Identity of the information technology employees at different stages of professional development

Background. The present study of professional identity in the representatives of the information technology sphere is connected to the problem of directing modern specialists in the world of work which is rapidly changing and structuring the system of tasks in a new way. This requires the compliance of the psychological characteristics of an employee with computerised forms of job functions. The present work aims to research the features of professional identity among representatives of the information technology sector with different job experience in order to understand identity transformations during the professionalization in a more profound way.

Methods. The respondents are offered to fill in a questionnaire for social status data, the «Trust in technology» questionnaire (Akimova, 2020), semantic differentials for the evaluation of one’s personal qualities (Ginetsinsky, 1994), and the evaluation of oneself as a professional (Serkin, 2016).

Sample. It has totaled to 52 respondents studying and working in the field of Network and System Management, Innovation, Information Systems and Technologies related to the IT sphere.

Results. The data demonstrate two statistically significant trends in the development of the professional identity in the representatives of the IT sphere: the linear and the structural ones. The first trend shows the gradual entry into one's own specialty which is expressed in a consistent complication of ideas about oneself as a professional, the growth in confidence in one's own qualification, competence, and knowledge. The second trend is supported by restructuring the emerging ideas about oneself in the profession with the growth of real practical experience. Unlike students, in working specialists, it is expressed in «ignoring» personal characteristics and emphasizing professionally important qualities against the background of a growing confidence in technology and the degree of mastery.

Conclusion. The common feature of all the participants under the study is a positive attitude towards the introduction of information technologies and experiencing difficulties in mastering them. Professional identity of the respondents belonging to the same professional field which is characterized by rapid and diverse change has got features that distinguish different stages of professionalisation.

The results obtained make it possible to adjust the training programmes of IT specialists, taking into account the required competences as well as personal characteristics in order to approach the model of a specialist in the IT field.

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