Careers Guide 

Job Descriptions

Following is a summary of the job titles in the ComputerLanguage.com database. In most cases, there is more information under the individual entries, however, Internet access is required. Ask me about your CS Career Project which you get to research, compare, and present your choice job. 

business analyst
An individual who analyzes the operations of a department or functional unit. See business analyst.

CIO
(Chief Information Officer) The executive officer in charge of information processing in an organization. See CIO.

client/server analyst
A person responsible for performing analysis and design of a client/server system. See client/server analyst.

client/server programmer
A person responsible for programming client/server applications. See client/server programmer.

computer designer
A person who designs the electronic structure of a computer. Such individuals are engineers with background in digital circuits.

consultant
A person who acts as an advisor to users or to the technical staff. See consultant.

CTO
(Chief Technical Officer) The executive responsible for the technical direction of an organization. See also CIO.

datacenter manager
A person responsible for the operation of the computer systems in the datacenter. The data entry and data control departments are under this jurisdiction.

datacom analyst
A person responsible for developing and maintaining a data communications network. See datacom analyst.

data entry operator
A person who enters data into the computer via keyboard or other reading or scanning device.

database administrator
A person responsible for the physical design and management of the database and for the evaluation, selection and implementation of the DBMS. See database administrator.

database analyst
A person responsible for analyzing data requirements within an organization and modeling the data and data flows from one department to another. See database analyst.

e-commerce engineer
A person responsible for developing and maintaining e-commerce applications for a company's public Web site. See e-commerce engineer.

EDI analyst
A person responsible for the implementation of electronic data interchange systems between companies. See EDI analyst.

EDP auditor
A person who performs an EDP audit within an organization. See EDP auditor and EDP audit.

field engineer
A person responsible for hardware installation, maintenance and repair. Formal training is in electronics, although many people have learned on the job.

help desk analyst
A person who provides technical support for any aspect of the information systems department. See help desk analyst.

Internet engineer
A person responsible for developing and maintaining the infrastructure that supports the public Web site, intranet and associated LANs and WANs. See Internet engineer.

knowledge engineer
A person who translates the knowledge of an expert into the knowledge base of an expert system. See expert system.

librarian
A person who works in the data library. See data library.

mainframe programmer
A person who writes mainframe applications in programming languages such as COBOL, CICS and various 4GLs. See programmer.

mainframe programmer/analyst
A person responsible for the design and programming of a mainframe application. Programming languages typically include COBOL, CICS and 4GLs. See programmer analyst.

mainframe systems analyst
A person responsible for the design of a mainframe application. See systems analyst.

midrange programmer
A person who writes applications in programming languages such as COBOL, RPG and 4GLs, typically for IBM AS/400s. See programmer.

midrange programmer/analyst
A person responsible for the design and programming of a medium-sized business application. Programming languages include COBOL, RPG and 4GLs, typically for IBM AS/400s. See programmer analyst.

MIS director
See CIO.

network administrator
A person who manages a local area communications network (LAN) within an organization. See network administrator.

network engineer
A person who designs, implements and supports LANs and WANs. See network engineer.

operator
A person who operates a computer in a datacenter. See operator.

PC software specialist
A person who manages PC hardware and software. See PC software specialist.

PC technician
A person responsible for the maintenance of desktop computers within an organization. See PC technician.

programmer
A person who writes a computer program. See programmer.

programmer analyst
A person who performs both systems analysis and programming tasks. See programmer analyst.

project leader
A person who heads an information systems project. See project leader.

project manager
A person who keeps track of an information systems project. See project manager.

QA analyst
A person responsible for maintaining software quality within an organization. See QA analyst.

software engineer
A person who designs and programs system-level software (OS, DBMS, etc.). See software engineer.

system administrator
A person who manages a multiuser computer system (server). See system administrator.

systems analyst
The person responsible for the development of an information system. See systems analyst.

systems engineer
Refers to a variety of jobs in the industry. It may refer to a system-level programmer or to pre-sales and post-sales programming for a hardware or software vendor. See software engineer.

systems integrator
An individual or organization that builds systems from a variety of diverse components. See systems integrator.

systems programmer
A person who is the technical expert on some or all of the computer's system software (operating systems, networks, DBMSs, etc.) or a person who designs and writes system software. See systems programmer.

technical writer
A person responsible for writing hardware and software documentation. See technical writer.

UI designer/specialist
A person responsible for designing the user interface. See UI specialist.

voice analyst
A person responsible for designing telephony systems, including PBXs, interactive voice response (IVR) systems and call centers.

WAN administrator
A person who manages a wide area communications network (WAN). See WAN administrator.

Web designer
A person who creates a Web site. See Web designer.

Web programmer
A person who writes in any of the Web programming languages. See Web programmer.

Webmaster
A person responsible for the implementation of a Web site. See Webmaster.

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