How to Keep America Competitive

pkbarbiedoll writes to tell us that in a recent Washington Post article, Bill Gates takes another look at the current state of affairs in computer science and education. According to Gates: "This issue has reached a crisis point. Computer science employment is growing by nearly 100,000 jobs annually. But at the same time studies show that there is a dramatic decline in the number of students graduating with computer science degrees. The United States provides 65,000 temporary H-1B visas each year to make up this shortfall — not nearly enough to fill open technical positions. Permanent residency regulations compound this problem. Temporary employees wait five years or longer for a green card. During that time they can't change jobs, which limits their opportunities to contribute to their employer's success and overall economic growth."

Ha ha

[tkrotchko]

...and Microsoft will do anything to solve this "crisis" except spend money on it.

That's the government's job! (i.e. yours and mine) ...and meanwhile keep those cheap programmers coming from overseas, otherwise, where will the next version of Windows come from?

Work not getting done for some reason?

[192939495969798999]

I have no idea why there would be such a need for more workers, it's almost as if all the employed engineers are busy doing something else at work, like going to some website and posting comments or something... nah, that can't be it!

Re:Au contraire

[Marxist Hacker 42]

Yes - I've pointed out in another post. The same newspaper has an editorial only less than a week ago that says in 2004 the U.S. produced over 57,000 C.S. graduates. Coupled with his 65,000 H-1B visas, if his 100,000 new jobs a year is accurate, there's a 22k surplus.

That's downright funny- guess what we really need is a basic arithmetic requirement for journalists.

CS is a great degree, if you like being spat on.

[Anonymous Coward]

Why bother with obtaining a CS degree anyway? All it does it put you squarely with the pack of starving dogs trying to scarf up scraps of work in companies that arn't going to Beijing or New Delhi. Yes, you might get lucky and get the senior sysadmin job because of the MCSE/RHCE/CCIE, but the second management finds someone cheaper, expect to find your stuff boxed at your desk the next morning.

The CS degree has only one use, and that is a prerequisite to law school. Being even a top IT guy in a business just makes you a master sargent, while you are forever under the command of the "butter bars" (second lieutenants) -- the law department guys. They say jump, you better jump, or your job goes poof because you were not SOX compliant. The two years spent in law school are the difference between being nobility where people listen when you speak (as well as having a real job, real money, and a car/SUV people don't snigger at behind your back) versus being the guy working 60-100 hours a week, forced to drive a jalopy, and waiting on the people fresh out of law school hand and foot.

You want a SO, a decent car, a house where you are not living in a neighborhood with gunshots going off nightly, and a chance at people of the opposite sex? Take law school. You want 100 hour a week, no respect, with co-workers urinating on you, blaming you for any computer problems, then firing you for someone cheaper when they get the chance? Graduate CS. Yes, the two years of law school and the bar exam are a pain, but being able to afford a nice car while your classmates who graduated CS and are working four times as long as you do, still driving ten year old Metros, makes it worth it in the end.

Outsource all white collar and blue collar jobs.

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, since all the blue collar manufacturing jobs went overseas,
just send all the rest of the white collar jobs overseas.

USA Citizens just don't get it. Globalization is not just
about bringing Up third world economies,
the USA can expect to go Down economically as well.

Capital can flee any expensive place (like high USA labor costs) to
much cheaper places (like iPod factories in Asia).

What will the USA do?

Grow wheat, corn, & cows, and maybe make movies, songs, and trouble.

The USA is good at all those things, I say Go With Your Strengths!

opposite water?

[Bastard of Subhumani]

The obvious way to show this is that if CS graduates were paid a million dollars per year starting out, people would be leaving other careers in droves to pursue a career in computer science.

Imagine a situation where the demand for programmers is incredibly high. Salaries could get bidded up to the point where anyone who knows which side of the keyboard to sit is well into 6 figures. And by anyone I mean anyone; lawyers, pole-dancers, used-car salesmen.

Be thankful that it could never happen. Because if it did we'd still be fixing the mess they made seven years, one month and, ummmm, 26 days later.