Computer Science Major Is Cool Again 328
netbuzz sends along a piece from Network World reporting that the number of computer science majors enrolled at US universities increased for the first time in six years, according to new survey data out this morning. The Taulbee Study found that the number of undergraduates signed up as computer science majors rose 8% last year. The survey was conducted last fall, just as the economic downturn started to bite. The article notes the daunting competition for positions at top universities: Carnegie Mellon University received 2,600 applications for 130 undergrad spots, and 1,400 for 26 PhD slots. "...the popularity of computer science majors among college freshmen and sophomores is because IT has better job prospects than other specialties, especially in light of the global economic downturn. ... The latest unemployment numbers for 2008 for computer software engineers is 1.6%... That's beyond full employment. ... The demand for tech jobs may rise further thanks to the Obama Administration's stimulus package, which could create nearly 1 million new tech jobs."
Isn't Everybody Going Back to School? (Score:3, Interesting)
Students should still think carefully about CS (Score:5, Interesting)
While interest in the field is good, there are still some major barriers to entry that need to be considered.
1. Unlike previous downturns, we currently have tons of IT/CS people out of work. I'm very lucky to have work; according to all my colleagues, hiring is extremely limited, especially in large public companies. In addition, competition for these jobs is incredibly tough.
2. Outsourcing has not gone away. IBM's a perfect example, as are many of the other professional services firms. India is rapidly moving up the food chain, and even advanced dev jobs are moving elsewhere very quickly. The best strategy is to get involved with a small company who doesn't have the resources to manage an outsourcing engagement.
3. A corollary to #2 - Lots of companies are "discovering" they don't need an IT department anymore. Most of the programming jobs will be for vendors, if the whole "cloud computing" fad turns out to be more than a fad.
4. Don't assume you can choose where you work, if that's important to you. Companies are shifting their support functions to cheaper locations within the US, so keep that in mind unless you don't care about living in Boston vs. Omaha.
So, as always IT and programming are fun fields to be in, but just keep in mind that the employment prospects are still unstable. If you're the kind who doesn't mind bouncing from one 6-month contract to another, you'll do fine. Full time work might be harder to come by.
Re:RTFA (Score:3, Interesting)
And 99.99% of the applications anybody will PAY you to write, will be data mining applications at this point
I think data mining will increase in the future, and I definitely agree that database design needs to be taught to new developers. But data mining is still FAR from 99% of new development.
Traditional reporting and traditional OLTP apps are still going to be the majority of development. If you disagree on my OLTP statement, who do you think is going to be GENERATING all of the data that 99.99% of these new grads are going to be mining? It takes multiple OLTP apps to generate one data warehouse worth mining, after all.
office software and the gaming industry are basically at market saturation level
So you think from here on out no new games are going to be developed? We'll just keep porting Tetris to new environments?
Re:engineering (Score:5, Interesting)
All of the "Software Engineering" coursework around here is training in more of the abstract and organizational aspects of programming such as development methodologies and teamwork, buzzwords, fancy colored charts, and consulting.
All of the classes I know of which use programming to solve math problems are under the umbrella of the math departments. YMMV.
The Problem with New CS/IT Grads (Score:2, Interesting)
The problem with new CS/IT grads is that they mostly do not know how to design software or even how a computer works at a basic level. In the last ten or more years most of these computer science majors are familiar with Java but know no assembly and very little C and have more training in Web design than in systems analysis.
This, however, works well for me. I work as a consultant that is parachuted into projects that are past due and over budget and fix them. True, I have thirty years of experience and that can not be duplicated in four years of college, but I mostly fix very basic mistakes made by people that are ignorant of the technology or the methodology.
Hopefully the universities and colleges will start teaching the basics (especially documentation) and train truly professional IT people. It's frustrating and unnerving to have someone who does Visual Basic Scripts in Excel call themselves a software engineer and are in charge of a large ERP project.
Re:Cool? (Score:3, Interesting)
One of my close friends is a (Republican) trust fund baby who joined the Army to get some self-discipline and find some kind of sense of purpose. It has served him well for all the many years after he left. Just about everyone in the armed services talks like a Republican, and most vote that way.
I think you're confusing "poor" with "desperate". Making a considered choice that joining the Army is the best way to better your life (and not incedentaly serve your country). That choice is more likely if your alternative jobs don't pay well, given how crappy Army pay is for the first few years, but the other financial benefits to service are appealing even if you're well off. A VA loan is a good thing, even for a trust fund baby.
It's also worth pointing out that the average Army officer is better educated than the average Slashdot poster (the services all have intense continuing education requirements). One former officer I used to work with earned a BS before joining, and 2 BAs plus an MBA while serving.