Educational IT in the USA

[_Bat_]

Hi all

 

My wife has decided she doesn't like the weather in the UK (can't figure out why?) and wants to move back to her place of origin (Florida). I'll be moving there by early next year. Which leads to this question, directed at those that either live in the states or know anything about it:

 

What are the differences between educational IT in the UK and the USA? Are there any 'gotchya's" I need to be aware of? Does IT support work on the school level, or just the district level?

 

I'm currently the IT manager for a large educational establishment in the UK, am working on my computing bachelors degree at the OU and hope to have my CCNA and one of the VMWare certifications under my belt by the time I leave. I'm led to believe the US focus comsiderably more of certifications than anything else when looking through candidates for an IT role, so I hope this will be sufficient.

 

Thanks

Edited June 23, 2013 by _Bat_

[ConradJones]

no real advice to offer except good luck mate.!

[Ephelyon]

IT is normally managed at the district level in the US, with small teams responsible for the IT affairs of a number of schools in their "catchment area", though I believe a US private school would employ its own staff just as ours would.

[ADMaster]

Bat,

I can’t think of any “gotchya's” that will hinder you. I think the biggest difference is terminology, which your wife can tell you. I’ve been on this forum for a few years and didn’t have much trouble picking up your terms.

There is no SIMS.net that I know of, the SIS systems are Powerschool, progress book, and DASL. There may be more, but those are the ones I’ve heard of.

Some schools host their own SIS systems, and others, particularly the smaller ones go through an organization similar to your LEA.

 

I think the staffing depends on the size of the district. I work in a small district with 1 Elementary, 1 Middle School, and 1 High School. There are two of us at the district level, although 3 would be nice sometimes. There are some tech savvy teachers in each building that can help out on minor issues.

However the total number of students in the entire county only matches a medium sized district across the state. I know of some districts that have 20 Elementary schools. These larger districts employ staff that are assigned at the building level, possibly multiple buildings.

 

The qualifications may vary, you shouldn’t have any trouble with those and your background in EDU IT. It seems that standards are ever changing. I remember when the degree was everything, then the certifications were everything. Then you have the camp that says you have all these certs but no experience to apply it, and the camp that says all these certifications and degrees make you over qualified.

 

I’m only in one of these fifty states, and Florida is not it. Some of this may vary state to state. My advice is to look for postings that match your qualifications, and send in your resume to places you’d like to work.

If you have any questions I’ll be happy to answer to the best of my knowledge.

 

Good luck

[Allie]

My last job was in an American university and now I'm at a British university. On a university level, they're almost identical. Structurally, a lot comes from participation in NRENs (e.g. Janet and Internet2), so even things like the WiFi network are identical (it's eduroam everywhere in the world now). Departments have either local or central control, depending on how they want to run their budget, at both unis. Ultimately, organisational structure and IT management are the same, as are the education-specific things like NRENs.

 

The one thing that is more of a "gotcha" in the UK, but will be a breath of fresh air in the US for you, is the US isn't nearly so health-and-safety mad. I ran my own cabling, etc in the US. I wall-mounted things, all of that. Here, there's no way they'd let me touch a drill. The health and safety thing is by far the hardest adjustment to make working in the UK when you're from the US.