Computer technology........ The future of the job market in the United States.

As we begin to dig our way out of the recession it is apparent that the job market is changing rapidly. For individuals finishing college, there are fewer management jobs per capita as companies are having to cut costs. Many lower level jobs are being filled by illegal immigrants leaving "slim pickings" for high school graduates. There is a lot of potential in the area of applied technology. With the Internet and the ability to do business online, many companies are finding ways to increase production by applying computer technology to their existing business models. Computers are getting more and more powerful every day and we have barely scratched the surface when it comes to what they are capable of. The challenge is finding good programmers and technicians to put the new technology to work.  This involves a good comprehensive knowledge of the workings of the business at hand. Equally important is how to translate this knowledge into a form that the computer can process. The output may be in the form of data, graphics or a combination of the two. The objective is to translate the technical aspects of a project into information that can be easily comprehended by workers who need not be experienced in the these aspects of the business. Just as Henry Ford started using assembly lines in the auto industry, companies can increase their productivity if information is presented to employees in a fashion that is easy to visualize and understand. Many companies are built on people that have skills that they have acquired over many years of experience. The challenge is to create an environment where they can use their skills to input information into a computer and the program can process their input into information that makes it simple for other workers to implement. Some highly skilled people may say "I can do that job just as fast the old way" and that may well be true, but if a company can keep its highly skilled employees providing a steady stream of work for its high output employees, they will maximize efficiency and profits. Another benefit is the unmatched accuracy that is achieved through the use of a well written computer program. Any business can benefit from computer software not just for its accounting and scheduling but also for its production as well. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination. The demand for computer programmers will only increase as technology continues to evolve, and the list of fields that can benefit from computer technology is never ending.