Over the past couple of decades, computers have become an increasingly integral part of everyday life and they are now almost ubiquitous in both the workplace and the home.

As the adoption of computer technology has grown across America, the number and variety of jobs linked to the computing and information technology (IT) sector has grown with it.

Today, a career in the profession can involve anything from programming and web design to data processing, help desk support and software engineering.

And as technology advances and demand for computer-related services increase, these careers are set to continue their development and expansion.

In particular, according to the Department of Labor's (DOL) Tomorrow's Jobs forecast, the information "supersector" - which contains some of the fastest-growing computer-related professions such as software design, internet publishing and broadcasting and wireless communications - is expected to generate 212,000 new jobs by 2016.

Within these individual industries, job growth is projected to hit 32%, 44.1% and 40.9% respectively, the department's figures show.

The main drivers of growth will be rising demand from consumers and business for new software and widespread adoption of high-speed internet services, the DOL added.

Jobs in software design can include computing programming and software engineering, which involves using the principles of computer science to develop and test new programs and systems.

Internet publishing, meanwhile, involves researching, writing and editing material specifically for the web. According to the DOL, this sector is growing as both established publications and new publishers are increasingly developing content exclusively for the internet.

Finally, technological advances are expected to fuel the adoption of wireless internet services, which will in turn generate new jobs in areas such as computer support.

A key requirement for those working in these roles - and indeed the computing and IT industry as a whole - is the ability to find out about and adapt to new systems and equipment, as changes in the sector can be extremely fast-paced.