(ROSENBERG, Texas) – Nearly every business, to some extent, needs people to build, maintain and manage their computer systems. Information technology specialists are trained to work on the infrastructures, both physical and digital, of those systems to ensure that everything runs smoothly.
The Computer Networking and Systems Administration (CNS) program at Texas State Technical College is where many of those specialists get their start.
“When something breaks on your computer, you’re calling one of our folks,” said Jacob Usery, statewide lead for the CNS program. “There is a lot of job security in our field.”
Citing the recent number of data centers being built or planned in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Usery stated that most graduates of the program have no problem finding a job within the state. This holds especially true for those who decide to get degrees in both computer networking and cybersecurity.
“There are a lot of courses that are the same between cybersecurity and our program (CNS),” Usery said. “If you think about it in the context of a car mechanic, computer networking is building and maintaining the car, but there are very specific things that might need to be done, like transmission repair. That would be cybersecurity.”
One of TSTC’s long-standing industry partners in the field is Cisco. As one of the leaders in computer networking, Cisco has an online academy that TSTC integrates into the program to ensure that students are learning the best, most up-to-date information available.
“Our partnership with Cisco has been really successful,” Usery said. “With our program, students are getting the best of both worlds.”
The average annual salary for network and computer systems administrators in Texas is $92,360, according to onetonline.org. The website also showed that the need for these specialists in the state was forecast to grow 20% between 2020 and 2030.
Students can choose to pursue an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Networking and Systems Administration, certificates of completion in IT Support Tier 1 and IT Support Tier II, and an advanced technical certificate in Cloud Computing.
Registration continues for the fall semester at TSTC. For more information, go to tstc.edu.
