What Can I Do with an Information Systems Management Degree?
By: Mike Baca, Adjunct Professor, Program Coordinator, Information Systems Management, Graduate and Continuing Education Wednesday, February 15, 2023 10:25 AM
Your new iPhone 14 Pro may boggle your mind. But imagine having the ability to use this incredible and innovative technology and determine how it can help make organizations better and improve lives.
That’s the power of earning a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems Management (ISM). It’s a course of study that teaches you how to control how technology is designed, developed and applied. As a result, ISM degree holders are in demand at large companies, small startups and everywhere in between, across nearly all industries. You can even use your ISM degree to start your own consulting business.
What else can you do with an Information Systems Management (ISM) degree? First, let’s explore the types of companies hiring ISM talent, the roles you can achieve with a bachelor’s in ISM and the starting salaries you can earn.
Where can I work with an ISM degree?
Technology touches everyone’s lives, including people throughout the business world. Companies locally and globally are embracing digital transformation to make their organizations more efficient. However, they need people who know how to assess a business need, understand it, and apply the right technology to fill it.
That’s why people with bachelor’s degrees in ISM are in high demand. My company, AmeriSource Bergen, is always looking for highly skilled IS talent. So, too, are companies across industries. You can use the skills you learn in the bachelor’s in ISM program to impact healthcare, manufacturing, higher education, warehousing—whatever area matters most to you.
With an ISM degree, you’ll have the skills you need to:
- Implement new solutions that make a patient’s healthcare journey simpler
- Predict upcoming supply chain disruptions using AI and machine learning
- Optimize the performance of warehouse operations with real-time data
- Use technology to create eco-friendlier manufacturing processes
- Leverage data to create more equity in predictive models
What jobs can I get with an ISM degree?
An ISM degree will give you an excellent foundation to pursue a range of diverse and rewarding roles. Seven specific roles where you can make an immediate impact with a bachelor’s in ISM include:
- Cloud computing specialist – As growing numbers of businesses embrace the cloud to enhance operational efficiency, cloud computing specialists are in high demand. You can implement cloud-based systems and software, integrate cloud solutions into your business model and help move on-premises systems to the cloud.
- Project manager – You can coordinate teams, manage timelines, oversee budgets and ensure the successful completion of multiple IS projects.
- Business analyst – You can use leading-edge data analytics systems to interpret data and improve decision-making across an organization.
- Systems analyst – You can work with technology users and systems to diagnose issues, resolve them, and find ways to make a company’s systems more productive and efficient.
- Database manager – You can solve database issues, implement database security protocols, and create leading-edge systems that store and retrieve data.
- Network administrator – You can maintain and troubleshoot networks—groups of computers that share information—for the betterment of an organization.
- IT consultant – You can use your skills to help businesses develop their IS strategy, resolve challenges, and enhance their in-house IS teams.
One common theme across all roles is cyber security. Adult learners who pursue a bachelor’s in ISM at Muhlenberg College School of Continuing Studies will get a foundation in IS security. A foundation that will give them the skills to help protect an organization’s systems from hackers, data breaches and other attacks.
How much money can I make out of college with a bachelor’s degree in ISM?
Your salary range will vary based on your job title, experience level and the company you choose to join. But overall, roles in IS tend to pay higher-than-average salaries, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. In addition, job growth in tech-focused occupations is expected to grow by 12% through 2029.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Winter 2022 Salary Report, computer sciences majors are projected to be the highest-paid among all majors ($75,900) and have the second highest projected year-over-year increase (5.2%) from 2021.
A drill-down of salaries for graduates of ISM bachelor’s degree programs shows similar trends, with mean salaries for new hires ranging from $58,913 to $72,000.
When looking at salaries for specific industries for ISM degree holders, NACE data shows these figures:
- Computer and electronics manufacturing - $56,640
- Finance, insurance and real estate - $63,838
- Information - $68,000
- Miscellaneous manufacturing - $72,840
No matter which set of numbers you choose, the bottom line is that a bachelor’s degree in ISM will give you a clear path to a high-paying and sustainable career.
How long will it take me to get a bachelor’s degree in ISM?
The Accelerated Bachelor’s Degree Program at the Muhlenberg College School of Continuing Studies allows adult learners to finish their degrees in as little as 22 months. This blog post lets you learn more about what makes our program unique.
With a bachelor’s degree in ISM, you’ll enhance your problem-solving skills, strengthen your analytical thinking, and learn how to simplify technology for others. All you need is a natural curiosity and some good people skills, and we’ll teach you how to inspire change across organizations.
If you want to start your pathway to a bachelor’s in ISM right now, book a virtual or in-person meeting with an academic advisor today.
Interested in learning more about the Muhlenberg College Division of Graduate and Continuing Education?
View an online info session | Set up an appointment with an advisor.
About the Muhlenberg College School of Continuing Studies
For more than 100 years, Muhlenberg College’s School of Continuing Studies has provided lifelong learners the opportunity to continue and enhance their education in ways that recognize their experience, maturity, motivation, life circumstances and capacity for independent scholarship. Through a rich variety of certificates and baccalaureate degrees, the School of Continuing Studies aligns a rigorous, high-quality and student-centric curriculum with the needs and trends of our regional economy.