Boom of Knowledge and New Professions

The information technologies changed people’s worldview. However paradoxical, they are a reason and solution of the problem of escalation of information and knowledge. Exactly they allow preserving, processing and circulating a great deal of information but due to them we are ″piled″ with data. The first editions of encyclopedia Britannica (1745 – 1785) have been prepared by 1–2 people and 1989 year’s edition has been prepared by 12500 specialists. The big American universities increase double their funds every 16 years. In a declaration for the universal access to basic communication and information services, made in 1997, from UUN General Secretary and the organizations of the Union of the United Nations, a big importance is given to knowledge and information in the international relations as key factors for globalization processes and division of labour.

For building of new theoretical and practical knowledge and skills that harmonize with rapid technological changes, the biggest responsibility bears education. Prognoses of the Bureau of Employment Statistics at the Ministry of labour in USA, point that in 2005 all professions will require a longer training period, the number of low qualified professions will decrease significantly, and for the perspective ones knowledge in languages, mathematics, information technologies will be necessary as well as problem solving skills.

The origin of new professions in information society is due to changed realities in respect of information, namely:

ü Access to information from every point of the world;

ü Wireless services with total coverage;

ü Intelligent networks with interactive services;

ü Information services as new forms of activity.

Already realities are professions like information manager, network administrator, system manager, data administrator and etc. that did not exist till some years ago. The development of information technologies in information society creates preconditions as for improvement of labour conditions and psychological climate in labour teams as well as for some negative effects. In many cases the information technologies make work more satisfactory as they decrease boredom and eliminate the reiteration. The computer networks allow bigger access to information, increase and widen the management control. The information services increase efficiency and the telecommunication progress gives much more flexibility of employees in offices, at home, on road and etc.

On the other hand, the information technologies could affect negatively upon the quality of work because of the stress caused by strong control exerted upon employees. Some professions become useless and for number of others specific skills are required such thus the majority of workers do not have.

On-line meetings and conferences eliminate personal contact and depersonalize working place. Telecommunication technologies increase communication speed over human capacities, limits and make labour stressful and exhaustive. In the era of fax machines, e-mails, local and global networks, from people is required a prompt answer for everything.

Fears, expressed by scientists and great number of people without occupation, that the information technologies will decrease workers’ number and will increase unemployment, turned out groundless.

In recent years there are a lot of openings for employees without a specialty but computer literate. The telecommunication progress opens a global market for business limited until recently into local markets. Technologies like wireless portable computers home fax machines, cellular phones, pagers and other electronic devices from type ″do everything everywhere″ dilute limits between rest and work at home and in office and allow bigger centralization. As a whole, we could say that in the information society there is practically no elimination of already existing professions but limitation of number of employed in old-fashioned productions, on account of appearance of great number of new professions.