Career Paths: Institutions and Industries

Overview

In the 2015 ECAR IT Workforce Survey, we asked respondents to share information about their past and current careers, as well as about their future career plans (n = 1,188). These data provide insight about the pipeline to key IT positions and the probable career trajectories for the current IT workforce. In this first interactive report, we use data on respondents’ previous two jobs (e.g., at their current institution, in higher education but at another institution, in IT) to identify the general paths they took to arrive at their present positions. Additionally, we also explore the general paths higher education IT professionals expect to take over the course of their next two positions.

Key Findings

In terms of historical career paths, three main trends are apparent in our data:

The future career paths of higher education IT employees are more difficult to pin down:

EDUCAUSE IT Workforce Research: Focusing on Our People and Professions

This interactive graphic is part of the IT Workforce in Higher Education, 2016 research series, which includes interactive graphics on the career paths of higher education IT professionals and reports on IT leadership. The research helps colleges and universities reinvest in the IT workforce by defining professional competencies and laying the foundation for tools that can guide professional development and career planning.