Who's computing? Gender and race differences in young adults' decisions to pursue an information technology career.

Over the past ten years, information technology (IT) has emerged as a vital part of the global economy. Although IT job growth will not be as rapid as the booming growth of the computer industry during the previous decade, as the IT sector matures and routine work is increasingly outsourced overseas, the computer industry still offers favorable job prospects and faces a demand for qualified professionals (U.S. Department of Labor, 2004). As technology becomes more sophisticated and complex, these computer-based job prospects are especially promising for individuals with more advanced levels of training and expertise (U.S. Department of Labor, 2004). Despite these fruitful career opportunities available in the computer field, women and minorities in the United States are vastly underrepresented