Two reasons first to work in IT means you don't have to go away on a ship following the huge engine around for 7 months a year.

La Dolce Vita. In my Dad's time (~'37-'60) it was 10-11 months a year (Oh, yeah, and he had to walk 5 miles to school through the snow!)

I'm always looking for jobs where I could abandon Seattle during the darker months. Let me know if they get desperate! (Actuallly, I occasionally look at NOAA job listings to see if a shipboard IT/admin job comes up, but I have never seen one...)