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If you are interested in a career in information technology, by now you’ve probably heard both sides of the ongoing debate.

The country’s IT employers are scrambling for more temporary work visas for foreign IT graduates, claiming that there’s a shortage of skilled domestic workers. U.S. tech workers are arguing the exact opposite — that there are plenty of available employees, just not enough good jobs. The nation’s IT workers believe that conglomerates are fabricating (or at least exaggerating) a worker shortage to keep wages for IT professionals down. The simple fact is that foreign employees will work for less.

It is difficult to confirm whether or not claims of an IT worker shortage are merely a political ploy to avoid hiring U.S. workers who’ll demand more money. But experts on both sides of the debate agree that something needs to change. The current system that’s in place allows IT companies to hire multiple foreign workers on a temporary basis with H-1B visas.

Earlier this year, several U.S. senators argued that some organizations were abusing this system to keep their own expenses down (and not to make the U.S. more competitive in the IT industry). Domestic workers are convinced that they are being turned down for jobs they’re qualified for because companies are looking to hire workers who’ll make less of a dent in their payrolls.

What’s more is that the pay for IT workers hasn’t increased since 2000. When adjusted for inflation, tech workers are actually making an average of $850 less per year than they were seven years ago. (Although the mean annual salary for computer workers still stands at $69,240.)

So while there’s proof that wages have stagnated in recent years, employers argue that the current unemployment rate among IT professionals in the U.S. (a low 1.8%) confirms that domestic workers are finding positions. Large organizations like Microsoft are also pointing to the 3,000 core technology jobs that they have to fill in the U.S. as evidence that the country needs to award more foreign work visas.

Aside from the relevant arguments that each side makes, there is one issue that make this IT debate even more confusing, and that’s the treatment of all IT specializations as one field. Some areas, such as software development, are generating multiple positions, while industries like computer programming are in a steep decline. (Programming jobs have dwindled 25% since 2000.)

So while you may not be able to resolve the debate between IT employers and the agitated tech workforce, you can increase your owns chances of securing a job in information technology. The IT areas with the most open positions in the U.S., as well as the most potential for growth, are as follows: software engineering, IT management (jobs up 50% since 2001), and network systems analysis.

Earn your degree in one the IT fields mentioned above, and you should be in a great position to find work upon graduation. Westwood College Online offers degrees in software engineering and computer network management, AIU focuses in network administration and computer systems, and University of Phoenix offers an MBA program in technology management.

In an article posted this morning on CNNMoney.com, Fortune Senior Editor-at-Large Geoff Colvin makes a bold claim: “Corporate America has to make IT jobs sexy again, or suffer the consequences.”

Personally, a job in information technology never really screamed ’sexpot’ to me, but its bland reputation never seemed to hurt its popularity either. Colvin asks us to think back to the days of the Y2K craze, when the appeal of an undergraduate degree in computer science reached a 20-year high. Today, two issues are plaguing our chances of winning the “global battle for infotech supremacy,” as Colvin puts it. This struggle isn’t over the most impressive chips and software, but instead over how effectively our businesses use technology and compete within an increasing virtual marketplace.

The first obstacle we face is the under-qualified force of chief information officers (CIOs) employed within our nation’s corporations. CIOs require extensive grooming, deep strategic insight, and excellent communication and leadership skills. The Society of Information Management estimates that companies need to double their number of competent CIOs to be at acceptable level. Offshoring won’t be an option for these types of jobs in the future, because high-ranking professions often require face-to-face interaction with potential clients.

So what exactly does a CIO do? Well, eJobDescriptions.com writes that:

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) is accountable for directing the information and data integrity of the enterprise and its groups…this includes all data centers, technical service centers, production scheduling functions, help desks, communication networks (voice and data), computer program development, and computer systems operations…

…He or she provides overall management and definition of all computer and communication activities within the enterprise…[and offers] direction as the enterprise grows…

Another site gives a detailed list of roles that CIOs often assume, such as “Chief Innovation Officer” and “Chief Identity Officer.” I recommend downloading the full PDF file if this position really interests you.

So even though Colvin cites ineffectual training as the reason for the lackluster crop of CIOs today, there is no harm in modeling your education around the skills you will need for upper management. If employers know that it will take significantly less effort to train you, why wouldn’t they hire you? To simplify your job searches in the future, take a look at the schools that our site links to, such as Jones International University or Warren National University, which both offer master degree programs in IT management.

I know I mentioned that there were two issues with IT jobs that Colvin discussed in his article, and the second one has more to do with making technology sexy again. It appears that the younger generations, or what Colvin dauntingly terms the “talent pipeline’s beginning,” are thoroughly bored with this industry. The Fortune editor observes that, “America’s kids have concluded that infotech is a dead-end field for nerd losers, and they’re avoiding it like last month’s ringtone.”

In terms of this problem, I only have one suggestion: it is our job to make IT cool again, or sexy, or whatever it needs to be. The first step is browsing schools on collegecourses.com like the ones I listed above. (Try University of Phoenix too.) I say this because I have gauged the sex appeal of a computer, and I think everyone’s best bet (especially when trying to come across as sexy in the IT field) is to rely on their education and the success that follows it. If you have kids of your own, don’t worry too much. Having a job trumps being cool right around the time you start dropping hints that it’s time for them to move out.

The MBA - The Master of Business Administration degree - was a hot, hot commodity in the 1990’s, when MBA graduates could take advantage of red-hot lbor markets that badly wanted their skills. Then came a brutal reality check, starting in 2000: First the tech/dotcom buble burst. Not only did that setback back wipe out hundreds of potential employers of MBA graduates in the tech industry, but the end of the bubble meant drastically reduced hiring of MBAs in the financial industry. Then there was the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, followed by uncertainty during the run up to and early weeks of the war in Iraq.

But the market changed in 2005, when employers again started to hire large numbers of MBA graduates and the upswing continued in 2006. While compensation for new MBA graduates in 2005 slightly trailed that for the class of 2001 when adjusted for inflation, but the class of 2006 in all likelihood surpassed them, according to the Graduate Management Admissions Council.

Compensation for new MBA graduates averaged $106,000 in 2005.

Find an MBA degree that fits your career goals.