Significant concerns have been raised about supplying sufficient numbers of qualified and experienced information and communications technology (ICT) workers to meet the ongoing demands of the industry. This paper explores how professional identity and self-interest shape the career choices of ICT students. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 52 ICT students from four Australian tertiary education institutions. The findings reveal that nascent professional identity (such as mastery, sense of belonging, and status and esteem) and self-interest (such as anticipated income, perceived opportunities, and work-life balance) work together to exert a strong push away from or pull toward, seeking an ICT career following graduation. The findings contribute to understandings of how ICT students conceptualize a professional career in the ICT industry and the expectations of the emerging ICT workforce. This can influence the development of career marketing materials to attract high-quality entrants into undertaking ICT qualifications and ultimately an ICT career and assist universities and professional associations in their efforts to attract and educate a diverse and inclusive ICT workforce. © 2021 International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning. All rights reserved.
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