During the dot-com bust, options for pursuing advanced degrees in technology management often were overshadowed by concerns about layoffs and the outsourcing of jobs overseas. Now the market for technical expertise is seeing healthy, if not dramatic, growth.

From computer firms to Internet start-ups, thousands of high-tech job openings have appeared this year. Heavyweights such as Google, Microsoft, Cisco Systems and Intel are buying more infrastructure, which should lead to more hiring, according to employment analysts. "I think the next couple of years will be good for IT," Zeus Kerravala, an analyst with The Yankee Group, recently told the Internet News Bureau.

One possible barrier to increasing jobs in the technology sector is the likelihood of mergers and acquisitions of small technology firms by larger ones in the coming months, spurred by the industry's maturation. No matter what, though, a wide variety of employers, from government to service firms, will continue to need better technological expertise.