The effects of post-educational professional development activities on promotion and career satisfaction of IT professionals

ABSTRACT

Seeking new career opportunities and retaining IT jobs still require considerable time spent on various professional development activities. This study hypothesizes that these professional development activities are vital to organizational tenure as well as to career satisfaction. A survey was used to examine the effects of time spent on professional development activities on promotion and career satisfaction. The result showed that informal professional development activities had no effect on organizational tenure and career satisfaction, while formal professional development activities contributed most to the progress of an IT career. Strategies and explanations for these findings are discussed.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.2 Computer and Information Science Education

Additional Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.7 THE COMPUTING PROFESSION
      K.7.1 Occupations

General Terms:
Management, Measurement, Performance

Keywords:
IT education, career satisfaction, human resource management, organizational commitment, post education, promotion