With so many Iowans looking for jobs, a developing course of study at Iowa State University is in need of students to train for a line of work that promises a high placement rate and high salaries.
Brian Mennecke is an ISU professor of management information systems, which he says is primarily for business majors with a background in information technology.
“The big challenge we have is alerting students to the need for and the opportunities for jobs in this area,” Mennecke says.
The profession involves incorporating abilities in multiple areas, including: social media skills, marketing, accounting, data management and a solid working knowlege of computer software and hardware.
He says some of his students are stunned to find out their know-how of Facebook and Twitter could help put them on the fast track to landing a great job.
“Most of our students get three or four offers when they graduate and they’re pulling in really good salaries,” Mennecke says.
With a laugh, he says they like to describe the field of management information systems, or M-I-S, as computer science with a personality.
“It’s really a hot area and we just can’t find enough students, that’s the challenge,” Mennecke says. “We have plenty of employers, not as many students, so a lot of potential jobs go unfilled and that’s a shame. We’re trying to get the word out to anyone who has an interest in this area.”
A decade or so ago, when the dot-com bubble burst, a lot of IT people were put out of work, but Mennecke says, “It’s not that way at all now.”