Yet more indications of a need for CS majors. See the article. (You may need to register to view it.) There was a recent symposium held by the Society of Information Management that discussed some of the challenges that employers are currently facing in recruiting and retaining highly-skilled tech workers. They noted that a lot of baby-boomer techies are starting to retire, and many of these slots are opening for new talent.
Here's an eye-opening quote from the conference -- they stated that finding and keeping workers "hasn't been this high on the agenda for most businesses since the boom days of the 1990s."
The conference also took some time to analyze why recent college grads are not pursuing IT-related careers.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Fewer CS Majors Not a Big Concern - Computerworld
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!
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!
Thursday, August 25, 2005
UVA Computer Science: How to be a New UVa CS grad student
This article is a very good read for the prospective CS PhD student. A little old, but completely relevant.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Brain Drain in The Tech World?
Brain Drain in The Tech World?
Yup, another article on the dwindling enrollment of IT/CS majors and graduates, though this title was more eye-catching for me -- Brain Drain. Ok, so we're realizing that the US is continuing to lag behind other countries in computer science. We're now realizing that enrollments in related programs in colleges across the country have been continuing to suffer. This certainly does not bode well in turning the country around to become a leader in the computer sciences again. How can we regain our technical prowess and be a leader in this field when the enrollment of incoming students interested in this field continues to deterioriate?
What needs to be done to attract students back into this field? What is scaring them off? This article seems to point at the fear of outsourcing as one possibility. I agree in part, but there more going on than that.
Yup, another article on the dwindling enrollment of IT/CS majors and graduates, though this title was more eye-catching for me -- Brain Drain. Ok, so we're realizing that the US is continuing to lag behind other countries in computer science. We're now realizing that enrollments in related programs in colleges across the country have been continuing to suffer. This certainly does not bode well in turning the country around to become a leader in the computer sciences again. How can we regain our technical prowess and be a leader in this field when the enrollment of incoming students interested in this field continues to deterioriate?
What needs to be done to attract students back into this field? What is scaring them off? This article seems to point at the fear of outsourcing as one possibility. I agree in part, but there more going on than that.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Gates worried over decline in U.S. computer scientists - Computerworld
See? Even Bill Gates himself can see the impending effects of dwindling enrollment of incoming students interested in CS. See the article for more information. I have no idea what someone of my stature can do to get people to wake up! I have no political clout, authori-tay or commanding respect in the field to be able to turn heads. (Brian who? Huh?) Bill on the other hand...
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