by C.J. Gustafson
ComputerSchools.com Contributing Writer
June 3, 2005
John Neely Bryan, the founder of Dallas, originally intended to establish a trading post at the location at the three forks of the Trinity River. There were many Native Americans in the area and settlers were beginning to arrive as well, providing a strong customer base. But when Bryan returned to the location after two years in Arkansas planning his move, he found that a treaty had removed all the Indians from North Texas. So he changed his plan and founded a permanent settlement instead, and settlers from around the area joined him to create what has become one of the largest cities in the United States.
Over the years, smaller cities surrounding Dallas were annexed, and the suburbs expanded. Today, many people group Dallas and Fort Worth together in one metropolitan area that covers nearly 9,000 square miles and has a population of over 5 ½ million. This makes Dallas/Fort Worth the ninth largest metro area in the U.S -- larger than the populations of 31 states.
Business Is Booming
Businesses have flocked to Dallas as well. There are over 128,000 companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and more than 1,500 regional and corporate headquarters operations. In 2003, Forbes magazine ranked Dallas the fourth best place in the nation for business and careers. In addition, the Dallas/Fort Worth area had the highest employment growth during the 1990s, adding over 750,000 jobs.
Of those, 17 are Fortune 500 companies, and many of them are leaders in the
computer and technology fields. The home of Texas Instruments and Jack Kilby (who invented the first microchip in 1958), Dallas has had a strong computer and
technology base ever since this auspicious beginning. In addition to Texas Instruments,
which employs over 11,000 people locally, other large employers in the technology
field include Lockheed Martin Aeronautics with 15,500 employees, SBC Communications
with 14,100 local staff, Verizon with 13,000, Electronic Data Systems Corporation,
which employs 9,000 individuals and Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. with
6,000 people employed in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. All totaled, there are
approximately 460,000 high-tech workers in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area.
This number comprises nearly half of the state's high tech workforce.
Much of the talent and leadership needed to staff these top companies comes from the large number of colleges and universities in the Dallas area. According to a National Science Foundation report, "Dallas/Fort Worth public universities led key competing metro areas by substantial margins in the production of Business and Management doctorates as well as in Arts and Music PhDs and they ranked second only to Silicon Valley schools in the number of Computer Science PhDs granted in the 1990s."
Some of the Dallas colleges offering degrees in the computer field include University of Dallas, Computer Science Program, University of Texas at Dallas, Department of Computer Science, and Southern Methodist University, School of Engineering. The Art Institutes, and American InterContinental University have campuses in Dallas.
Students at these schools can pursue training in Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Computer Animation/Computer Graphics, Web Design/Web Development, Computer Programming, Networking, Computer Security, Computer Repair, and other aspects of Computer Science and Information Technology. They can also obtain Microsoft certifications in a number of specialties.
Why Dallas?
Dr. Janet Lind, Assistant Dean of Student Services at the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas provided the following list of factors that make Dallas attractive for someone interested in an Information Technology career.
1. Strong high-tech employment opportunities
2. Low cost of living (no state income tax and affordable housing)
3. Diversity of technology industries ranging from more established areas such as semiconductor manufacturing, internet services, business support services, and telecommunications to critical emerging technologies such as nanotechnology, cybersecurity and information assurance, wireless and broadband telecommunications, and various areas of medical, bio and life sciences
4. Within the DFW area, there are approximately 200,000 college level students, so the community has appropriate infrastructure for these individuals
Dr. Lind added that the Dallas area is "seeing a large growth in Homeland Security related opportunities, which center around information assurance and cybersecurity." She also identified the semiconductor and wireless communications fields as growth occupations.
With a wealth of outstanding schools for computer students and a large number of companies looking to hire qualified technology graduates, Dallas provides a promising choice for training and employment in the computer industry.
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