Colleges in the United States seem oddly resistant to the idea that there is a feverish demand for writers who have a thorough understanding of modern technology and IT professionals that can write well. A quick web search for colleges that offer either an English or IT concentration in writing and digital media reveals no such option in either discipline.
Some colleges offer a degree or concentration in applied information technology, but they can’t seem to agree on what that actually is. Others mention writing along with business focused IT like data analysis and project management, but don’t mention writing at all.
Why Does This Matter?
Companies are increasingly aware of marketing power of a well designed website, and as technology advances they expect that their website will improve along with it. This means that employees providing content for their website will have to be able to keep up if they want to remain employed.
A student trained for creative writing or rhetoric, but with no real web development experience will likely struggle with creating quality digital content; the same goes for a student trained for software development or digital media. It’s not enough to just be able to write or code, to truly succeed you have to know a little of both.
It’s no secret that there are jobs to be had in the digital marketing industry. It’s also no secret that new graduates are hungry for jobs. So why are colleges failing to make the connection?
Getting Up to Speed
Technology moves quickly; web technology moves extremely quickly, forcing institutions to fight to keep their IT courses relevant from one semester to the next. In contrast, the same institutions struggle to keep English courses fresh from one year to the next.
Consequently, English and IT professors alike seem to be at a loss as to how to incorporate one into the other. Many colleges offer a compromise in the form of a writing and digital media course, but one course is not enough to turn a student to graduate into a strong content developer.
Changing of the Guard
Though the current rift between creativity and technology in regard to writing may seem disheartening, there is hope. More and more students are majoring in English and minoring in IT with the goal of graduating with a truly valuable set of job skills.
Hopefully, some of them will choose to bring their special set of skills back to college and bridge the gap between English and IT by teaching them to others. Until then, it’s up to the students to figure out what their institutions can’t seem to.