Application Programmer

Done by:Nickietha Phinnoption 10(5)

Careers in Information Technology

What are we going to learn?

• The job functions.• The type of personality best suited for

this job. • The skills this person possesses.• What the person does in a typical day?• Which does he work with more,

software, hardware or people?• The qualifications for such a job.• Summary

Careers in Information Technology

Who is an application programmer?

• An individual who writes application

programs in a user

organization. Most

programmers are application programmers

Careers in Information Technology

The job functions

• Job titles and descriptions may vary, depending on the organization, but computer programmers are individuals whose main job function is programming.

• Applications programmers write programs to handle a specific job, such as a program to track inventory within an organization.

Careers in Information Technology

Do I have to have a certain personality to become a

programmer?• Statistics have

proven that it takes a determined mind to become a programmer.

• One must be able to work hard and always wish to succeed.

N.B Programmers tend to have a tedious work schedule.

Careers in Information Technology

Skills acquired:

• Skills are developed capacities that facilitate learning and the performance of activities that occur across jobs. The most important skills gain from this occupation are shown below.

– Programming 92%– Critical Thinking 90% – Complex problem-solving

89%– Operations Analysts 86%– Mathematics 61%– Instructing 54%

Careers in Information Technology

Life of a programmer: typical day….

• establishing a detailed program specification through discussion with clients;

• clarifying precisely what actions the program is intended to perform;

• breaking down program specification into its simplest elements and translating this logic into a programming language;

•devising possible solutions to problems and evaluating options; •working frequently within a team (that may be established purely for a particular project) to write a specific section of the program; •combining all elements of the program design and testing it;

Careers in Information Technology

Life of a programmer: typical day….

• creating examples of the data that the program is designed to process and working out what the program should do to the data;

• testing sample data sets to check that output from the program works as intended;

• seeking out problems and correcting the program as necessary;

• installing the program and conducting final testing;

• studying computer printouts during test runs; Looks

like he is

tired…

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Hardware, software, people?

Programmers spend the majority of their time in front of a computer terminal, and work in clean, comfortable offices.

SOFTWARE

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So..what are the qualifications?

Most programmers have a bachelor’s degree, but a two-year degree or certificate may be adequate for some jobs.

Some computer programmers hold a college degree in computer science, mathematics, or information systems, whereas others have taken special courses in computer programming to supplement their degree in a field such as accounting, finance, or another area of business.

Careers in Information Technology

Summary

• Computer programmers write, test, and maintain the detailed instructions, called programs, that computers follow to perform their functions.

• Almost 8 out of 10 computer programmers held an associate’s degree or higher in 2006; nearly half held a bachelor’s degree, and 2 out of 10 held a graduate degree.

• Employment of computer programmers is expected to decline by four percent through 2016.

• Job prospects will be best for applicants with a bachelor’s degree and experience with a variety of programming languages and tools.

Careers in Information Technology

THE END