IT workforce skews younger, says analysis of US data
Data may be worse
Hira said age disparity in computer occupations may be worse compared to engineering. The Labor Dept. defines the computer and math occupation category broadly. It includes computer scientists, security analysts, programmers, developers and other IT areas.
In the Labor Dept.’s computer and mathematical occupation category, BaExplanations could include age discrimination as well as the more recent growth of computer occupations, Hira said. The largest growth in this field occurred in the 1990s, he noted.
David Foote, president and chief research officer at Foote Partners LLC, a labor market research firm, said the four hottest areas in technology are AI and machine learning, advanced data analytics or big data, cybersecurity, and the internet of everything, which include both hardware and software jobs.
Some occupations, such as AI, tend to favor younger workers because the occupations are relatively new, Foote said.
In terms of IT leadership, Victor Janulaitis, CEO at Janco Associates, a labor market research firm, said the median age of CIOs is falling as the Ba”As younger individuals become CIOs, many will tend to hire direct reports that are in their age groups,” Janulaitis said. New applications, such as blockchain, will tend to favor IT pros in the 30 to 40 age range, he said.