Indeed, there are nontrivial disincentives, at least in the short term, for U.S. students pursuing postbaccalaureate study in IT. Support for postsecondary education is much more available at the bachelor 's level (e.g., Pell grants, school-sponsored loans) and at the doctoral level (e.g., fellowships, graduate assistantships) than at the master 's level, for which little support is available. Families may budget for 4 years of undergraduate work, but as a rule, they do not do so for the extra year or so that it takes to obtain a master's degree. Thus, master's level graduate work may not be within the immediate financial means of many students. Furthermore, individuals wishing for their work to have an immediate impact have a much better opportunity to realize these wishes by working in the private sector (where ideas can be turned into products and services and applications rapidly) rather than by attending graduate school.

A comparison of cumulative earnings also sheds some light on these disincentives, at least from a financial point of view. Data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers indicate that in 1999, the average starting salary offer for individuals with bachelor 's, master's, and doctoral degrees in computer science was $44,469, $51,438, and $58,688, respectively. Assuming that tuition and fees for a 1-year master's program total $20,000 and that annual salary growth for both bachelor's and master's degree holders is 5 percent, the total earnings for holders of these degrees equalizes in about 10 years. Assuming a fully supported 5-year doctoral degree (effectively tuition and fees totaling zero), the total earnings equalize in about 50 years.

This model suggests that under some plausible assumptions, the financial benefits to advanced study are realized only in the long run if at all. However, it is important to emphasize that this rough calculation is based on many assumptions that may not be true in practice (e.g., identical wage growth profiles for all degree holders, no discount being applied to earnings that appear farther in the future, compensation identical to base salary).

The 1,700+ community colleges of the United States are important in American higher education and play a key role in preparing many students for the workplace.⁴⁸ About 40 percent (5.6 million) of all individuals enrolled in higher education in the fall of 1997 (a total of 14.5 million)

Front Matter (R1-R28)

Executive Summary (1-20)

The IT Sector: Context and Character (21-43)

Understanding the IT Workforce (44-91)

Characterizing the Workforce Problem (92-132)

Older IT Workers and Possible Age-Related Discrimination (133-151)

Foreign Workers in the IT Workforce (152-187)

Making More Effective Use of the Existing IT Workforce (188-219)

Longer-Term Strategies for Increasing the Supply of Qualified Labor: Training and Education (220-272)

Sunthesis, Principles, and Recommendations (273-314)

Appendix A: Biotechnology (315-330)

Appendix B: Estimating the Size of the IT Workforce (331-343)

Appendix C: Study Committee Biographies (344-350)

Appendix D: Briefers to the Committee (351-356)

Index (357-370)