Workers in the 21st Century office rely on computers for nearly every task they do. When a company’s computer systems or other electronic devices malfunction, one professional could hold the keys to the entire group’s productivity – the computer systems analyst.
Computer systems analysts use information technology (IT) tools to help businesses achieve their goals. They design networks of computers, troubleshoot the office WiFi system, back up the data, and always make sure they’re ready with fresh batteries for mobile devices.
Galen Crivello does all these jobs and more for the pathology department at the Stanford School of Medicine in California.
His office is stuffed with crippled iMac notebooks, ailing PC towers and overheated laptops, according to the Stanford University News. Every day, he cares for the computers that support the department’s 200 faculty, staff and students.
Crivello joined the school in 2002 as an assistant trainer in the technology services department, and within months he was named a computer systems analyst. A year later, he took his skills to the medical school, where he rose to become computer systems manager. He hasn’t slowed down since.
“Galen comes in the mornings to help set everything up for the Pathology morning teaching conferences ? PowerPoint, LCD projector, audience response system, WebEx, link to the VA Hospital ? and sometimes things aren’t working,” associate professor of pathology Dr. Christina Kong told the news site.
“Since Galen is so successful at fixing all of our various information technology problems, it has come to the point that just having him show up makes everyone relax and feel confident that everything will be taken care of expeditiously,” Kong said.
When the pathology department is running smoothly, its researchers do crucial medical work, helping to improve the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. They perform clinical research, provide diagnostic services and blood products, and teach the next generation of medical and graduate students.
“That’s what information technology is about ? someone who will be a voice for [the doctors] so they don’t have to do that on their busy schedule,” Crivello told the site. Inspired by the school’s mission, he strives to keep the systems working and even saves a little money by keeping spare parts in his office, waiting for a chance to install a used hard drive or video card.
Students hoping for a job as a computer systems analyst can prepare by studying for a degree like the bachelor’s of science in management information systems (MIS) or master of science in information technology and management, according to the University of Texas at
Dallas.
Graduates from these programs work at IT positions in almost every industry, such as financial services, retail, manufacturing, consulting, telecommunication and government, the university says.
Despite the recent outsourcing of basic programming jobs to overseas workers, demand is still strong for more complex IT jobs such as business process management, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, information security, and business intelligence, the school
says.
Government statistics back up this claim, forecasting a rapid, 20 percent growth in the number of computer systems analyst jobs over the coming decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Businesses will boost demand for these workers as they continue to adopt sophisticated technologies, pushing the number of analysts from 532,200 workers in 2008 to an estimated 640,300 workers in 2018.
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