The demographic profiles presented in Table 1 show a highly educated and experienced IT workforce with long tenure and experience in New York State government. Nearly all employees have had some college level education, with more than half having baccalaureate degrees and approximately one-third having degrees in technical fields (computer science, information science, or management information systems). Overall, the respondents’ mean age is 46.

The details of the demographic profile are presented separately for CIOs (executives who represent their agencies on the CIO Council), IT managers (as identified by job title and specialty area) and non-managerial IT professionals.

Non-managerial IT professionals, on average, have 15 years of experience working for New York State government, with 11 years in public sector IT positions. Half have worked for only one agency and another quarter have worked for two agencies. About half have had private sector IT work experience, with four years of experience on average. In addition, 16 percent of IT professionals hold current certifications in managerial or technical areas.

IT managers average 23 years of experience in New York State government, with an average of 21 years in public sector IT. Thirty-six percent have worked for only one agency and 29 percent have worked for two agencies. About 40 percent have private sector IT experience with an average of two years of experience. Thirteen percent hold certifications. CIOs have also had long tenures in state government and many years of public sector IT experience concentrated in one or two agencies.

The retirement picture across the three groups is mixed. About 20 percent of non-managerial IT professionals will be eligible to retire between 2006 and 2009. However the number who actually plan to retire is more modest (11 percent). By contrast, 22 percent of IT managers and 32 percent of CIOs expect to retire within that time period. Retirement projections increase steadily for all three groups after 2009. The pace of intended retirements for non-managerial IT professionals between 2006 and 2012 ranges from an annual low of 1.7 percent in 2006 to a high of 3.9 percent planning to retire in 2012, by which time more than 22 percent of today’s professional employees expect to have retired. For managers and CIOs, the figures are substantially higher. More than 40 percent of IT managers and 55 percent of CIOs expect to have retired by 2012. As a counterpoint to the retirement picture, employees at all levels reported that they are very interested in working for New York State part-time after they retire. Fully three-quarters expressed an interest in post-retirement work.

Table 1. Demographic profiles of the New York State IT workforce

Characteristics	IT Professionals (n=2466)*	IT Managers (n=271)*	Agency CIOs (n=57)**
Mean age	45	49	51
Age range	20 – 74	30 – 64	33 - 68
Percent with any college education	96 %	98 %	96 %
Percent with bachelor’s degree or higher	58 %	72 %	84 %
Percent with degree in a technical field (CS, IS, MIS)	39 %	44 %	30 %
Percent with certifications	16 %	13 %	n/a
Mean years of experience in NYS government	15	23	21
Mean years of public sector IT experience	11	21	16
Mean years of experience in current agency	11	15	13
Percent with all NYS experience in a single agency	50 %	36 %	43 %
Percent with all NYS experience in two agencies	28 %	29 %	19 %
Percent with private sector IT experience	48 %	41 %	55 %
Mean years of private sector IT experience	4	2	4
Percent eligible to retire within 3 years (2006 through 2009)	19 %	36 %	50 %
Percent planning to retire within 3 years (2006 through 2009)	11 %	22 %	32%
Percent eligible to retire within 6 years (2006 through 2012)	31 %	54 %	68 %
Percent planning to retire within 6 years (2006 through 2012)	22 %	41 %	55 %
Percent interested in working for NYS after retirement	75 %	77 %	76 %

* Excludes a total of 96 cases with missing job titles.

**The employee survey covered employees in 54 agencies. The CIO survey covered CIOs in 57 agencies, including three small agencies which have an IT leadership position but whose IT services are provided by the staff of larger agencies.