CompTIA, a major information technology (IT) industry trade association defines IT as the “utilization of computing via hardware, software, services, and infrastructure to create, store, exchange, and leverage information in its various forms to accomplish any number of objectives. Additionally, the term encompasses the workers that develop, implement, maintain, and utilize IT directly or indirectly.” Key elements of information technology include:

• Hardware: computers, servers, storage, tablets, mobile phones, printers, network equipment
• Software: productivity and business applications, network and security applications, mobile apps, video games, cloud computing, virtual reality
• Services: deployment, integration, custom development, repair/upgrade, managed services
• Infrastructure: Internet backbone, telecommunications networks, cloud data centers
• Information: data, documents, voice, video, images
• Business Objectives: commerce, production, communication, collaboration

Approximately 12.1 million workers were employed in technical and nontechnical positions at IT firms and at companies, nonprofits, and government agencies that had IT departments in 2019, according to CompTIA, an industry association. This number also included self-employed IT workers who worked full time.

Information technology jobs are found throughout the United States and the world. CompTIA reports that the top five states for IT worker employment are California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Virginia. Within certain states there are also employment clusters such as Silicon Valley in California and Seattle, Washington. IT employment opportunities vary by industry segment. Within the hardware and software branches of the computer industry, many positions overlap and not every company will hire people to fill positions i...