Here's to the Humanities
IT firms on a quest for the well-rounded education

LIKE everyone else, I claim to be a unique individual. But the fact is there are lots of people out there like me. I refer to people who don't have an obviously technical academic background, but who have drifted into or purposefully sought out technology-related positions in industry, government and academe.

I had a double major in telecommunications and political science as an undergraduate. The TEL major back then was primarily a mass media and TV production program and the PS major didn't have a technical bone in its body. Now I have a technology-related job and I'm established as a resource to whom people turn for information about these things.

Much of my experience was acquired while I occupied positions that can't be regarded as technology-related positions, and is the result of simply doing what had to done in a time when workplace technology was changing rapidly. At last, technology firms are beginning to realize that there may be some benefit to tracking down the many folks in the working world who were liberal arts majors but have, through work or hobby, become technically proficient in computing and networking. Finding them, however, is a task that falls under the heading of easier said than done.

Now there is a new tool that promises to help provide companies an edge in the increasingly competitive technology job market. The Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges has developed a test to fill that assessment need. Called Tek.Xam, the test is designed to test the computer proficiency of people who don't have degrees in computer science and electrical engineering and whose technical knowledge doesn't necessarily show up in their work histories.

Aside from the technical knowledge they may have acquired, high-tech firms are also beginning to value liberal arts majors for the sake of their more traditional forms of knowledge. This is especially true for website designers, who are hiring employees with degrees in the social sciences and humanities to help make their sites more engaging and user-friendly. Most of you know that websites vary tremendously in their navigation and ease of use. That's because many web designers don't understand user behavior and experience.

Digital technology has been responsible for the convergence of industries that were once separate. Now it appears to be responsible for the convergence of academic disciplines in the workforce, as well.

John F. Clark is a visiting assistant professor of the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

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