Computer and Information Systems Managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as electronic data processing, information systems, systems analysis, and computer programming.
Most important skills
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Writing
- Coordination
Key knowledge
- Computers and Electronics
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
- Engineering and Technology
- English Language
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Mathematics
- Education and Training
What the work involves
- Consult with users, management, vendors, and technicians to assess computing needs and system requirements.
- Direct daily operations of department, analyzing workflow, establishing priorities, developing standards and setting deadlines.
- Assign and review the work of systems analysts, programmers, and other computer-related workers.
- Stay abreast of advances in technology.
- Develop computer information resources, providing for data security and control, strategic computing, and disaster recovery.
- Review and approve all systems charts and programs prior to their implementation.
- Evaluate the organization's technology use and needs and recommend improvements, such as hardware and software upgrades.
- Control operational budget and expenditures.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Enterprising, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (47.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 6 years, up to and including 8 years (40%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (32.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- No license listed; certification common (national summary): No license is listed; certification is typically optional, more relevant for roles such as IT security. source (checked 2026-10-25)
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections; State licensing authorities (curated, see evidence links) · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 67% of occupations compared | 58% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 66% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 90% of occupations compared | 78% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 75% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 83% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 78% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 60% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 80% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 42.06%
- Constant contact with others: 57.94%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 3.04%
- Fairly important: 32.79%
- Important: 40.29%
- Very important: 6.55%
- Extremely important: 17.33%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0.15%
- Important: 2.67%
- Very important: 18.8%
- Extremely important: 78.39%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 2.17%
- Limited freedom: 6.87%
- Some freedom: 37.41%
- A lot of freedom: 53.55%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: 24.6%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 42.51%
- Every day: 9.14%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
Conflict situations
- Never: 2.81%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 11.59%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 38.86%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 46.73%
- Every day: 0%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0.15%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 52.29%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 1.71%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 43.69%
- Every day: 2.17%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 1.92%
- Fairly serious: 8.68%
- Serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very serious: 8.91%
- Extremely serious: 37.76%
n = 20, Incumbent 07/2016
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O*NET-SOC 11-3021.00 · SOC 11-3021 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8