals had to decentralize. Nowadays instead of writing programs, CIS professionals installed software packages, cus­tomized those packages to work best for the user, and acted as resident computer experts for the user.

2. Read the text and match each type of specialists with the appropriate sphere of work. What specialists are in bigger demand in our workforce market today?

NEW CAREER PATHS

Evolving technology has created new career opportunities in addition to altering traditional jobs. The microcomputer explosion has resulted in new jobs in repairing microcomputers, installing them, building communica­tion links between them, and helping people when they have difficulties using them. The Internet has opened up new career opportunities such as Webmaster and network research specialist.

customer support technicians

Webmaster

network research specialists

microcomputer specialists

telecommunications specialists

a) These specialists often work with end users, helping them purchase, install, and use their computers. They can also implement securi­ty and backup procedures.

b) Many computer software and hardware makers have help lines that people can call when they have a trouble. The people who work on these help lines are in great demand.

c) These specialists have found a growing job market. Now those companies have all these microcomputers on their desks, man­agement is looking for ways to connect the computers with each other, as well as with minicomputer and mainframe computer systems. These people’s job is to establish all the capabilities of com­munication within a company. Many companies that make international connections need these specialists’ help.

d) The Internet is becoming an important path for a company to communi­cate with potential and current customers. This type of specialistsis responsible for the visual layout, the written content, the links to other locations, and often the techniques to follow up on the customer's inquiry. Companies with large Internet business may have a staff of several such em­ployees.

e) These people, also called information brokers, will conduct your research on the Internet and other online services and then write a report on the results. With online services growing at such a rapid pace and with so much information available, these specialists are filling an emerg­ing need. Most of them currently work as independent contrac­tors, but large companies, especially in the medical field, may be employing these specialists soon.

3. Read through different categories of computer careers and list their main distinctive features.