What? You must be kidding me. Ok... so this article is an opinion. Therefore, I suppose I shouldn't get worked up over it. A wonderful thing about being an American is that we have a right to express our opinions in print. Foruntately, that also includes the right to disagree. I completely disagree with Ms. Robbins assertion that the decline of CS degrees should not be a problem. Fortunately, out of the dozens of articles I've read about the declining enrollments in CS, this is the first writer that seems to indicate that this is not a problem. I believe this writer is sorely misled regarding what careers that CS degrees are intended to prepare the student for. She seems to think that the main reason that students enter CS is for computer gaming. I'm sorry to inform you, but a CS degree hardly does anything to prepare a person for a career in the gaming industry. Just as web development careers rarely have any need for CS degrees anymore due to the excellent tools available, the gaming industry has numerous toolkits and software packages that allow the game developer to stay clear of any CS-related issues, allowing them to focus solely on issues such as playability, design, storyline, plot, 3D scenery and related graphics, music score, user interface, etc. The gifted storywriter, graphics artist, animator and score composers get jobs in the gaming industry. The CS major does not.
Her ignorance regarding CS and related careers really shines when she claims that it is not a problem that there are fewer CS degrees, and then in the paragraph immediately following that statement she talks about the effect of video-game violence on children. What conclusions does she want the reader to draw? Let's follow her logic. She states that there has been a study of the effect of video-game violence on children. Earlier, she leads us to believe that CS degrees are for people that want to develop computer games. Therefore, is the reason she believes that it is not a problem that there are fewer CS majors because there will be fewer violent computer games developed, and thus our children will become healthier?
Furthermore, she then allows the reader to believe that students and professionals in CS lead less than active lifestyles. Later, she indicates that "corporations need accountants, marketers, and operations and manufacturing staffers who are infused with computer skills." Are you telling me that these roles are more "active, interactive and tactile" than CS-related careers? Give me a break! The sedentary CS student will be quick to IM a "LMAO" message to you, Ms. Robbins!
It is one thing for incoming freshmen to have uneducated biases regarding what the CS discipline is all about. I don't expect them to know what CS entails. It's our job as instructors and professors in the field to educate them so they have a clear understanding of the potentials of the field, and if they choose it, to inspire and enable them to excel in the field, regardless of whether they join industry or continue in academia and research beyond their degree. Regardless, I don't expect this type of ignorance from a writer in a well-known industry trade magazine in CS.
The only part of this article I agree with is that every student needs to find a career path that is right for them. I can't agree more.
Argh!
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