Survey shock: IT pros aren't geeks

It's official: the geeky image of the IT professional should be consigned to the dustbin of history.

The biggest ever lifestyle survey of techies shows that the average worker is a bit more interesting than most people think.

They go out twice a week. They like a beer or three. Most are competent cooks and aspire to be gourmet chefs (they're especially fond of Italian food).

They go on holiday twice a year, with America being the most popular destination.

They enjoy music and playing football, make time for family and friends at the weekend (only 30 per cent are single, but few have children so far), and are very 'free-thinking', with over a third refusing to work for large IT companies.

However, the survey, conducted by Embarcadero, did confirm one or two of the commonly held perceptions of IT staff. The vast majority (83 per cent) of respondents are male, and they're pretty well paid: £35,000 typically, £14,000 more than average.

Their choice of car won't exactly set your pulses racing: more drive Vauxhalls than Mercedes. Most would rather dine with Bill Gates than Jordan.

But the 5,000 people polled are not only obsessed with cars, IT and cooking. They are well-informed about industry news and current affairs, and make extensive use of internet resources to keep up to date.

Indeed, silicon.com came top of the online new sites mentioned, and was more popular than many established information sources, such as Financial Times IT, Network News, Unix and NT News, and the online version of Computer Weekly.

David Oates, VP of Embarcadero Europe, said in a statement: "When we first decided to conduct the world's first IT 'lifestyle' census we didn't really know what to expect."

"We were astounded by some of the results and pleasantly surprised by others: but it's time IT people made their voices heard - they're too important to exist in the silence and shadows of their own dedication."