I’ll get straight to the point.  Why should companies invest more in management training?  Here are 10 simple reasons.

1) An employee’s relationship with his or her direct manager is the most important single factor in employee engagement.

2) Engaged employees are happier and more productive.  Disengaged employees are frustrated and more disruptive.

3) Because there’s no widely agreed-on skillset for management (good managers come in all shapes and sizes), there’s an assumption everyone knows how to do it.  This is akin to someone who’s never driven before being given keys to a car and told: “Drive.”  (Many many years ago, this is how I first learned to manage.  I blundered my way through it.  Trial and error.  It wasn’t pretty.)

The future looks just as bright for information technology as it did ten years ago when this career field started growing in huge numbers due to major internet technological advances and the popularity of mobile devices such as the smartphone and eReaders like Amazon’s Kindle.  In classrooms and libraries across the nation, information technology has become instrumental in the way students learn and the way teachers give lessons, and thanks to online education more adults have access to a better education without incurring a lot of debt. Needles to say, the need for qualified workers in information technology will continue in times to come. Some of the technological careers that are rapidly growing in popularity in the last decade are a direct reflection of current trends.

Information Technology Managers

The information technology manager is responsible for handling all computer activities for a business and performs upgrades on computer software and hardware, installs new security features on computers, creates budgets and goals for the IT department, supervises other IT employees and troubleshoots computers when needed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 332,700 information technology management jobs filled in 2012 and a majority of these positions were in the computer systems sector. Most information technology managers hold a bachelor's degree in computer science or information technology, and a growing number of employers prefer a graduate degree. The job growth is expected to grow at 15% between now and 2022.

Mobile Application Developers

This job will grow by leaps and bounds as millions of people continue to purchase mobile devices and download apps for business and entertainment purposes. It creates expanded opportunities for those who want to become mobile application developers. A mobile application developer often works with other developers to create mobile-friendly apps or mobile-friendly versions of business websites for consumers. The developer may have his own firm or he may be employed with a larger company, and he will need to understand the basics of web design and different kinds of codes to succeed in this career. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the job growth is expected to be at 28% by 2020.

Health Information Technology

Another fast growing sector within information technology is health information technology and there are various jobs to choose from. You can work with health insurance providers and your duties would include processing patients' insurance claims and managing patients' insurance information using a computer database. Another option is to work as a medical biller in a doctor's office preparing patient’s invoices. The good thing about these jobs is that you do not need a four-year degree to get the training; you can obtain a two-year associates degree or a certificate in health information technology.

Search Engine Optimization Consultant

This is an important information technology career because most businesses have websites and if these websites are going to receive high traffic from visitors and earn profit, proper search engine optimization is necessary. The SEO consultant's job is to ensure that a business website gets high rankings on the major search engines and plenty of traffic from visitors. A good SEO consultant at a minimum will know how to research keywords effectively and implement these into the website's content based on the website's theme and he would utilize web analytics as part of the job. An SEO consultant may work on a freelance basis or be employed with an advertising company as an example.

Best Cities for Technology Careers

If you're thinking about relocating for your career, here are some of the best cities currently for information technology jobs listed in Forbes. 

Checking to see if a file exists is a two step process in Python. Simply import the module shown below and invoke the isfile function:

import os.path
os.path.isfile(fname)

The short answer is, yes and no. It depends upon who you are. The purpose of this entry is to help you determine, yes or no.

Full disclosure. This entry is created on a Mac mini. And doing so on Windows 8 (Release Preview). If you are a developer, in my humble opinion you need to test on all platforms you expect your app to run or you are not much of a developer.

To be successful you need to leave politics in geographical territory known as Washington DC. My definition of that is: 14 mi.² of real estate surrounded by reality.

Only in politics can we afford to take sides. Those of us in IT, especially developers need to do our best to be all things to all people. Certainly this is a technical impossibility. However in our game we can get some points for at least being serviceable if not outstanding.