Over the past two decades, the field of information technology has become one of the most popular career destinations for new graduates in the United States. High pay, strong benefits, and the allure of working in a cutting-edge field have made IT the most explosive industry in the world. Despite the much-publicized failed investments that have hurt the tech sector's "Wall Street Cred," the IT industry continues to grow at a staggering pace. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that more than 2.5 million Americans worked in a "computer occupation." Considering that the Department of Labor did not even have a "computer occupation" category in the 1970s, that number is astounding. It only continues to increase with the proliferation of (and dependence on) computer technology in twenty-first century America.

The independence of the computer industry from outside influences makes it unique among historical "boom industries." Unlike wartime manufacturing or disaster reconstruction, for example, the computer industry is mostly free from political and environmental constraints. Because of the industry's independence and steady growth, a new graduate with a computer degree should have strong earning potential until retirement. This long-term career track remains attractive to young professionals willing to look past the media hype regarding the "collapse of the dot-com bubble," especially considering the high median salary and strong benefits common in the field. Health and dental plans are expected in the industry, as are the enticing investment opportunities that have created so many thirty-year-old millionaires.

The considerable advantages that come with a job information technology are not without costs to the workers, however. Frequent training and retraining is necessary due to the ever changing and highly technical nature of the field. Computer programmers must occasionally learn newer, more robust programming languages, in addition to conforming to the style guidelines of each individual workplace. Network technicians must continuously adapt their highly technical work to a field that sees new systems and technology introduced every four to six months. In addition to the perpetual training, many in the IT field, particularly programmers, complain of long hours during the "crunch time" required when a deadline is looming.

On the whole, though, tech workers are generally more pleased with their jobs than are other laborers. A recent study conducted by the Department of Labor found that the majority of IT professional described themselves as "satisfied" to "very satisfied" with their employment. This trend has contributed to the unusually high workforce retention in the tech sector and is one of many factors that combine to project steady growth for IT in the future. As one analyst for Merrill-Lynch commented, "The more complex the machines get, the more of these guys are needed to fix them."