Understanding Career Transitions into Information Technology (IT): The Roles of Gender and Education
Shree Krithika Shanmugavel
Department of Psychology
Faculty Supervisor: Shiyu Yang
With the rapid growth of information technology (IT), the modern labor market is characterized by the increasing demand for technical and digital skills. While existing research has explored gender disparities and employment patterns within the IT profession, the literature on career transitions into IT occupations is limited. This study examines the factors associated with career transitions from non-IT to IT occupations, with a particular focus on the roles of workers’ gender and educational background. We drew upon a largescale workforce dataset consisting of resumes of around 280,000 individuals with detailed information on their employment and educational histories and demographics. Logistic regressions were conducted to examine whether gender, general education level, and STEM educational background meaningfully predict an individual’s likelihood of transitioning into IT occupations. Furthermore, this study also examines gender representation in IT occupations, salary change associated with transition-to-IT, age patterns in career transitions to IT, and generational patterns in the US labor market in the IT sector over the past five decades. The results support our hypotheses that men (vs. women), individuals with higher (vs. lower) educational levels, and those with STEM (vs. non-STEM) educational backgrounds are more likely to successfully transition into IT. The present study advances our understanding of workforce mobility in technology-driven labor market and highlights factors that can open doors to IT career opportunities.