Entry-Level is Job Skills: A Survey of Employers

As the information systems (IS) profession continues to evolve, educators are challenged to meet employer needs and maintain the currency and relevance of IS education. This paper reports the results of a survey of IS employers from a large public university in the Midwest. This survey addressed employers' perceptions of the importance of programming languages and various other technical and non-technical skills. The survey also assessed employers' views of new IS graduates' “expected” versus “actual” performance on these job skills. Finally, the survey solicited employer input about how students can better prepare themselves for the IS profession prior to graduation. The implications of the findings, particularly for IS education, are examined.