| ART & DESIGN | EXPLORATION | MEDICINE & LAW | MUSIC | SPORTS | TECHNOLOGY | GAMES |
| "Don't know a word on this page? Look it up here." |
Technology
Careers
Can you picture yourself working with a team of people to get a company's computer system up and running? Or would you like to work with doctors and patients to create new medicines? How about using your computer skills to solve crimes or dream up materials for clothing that actually protects the person wearing them? Here are just a few ideas for you to explore with your interest in technology:
- Biotechnologist
- Computer Security
- Effects Artist
- Game Designer
- Information Scientist
- Nanotechnologist
- Perfusionist
- Photonics Technician & Technologist
- Webmaster
Biotechnologist
What's a Biotechnologist?
Just like the name sounds, Biotechnology is the combination of biology and technology. Do you dream of finding new medicines, inventing a better hearing aid for your grandfather, or cleaning up the environment? If so, Biotechnologist might be just the career for you.
For salaries, biotechnologists earn about $50,000 a year.
Things to Do
- How does an ear hear? What does Salmonella poisoning mean to cells? How does blood pump through the human heart? To find out, go to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Please Note: You'll need Quicktime or Windows Media Player to play these animations.
Who Does Biotechnology?
Read about a group of people working in biotechnology at the National Health Museum.
Meet Megan Davis, who was trained in biology and now works as an educator.
Classes to Take
As you go on to high school, consider taking these courses:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Biochemistry, if your school offers it
- Algebra
- Geometry
- Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry.
- If you're interested in the environmental side of biotechnology, take environmental science.
Think a job in Biotechnology might be for you?
- Are you creative?
- Are you excited by the thought of studying biology in-depth?
- Are you careful?
- Can you cook something that has a complicated recipe or keep track of the progress of an experiment?
If you answered yes to these questions, you have many of the skills to be successful in biotechnology!
Computer Security
What's Computer Security?
Have you ever heard of an Ethical Hack? That's what happens when a person uses his or her hacking skills to protect a computer network instead of causing damage. Computer viruses and worms can cause companies to lose lots of money, so companies hire computer security consultants to set up secure networks and to test how easy or difficult it is to hack into existing networks. Another area of computer security is computer forensics: piecing together erased or encrypted files from computers during criminal investigations.
What's Computer Security?
Hackers around the world keep thinking of creative (and destructive) ways to break into computer systems. Computer security specialists are often on-call, and they must keep their programming skills up-to-date. Computer security is big business that is only getting bigger. If you imagine yourself setting up computer networks, writing computer code to thwart hacking attempts, or searching hard drives for clues, you should explore a career in computer security.
A computer security specialist can earn between $43,000 - $69,000.
Things to Do
- Does your school need a Computer Help Desk? StudentTechCorps can help you start a help desk that you and your classmates can staff.
- Read about the latest computer viruses on the homepage of the Information Systems Security Association
Who Does Computer Security?
Who are the people who work in computer security? Read about a variety of people who have interesting jobs in the fields of Engineering and Information Technology!
Classes to Take
As you go on to high school, consider taking these courses:
- Computers! Take programming, network administration, whatever is available at your school!
- Business - many computer security specialists create their own consulting companies
- Math - you'll need to take high school math through pre-calculus if you want to go on to a 4 year computer science program
- Try some courses in law or criminal justice, if your school offers them
Think a job in Computer Security might be for you?
- Do you enjoy finding new ways to do things?
- Do you ever think about ways things could go wrong, and come up with plans "just in case"?
- Do you like working with a team of people to solve problems?
- Do you love programming?
- Can you think well on your feet and get going in a flash?
If you answered yes to these questions, you have many of the skills to be successful in computer security.
Effects Artist
What's a Special Effects Artist?
Special effects artists make movies, TV shows and commercials, and sometimes even video games. They use their artistic talents to create unique creatures (like the dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park") or incredible stunts (like swinging from webs in "Spider-Man"), and their knowledge of science and computers to make their work come to life.
Things to Do
People
Meet Stan Winston, a man who wanted to be an actor but ended up hooked on the "artist" part of being a "special effects artist". He thinks of what characters, creatures, and monsters in movies will look like, and the people who work for him at his studio use computers to make the creatures.
Classes to Take
In addition to the classes you take now, think about taking these courses in high school:
- Computer science
- Art
- Physics and Biology
What Are You Like?
- Do you have an imagination that’s larger than life?
- Would you like to actually make those incredible things you imagine come to life on a movie screen?
- Do you like to do digital art?
If you answered yes, you have many of the skills necessary to become a special effects artist.
Game Designer
What's a Video Game Designer Do?
You've seen online stuff like Encarta, right? So you know there's a blend of graphics, animation, video and writing. Just like making a movie, good game design almost always includes a team of people to make the game really fun and usable. There are writers and artists, sometimes even actors to do "voice overs". You take everyone's ideas and figure out how to make them work, so you must be able to conceptualize and program.
What's a Video Game Designer Do?
If anyone wants to make changes to the user interface, you're the one who sees to it. And if you are working with an artist who can't figure out how SVGA palettes work, you might write a color-reducing and palette-matching utility. In short, without you, there's no game. A video game designer's salary ranges from $35,000 to $75,000.
Things to Do
- Play video games! Some jobs require documented high scores in popular games, in addition to programming and artistic talent.
- Meet Nell, a girl who founded her own web design company when she was 12.
Who's a Video Game Designer?
A lot of people design video games. You probably have your favorites. Here are a few we found:
- Meet Vangie "Aurora" Beal, founder of GameGirlz.com
- Wes Louie. He's been drawing since he was a kid. He does the artistic part of video game design.
- or Sheri Graner Ray who's been called one of the most important people in the industry.
Classes to Take
As you go on to high school, consider taking these courses:
- Computers! Take programming, network administration, whatever is available at your school!
- Business - many game designers create their own consulting companies
- Math - you'll need to take high school math through pre-calculus if you want to go on to a 4 year computer science program
- Art or Animation
Think a job as a Video Game Designer might be for you?
- Are you a great story teller?
- Do you like to draw?
- Do you love video games, but think you can do better?
- Do you like to write and talk about your ideas to others?
If you answered yes to these questions, you have many of the skills to be successful as a video game designer!
Information Scientist
What Does an Information Scientist Do?
by Nissi Wei
Information scientists manage information in creative and effective ways that make it easy for others to read and understand. He or she is the person you go to if you need someone who can manage and analyze graphs, reports, statistics, or do research – usually anything involving facts and numbers. Information scientists basically make other people’s lives easier by overseeing documentation and paperwork so that they spend less time trying to access information and more time using it.
Read more about Information Scientists...
There are many specific fields an information scientist can go into (science, financial, and legal, to name a few), all requiring different skills, but regardless of the specifications, all information scientists must have superior all-around computer knowledge and programming skills because the majority of the work needs to be done via computer. In this career, efficiency is key.
In the US, an information scientist earns between $55,000 and $75,000 annually, though that figure could easily increase to $90 000 with due experience.
Things to Do
- Volunteer at your local library
- Conduct a survey at school and try to organize the data in as many ways as possible. Then, draw conclusions of your findings, write a report, and present them.
- Research your favourite hobbies and pastimes, or perhaps the star of your favourite TV show.
People
Sit in on an interview with Kent Holaday as he takes you through a typical day in the life of an information scientist.
Read more about the career: "Information scientist."
Alex Nedzel is a computer consultant who runs his own business.
Classes to Take
In addition to the classes you take now, think about taking these courses in high school:
- Computer
- Mathematics, the more the better!
- Sciences, such as biology
- Language courses
What are You Like?
- Do you love working with the computer?
- Do you enjoy working with numbers?
- Are you able to work under a lot of pressure?
- Are you able to absorb and pass on information quickly and efficiently?
- Is your workspace always neat and organized?
- Can you multitask and juggle several projects at once?
- How well are your time management skills?
- Are you resourceful in seeking information?
- Are you a strong presenter and/or a public speaker?
If you answered yes to these questions, you have many of the skills to be a successful Information Scientist.
Nanotechnologist
- Career description
- More Career description
- More Things to do
- Things to do
- People
- Classes to take
- What are you like
- More Career description
What's a Nanotechnologist?
What do longer-lasting batteries, boats that repel barnacles, better cancer treatments, and stain-proof clothing for kids have in common? They are all goals that scientists and engineers are trying to reach using nanotechnology. Nanotechnology involves designing useful materials or machines, one atom or molecule at a time. If you choose a career in nanotechnology, you will create things that people only dream about now. But you'll have to be careful. People have discovered that some materials that are perfectly safe in big pieces are actually poisonous when they're smaller.
A nanotechnologist's salary averages between $50,000 - $75,000.
Nanometers
A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. How small is that?
More Things to Do
- What does the world of the very small look like? Look at jellyfish, a gecko's foot, and other things under a Scanning Electron Microscope.
- Visit the Nanoworld Image Database and then take a Mystery Image Quiz. You can also make your own boardgame.
Things to Do
- For the latest nanotechnology news, check out ScienCentral.
- Meet the Nanokids! and explore with them. Students, professors, artists, and musicians at Rice University created Nanokids to teach real kids about nanotechnology. Each Nanokid has his or her own chemical composition and story.
- Scientists play, too! See what a high school student helped create using nanotubules.
Who Does Nanotechnology?
Meet Brandon Caesar. When he was in college, he used his computer science knowledge to help develop the NanoKids.
Also meet Simon Brown, a physicist working in nanotechnology.
Classes to Take
As you go on to high school, consider taking these courses:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Algebra
- Geometery
- Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry
If it's available, take calculus. The more math you take, the more you'll get out of your science classes. If your school offers it, you might also want to try a course in ethics or science and society.
Think a job in Nanotechnology might be for you?
- Are you creative?
- Do you like math?
- Do you have fantastic ideas about how to make everyday objects better?
If you answered yes to these questions, you have many of the skills to be successful in nanotechnology!
Perfusionist
What's a Perfusionist?
When someone’s having heart surgery, a heart-lung machine keeps their blood circulating with the right amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide. A perfusionist (also called a blood specialist or pump technician) is the person who monitors a specialized pump to make sure patients stay alive. This job is a mix of medicine and technology. As a blood specialist, you help before and during surgery. You might also be called in when a premature infant experiences breathing trouble.
Most job openings are in cities or areas with a lot of people. Beginning blood specialists earn $50,000. With more experience you can earn between $60,000 and $95,000.
Things to Do
Read about coronary artery disease and how a blood pump can help a person affected by the disease at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts.
Take a first aid course at your school, community center or local branch of the American Red Cross.
Get some experience at your local hospital. Many hospitals and clinics have programs for volunteer workers. Find out what the hospital in your community offers and get involved!
People
Meet Staff Sergeant Brian Donahue, a blood specialist in the United States Air force.
Dr. David Holt who uses biomedically engineered devices to support functions normally performed by the heart and lungs.
Classes to Take
In addition to the classes you take now, think about taking these courses in high school:
- Math
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Biology
What Are You Like?
- Can you concentrate for a long time?
- To you get along with many different types of people?
- Do you think well on your feet? Work well under pressure?
If you answered yes to these questions, you have many of the skills to be a successful perfusionist.
Photonics Technician & Technologist
What's Photonics?
Supermarket check-out scanners, laser eye surgery (or laser tag!), night vision, "smart" missiles, fibre-optic cable for high speed Internet access...they're all part of photonics, a field that's changing faster than the speed of light!
Almost every single industry, business, or household in the Western world is affected by photonics. But what is it, exactly?
Photons are units of light energy, and photonics is the technology that deals with the generation, transmission, manipulation, detection, and utilization of that light energy. Depending on the way the light energy is harnessed, and how strong it is, it can be used for anything from cutting diamonds to wartime surveillance.
Things to Do
Photonics involves the science of light called optics and optics can affect how we see and interpret light. Try experiencing the optical illusion of afterimage.
Check out photonics.com to get the latest information on this rapidly changing field.
Who's in Photonics?
Bill Petreski is an Austrialian who loved physics, thought he'd be a computer scientist and ended up using his knowledge of fiber optics to prevent prison escapes. Notice his salary is $80,000 a year. That's in Austrialian dollars!
Meet Barbara Washburn, an electronics engineer and associate Professor of Photonics at Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Gloria Putnam works for Eastman Kodak, helping engineers all over the world design digital cameras using Kodak image sensors. Her job takes her everywhere.
Classes to Take
In addition to the courses you take now, think about taking these classes in high school:
- Math, including Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus
- Physics
- Computer science
- Electronics
What Are You Like?
- Do you like finding out how things work?
- A you a good communicator? Even if you take mostly science courses, you need to be able to express your ideas.
- Do you enjoy studying? As laser technology advances, you'll need to keep your skills up-to-date by taking classes.
If you answered yes to these questions, you have many of the skills necessary to be successful in photonics.
Webmaster
What Do Web Designers and Developers Do?
What attracts you to a web site the first time you visit it? Most people say the design. The design of a web page, web site, or web application is what makes a company stand out and better sell its products and services.
Web developers (also called webmasters) handle all programming aspects of creating a web site, so they often work with web designers to create, produce, and maintain web pages. Depending on position and experience, web designers and developers earn between $40,000 and $150,000.
What Do Web Designers and Developers Do?
Web designers and developers often work hard to meet deadlines; that can make things stressful at times. They also may travel around the block or around the globe to meet clients. Because technology changes quickly, web designers and developers continually upgrade their skills.
Things to Do
- Join freewebs.com and learn how to build your own web site quickly and easily.
- When you see a web site you like, click view on the menu bar and choose source or page source (depending on your browser), to view the page code in html.
Who's a Web Designer or Developer?
Meet Jacob Metcalf a Graphic Designer/Multimedia Developer, Military Contractor, Local Navy Base.
Helen Miller is a web editor for workz.com.
Meet Gordon Banks a web site designer/developer.
Anne Gerdes is a professional web designer specializing in custom graphics and site layout.
Meet Stella Ubaha a professional webmaster specializing in web site development.
Classes to Take
In addition to the courses you take now, think about taking these classes in high school:
- Fine arts (painting and drawing)!
- Graphic design
- Computer programming, whatever is available at your school!
- Math, through pre-calculus
- Business math, business communications, business technology. Since many Web designers and developers own their own consulting firms, these classes are useful.
What Are You Like?
- Are you creative?
- Do you have good technical skills?
- Do you easily learn to use computer software?
- Do you have good communication skills?
- Do you work well in groups?
- Do you enjoy learning new things?
If you answered yes to these questions, you have many of the skills to be a successful Web designer or developer!
Updated: December 5, 2008