What's Popular
According to UNSW's Martin internetworking and the e-commerce majors are "especially popular". "The former with future network engineers, telecommunication and network software developers, or network administrators, and the latter with practising or new IT professionals who plan to develop and manage enterprise applications," he says.
"The database major is the natural choice for students who want to work in large organizations with significant management needs (financial institutions, telecommunication companies, manufacturing enterprises and government departments). The bioinformatics major attracts students who are interested in applying computer science and engineering techniques to problems in the life sciences, and are employed by biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, medical research institutes and research hospitals.
"The autonomous systems and knowledge systems and data mining majors are quite research oriented, but are also of interest to students who wish to work in companies that make ready use of automation, [such as] entertainment companies," Martin says.
Career Impact
So what benefit can completing such courses have on the career of an IT professional?
Postgrad courses are particularly beneficial to IT workers who need to learn about a specific area they have not been exposed to in their undergrad curriculum, or who want to learn about the latest fundamental technological developments.
"They can then apply techniques they were not aware of to solve challenging problems, or even think of tackling new problems and create new products," UNSW's Martin says.
"Ultimately, from a human psychology point of view, being formally enrolled in a program tends to generate a greater commitment, and that helps you stick with things when the pressure gets intense and seems to be coming at you from all sides," claims Swinburne's Grant.
"Developing that knowledge - gaining new skills and developing your conceptual capabilities - certainly commends people to employers and opens up avenues for advancement, especially right now when there are shortages in the industry and organizations are really looking for people who are willing to rise to the opportunity and fill the crucial positions that are currently vacant."