An IT designer has the highest rank in the job hierarchy on the IT market. He or she can design and build a specific IT tool from the beginning to the end. However, in most cases, this only includes design and supervision of its creation, because other specialists, who are usually members of a specific project group, are responsible for the rest. A programmer is one rank lower than a designer, who was also responsible for programming at a stage of his or her career. Under supervision of a designer, a programmer creates the whole tool or its part. After assembling several parts of a project, it must function in a specific way. Programmers must have deep IT knowledge; they must know the specifications and be able to use program languages, by means of which a project is being carried out. Creation of databases is a relatively narrow specialization which is, however, often extended by programming and protection of databases. Databases, which are business tools, are a very important aspect of business and functioning of organizations. The abilities and understanding of functioning of this tool by a database specialist are essential to the creation of very efficient tools which support business processes of every organization.

An IT department worker who is employed in this area can design, program as well as look at IT tools from the perspective of the person who will use it. IT analysts often work as program testers, specialists who are responsible for its implementation. They also work directly for users. Analysts are also responsible for changes to new IT solutions. Analysts should see what a designer or a programmer cannot see.

Even though an administrator is fairly often referred to as an IT specialist, his or her role is least connected with designing. His or her task is implementation of efficient IT tools. The work of an administrator is essential for the continuity and efficiency of an IT system. Because of this, an administrator lays particular emphasis on the way of functioning and safety of a specific system. This specialty is often referred to as system administrator or network administrator – depending on the scope of his or her responsibilities. A service worker, fitter, is a person whose task is to deal with different technical problems. What is useful in this job is first of all knowledge of equipment, but also knowledge of software.

A trade representative, an IT consultant must have first of all skills relating to selling or telephone customer service (help desk). IT knowledge is very useful. IT products may be sold both to individuals and companies. What is equally important in the job of a trade representative in the IT branch is the ability to look at an IT tool from the perspective of the user so that the representative can explain the way of functioning and highlight the advantages.

The project manager, Head of the IT Department, must combine knowledge in the areas of programming, testing, consulting and administration with human resources management skills. First of all, he or she should aim to implement the best practices in the area IT infrastructure management and its adaptation to changing needs of business customers. The best result, however, can be obtained by a combination of all these three key elements, with special emphasis on the first one, that is the human element. Practice shows that managing IT specialists can be a very unrewarding task, because these people are known for their eccentric and unconventional patterns of behaviour at work. Sometimes they ignore such requirements as discipline, hierarchy, corporate culture; to make matters worse, in some cases their manners leave much to be desired, or there occur problems with loyalty. On the other hand, the most important asset of IT companies and structures is people – highly qualified specialists whose knowledge and experience are often on a very high level. Carrying out projects would not be possible without them.