Breaking into a field or trying to start that perfect career can be daunting but Davis Technology College provides the training and skills needed to step into industry right out of school or to go on and get a four year degree. Two programs growing in popularity are Information Technology and Networking and Cybersecurity. Depending on the student’s pace they can complete the courses in 18 months or less and be out the door ready to look for a job.

“The information technology (IT) program is designed to give students the necessary skills, knowledge and abilities to be successful in an entry level IT career,” said Jeremy Black, a cyber security faculty member. “Students will be doing things like working on computers, working in companies, managing computers, both hardware and software, doing all of those things that would be expected of a junior level technician for that.”

The networking and cyber security program builds on that, he said. “Then on top of that it also gives an introduction to cyber security and some more advanced computer networking. There are courses and certifications where if someone wanted to be more specialized instead of just a general IT technician then they could be a network technician or if they want to try to get into cybersecurity then we get them started on the path for that.” 

The programs start every two weeks, said Black. “We have groups of students that will start together. We have people sign up in those cohorts, go to the orientation for their cohort and then they can start after that.”

Black said they try to give students hands-on experience to prepare them for jobs in the field. “We’ve been doing final labs for each course so that when they go interview for jobs they can say ‘maybe I don’t have two years of experience in this career field but I have done this task, this task and this task.’”

“This program is catered to folks who do not have any background in IT or cyber security,” said Carey Anson, program lead for the Information Technology and Cybersecurity program. “It starts out with the fundamental courses and then it moves on to more advanced courses. Some of our courses include introduction to IT and introduction to networking.”

Anson said one thing that’s different in their courses is that they don’t require students to take certifications. “But we do require them to attempt it. We prepare them to take these certifications so that when the students graduate and go into industry they look at this as a verification for the skills that the students come out with. Our students are highly sought after in terms of when they graduate from our program.”

Some of the biggest employers are the (Hill Air Force) Base and also health care industries, software and IT companies in Salt Lake City, he said.

“Most of our students are adults who are pivoting from one career to another and as a result they’re looking for something that they can get a good value for the money and a good return on their investment,” said Anson. “So within 18 months they’re able to find a job where they can make a living wage.”

Students also learn soft skills, he said. “Things like how do you work in an environment that is going to communicate with a lot of people? You’re working as a team, how do you prepare for that environment?”

It’s technical but the people on the other end are humans, Anson said. “They’re users who may not have the technical knowledge. That’s who we're preparing students to work with. Students need to have soft skills. That’s one of the things that is very sought after in the industry.”

“One thing about our program is that it’s hard,” said Black. “It’s one of the harder programs but it will be worth it.”