The Consumer products industry is one of the most lucrative industries because consumer products now have global markets. People who are in the FMCG industry are reaping the benefits that IT has brought, and in this industry most of the jobs involve active marketing and promotions. IT plays a large role in the whole business arena of the industry. Since it is a global market, the whole business is dependent on intra company networks.

To understand the consumer products industry and the kind of careers it has to offer, one has to understand the functions of the industry. The consumer products industry makes ready to use canned food, other end product used by consumers, and supplies it to the customers. It can be anything from soups, packaged tin food, or washing machines. There are several branches within the industry like the food and beverage, home appliances, electronics and so on.

To be in the technical side of it, one may not need an industry relevant education, however, for key roles one has to have management degree and software knowledge, along with the experience. The business and marketing departments of the industry are paid the most. The Application development programmer should have the technical expertise to extend technical support. He or she should be able to enhance procedures using web support and software programs.

Education

The education required at the college level is a degree in computer science or information systems. This degree is essential because the job is of a technical nature, and it requires the person to understand various software’s and the industry in general. By having this knowledge, the candidate will be able to apply and develop procedures based on the functionalities of the industry.

Also, a graduate degree in this faculty will help the candidate understand the various aspects of Information Technology, and how it can be used in several forms in different industries. Most of the consumer products companies use IBM based software, RDBMS or Oracle for their internal management and IT structure. This is common through out the industry.

It is better for the person who has chosen a career in information systems to equip themselves with database management systems knowledge and be updated in the current versions. However, this particular position is not available for beginners, and only people with at least 2 to 3 years experience in the database environment are considered for the job.

Education required:

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Information systems
Knowledge of RDBMS and work experience
Knowledge of IBM software

Skills

When a person is employed as an application development manager, a project and team is usually assigned to them. The person needs to perform many activities in the software environment like making changes and enhancing the data base functions. This would involve research and development by the team, as well as the application manager to put some new practices in place. The person should have leadership qualities in order to handle a team and encourage them positively.

They should have an extensive knowledge of Oracle or the database that is being used to execute the functionalities in the organization. This job role involves training and travel to a certain extent. The person in this job role is expected to have excellent communication skills to be able to communicate with clients and the team. Most of the managers will be working independently, managing a whole team and they may not have any one else for support to depend on. The minimum experience required to get this role is two to 5 years experience in the RDBMS field, as well as excellent trouble shooting skills.

Expected Salary

Beginner: Not Available
Mid Level: $5000 (rare)
Expert: $7500 and above