Industry Overview
The ability to quickly transmit information over long distances has become an important part of modern life. The Internet has changed the way people find and use information to communicate, work, shop, learn, and live. Internet service providers, Web search portals, and data processing services provide the information backbone of the Internet and World Wide Web. They connect people with information and relay information from people.

Internet service providers (ISPs) directly connect people, businesses, and organizations to the Internet by routing data being sent and received to the desired location. Unlike individual users of the Internet, ISPs must develop and maintain the physical, technical, and contractual connections and agreements with other ISPs to enable the transmission of data. There is no single connection point for the Internet, so ISPs typically need many bilateral and multilateral peering agreements to exchange data through peering points, which are physical connections between the computer equipment of service providers for the purpose of allowing other service providers access to their network of connections. These points-of-presence between ISPs provide a nearly unlimited number of potential connection pathways between data and end users.

In addition to connecting to other ISPs to form the infrastructure of the Internet, service providers must also connect with clients. These clients may range from individual homes to large office buildings. To allow end users to access their networks, establishments in the industry may provider customers with proprietary software, user identification names, e-mail addresses, or equipment. Like telephone or electric service, ISPs offer access to customers on a subscription basis. They may also provide related services beyond Internet access, such as Web hosting, Web page design, and consulting services related to networking software and hardware.

While ISPs connect clients to the Internet by switching and routing data, the physical connections that carry the information to end users are often the wires or cables of telecommunications establishments.

Web search portals canvas the Web to create databases of content and corresponding Internet addresses in a format that is easy to search. These databases can then be searched by typing key words into a prompt on the search portal's Web site. By using search engines to collect the data and then present it in a usable format, these sites enable users to sort through the huge amount of information on the Internet quickly. The search engines that find content on the Web automatically follow every link on a Web page to find new pages to catalogue, and then store their location along with text that can be searched at a later point. Because the Internet offers such a vast array of sites, advanced algorithms must be developed to rank the results of a search according to their relevance. Some Web search portals also offer additional services, such as news, e-mail, translation of Web sites, and local business directories. The key distinction of Web search portals is that the information is gathered automatically from across the Web, rather than manually edited and entered into a predetermined directory. Even though the databases are automatically generated, they must be constantly refreshed as new Web sites emerge and existing ones update their content.

Data processing, hosting, and related services are involved primarily in handling large amounts of data for businesses, organizations, and individuals. Data hosting often takes the form of Web hosting, in which Web site content is placed on a server that allows it to be accessed by users over the Internet. While establishments in this industry host Web sites, the content is typically produced by someone else and then made accessible through the Web hosting service. Other data hosting services allow clients to place electronic data, such as streaming music and video or company databases, onto servers that can be accessed directly through specialized computer programs. An additional service provided by this industry is to simply store old data for archival purposes with no Internet access to it.

Data processing covers a broad range of data services, including data entry, conversion, and analysis. Organizations with large quantities of data on paper may turn to data processing services to enter the data into a computer database by hand or by using optical scanners. Similarly, clients may want old data files or several databases converted to a single, more easily accessible format. Aside from converting data to another format, data processing services also produce reports that summarize the data for better analysis by their clients. While most data hosting companies sell subscription services, data processing services companies often work on projects of defined scope.

The Internet is constantly expanding and evolving, and so are the industries associated with it. Due to constantly changing technology and the relatively low additional cost of most new services, companies are frequently upgrading their existing services and offering new ones to attract or retain customers.

Working Environment 
Workers in Internet service providers, Web search portals, and data processing services averaged 37.3 hours per week, compared with 33.9 for all industries combined. While most worked a standard 40-hour workweek, about 20 percent worked 50 hours or more. About 8 percent worked part time, compared with 15 percent for all industries combined.

Jobs in many occupations in this industry have "non-traditional" schedules. Customer service representatives may work weekends, evenings, or holidays, and as a result, the occupation is well suited for flexible work schedules. At times, some computer specialists may be required to work unusual or long hours to fix problems or perform routine maintenance. In order to minimize the disruptive impact of scheduled maintenance and updates, many Internet service providers and data hosting services perform major work at night or on the weekends.

Work environment. Most workers in this industry work in clean, quiet offices, and spend the majority of their time sitting at computer monitors. Even though major projects typically are tested before implementation, there may be periods of stress and long work hours before and after implementation deadlines. Similarly, long hours and intense work may be required to fix unexpected problems arising from system upgrades, viruses, or malicious attacks by computer hackers. The popularity of Web search portals has made them particularly attractive targets for hackers.

Employment
In 2006, there were 383,000 wage and salary jobs in Internet service providers, Web search portals, and data processing services. Data processing, hosting, and related services accounted for about 68 percent of the jobs, with the other 32 percent in ISPs and Web search portals.

Due to the relatively low capital costs of equipment for data hosting services, and to the geographic distribution of ISPs, about 94 percent of establishments have fewer than 50 workers, and about 65 percent have fewer than 5 workers (chart 1). While this industry can be found in every State, employment is concentrated in a few areas. Just six States—California, Texas, Florida, Virginia, New York, and Georgia—account for about 46 percent of industry employment.

Compared to the rest of the economy, this industry has a relatively young work force. Rapid employment growth in the 1990's created job opportunities for young workers with the latest technical skills, and as a result, a large portion of the industry's workers are in the 25-to-44 age range.

Degree Paths into this Industry
In order to provide Internet and data services, this industry employs a wide range of occupations. Computer specialists are the largest group and account for approximately 34 percent of wage and salary employment in the industry. With nearly the same employment, office and administrative support occupations make up about 34 percent of jobs. An additional 18 percent of workers are in management, business, and financial occupations, with other occupations accounting for about 14 percent.

Computer specialists work to develop and maintain the computer equipment and software programs that form the basis of the Internet. Computer programmers write, test, and customize the detailed instructions, called programs or software, that computers follow to perform various functions such as connecting to the Internet or displaying a Web page. Programmers break down tasks into a logical series of simple commands for the computer to implement, using programming languages such as C++ or Java. Computer software engineers, often simply called computer engineers, analyze user needs to formulate software specifications, and then design, develop, test, and evaluate programs to meet these requirements. While computer software engineers must possess strong programming skills, they generally focus on developing logical instructions that are coded by computer programmers.

Computer and information systems managers are the largest of the management, business, and financial occupations, due to the nature of the industry. They plan, coordinate, and direct the activities of computer specialists to ensure that the internal and external computer systems meet the needs of users or clients. Because the industry is primarily engaged in facilitating data transmission over the Internet, these managers work closely with top executives or clients to set schedules for implementing Web sites, performing system maintenance, or installing new hardware and software.

Industry Forecast
While growth rates will vary by sector, employment is projected to increase by 14 percent for the industry as a whole. Job growth will lead to excellent opportunities in data processing, hosting, and related services and in web search portals, but declines will create competition for positions in Internet service providers.

Wage and salary employment in Internet service providers, Web search portals, and data processing services is expected to increase by 14 percent between 2006 and 2016, faster than the 11 percent projected for all industries combined. This growth will vary by industry sector, with data processing, hosting, and related services growing at 33 percent, and Internet service providers and Web search portals declining by 27 percent.

As the information revolution advances, the amount of data in use continues to grow. Companies will turn to data processing, hosting, and related services firms to organize, store, analyze, and interpret this data. In addition, the number of Web sites in operation will grow as the number of Internet users continues to increase. Many businesses and individuals wish to establish web sites, but do not have the necessary hardware, so they will use the services of data hosting firms. The need for increased information security also will require advanced technical solutions, resulting in further job growth within the industry.

Employment in Internet services providers will decline despite growth in the number of web sites online and an increase in the number of internet users. As the industry continues to consolidate, and a small number of national providers begin to service a larger portion of Internet users, fewer workers will be needed to meet the needs of the industry. In addition, telephone and cable companies offer broadband services to an increasing number of consumers, so more of the workers associated with providing internet access will be classified in either the telecommunications or broadcasting industries (see sections on theses industries elsewhere in the Career Guide).

Employment of Web search portals, conversely, should increase rapidly. Growth will result from consumers demand for more efficient search functions, and the expanding array of services continued to be offered by Web search portals. This growth will have little impact on the industry as a whole, however, as Web search portals represent only a small portion of employment.

Job prospects should be excellent in data processing, hosting, and related services and in web search portals. Job openings will result from rapid employment growth, and from the need to replace workers who leave the industry. Prospects will be best for computer specialists such as computer software engineers, computer systems analysts, and network and computer system administrators. Applicants for jobs in Internet service providers should face competition as employment declines will limit the number of openings.

Related Degree Fields

• Computer Engineering
• Computer Science
• Mathematics
• Software Engineering
• Statistics

Professional Associations/Resources

• Federation of Internet Solution Providers of the Americas
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society
• Internet Service Providers Association
• U.S. Internet Provider Association
• Software Engineering Association

Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.