Where Are The Computer Science Students?

I attended a roundtable employer forum at a local community college yesterday.

A few interesting things came out of the discussions.

1.) The number of kids going into computer science programs is dwindling because:

• There is no future in IT because all the IT jobs are being outsourced
• There are no entry level jobs in IT, no companies will hire without real world experience
• There are no jobs in IT because there are no IT jobs posted in the newspaper
• The academic programs are not keeping up with the changes in technologies

According the academics, they are given the above information by incoming/potential students. 

There were employer jaws hitting tables throughout the room and the school faculty members were VERY interested to learn that all the employers were struggling to find talent and the demand was only growing.

2.) No fewer than 5 of the 10+ employers in the room reported they were anticipating a need for COBOL programmers as the guys doing it today were retiring soon and there was no one in the bullpen to keep the mainframe lights on

3.) Junior/Community Colleges foresee a need to specialize in areas such as IT, Finance, Nursing, etc.  They will do this to attract regional students wanting to pursue a certain practice...ex. One school who is already strong in math and science will focus their IT curriculum on Application Development/Programming. Another strong in business will focus their IT curriculum on Project Management and Business Analysis.

These schools are getting smart about marketing and attracting those students not ready for a 4 year school, the non-traditional student returning to complete a degree and those people looking to brush up on skills or pursue certificate programs.

I was very interested in the disconnect between academia and corporate america.  For recruiters, there could be a potential pool of talent at the juco right down the street.

Get involved with the faculty, sit on employer panels, present opportunities to the teachers and get in front of classrooms to discuss employment opportunities.

The schools are begging for input and there is a group of people there trying to better themselves to get a job...will it be with you?

-Doug Burris,

Intronic Solutions Group

Comments

[Only Qualified Applicants Wanted]

Yes but most people are average and corporate America only wants qualified applicants in computer science. Which normally means 3.5 gpa or above for a low paid internship that may or may not lead to a job.

Take it from someone who graduated with a computer degree around the bust. Most of my friends with degrees are doing other things now, though they would enjoy computer work if they could find an employer they could trust to be loyal to them.

The corporations want a one way street. They want education and loyalty without any expense on their part. At the same time they want protections through trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA to protect their personal profits.

The younger generation is just being realistic instead of listening to the academic and corporate cheerleaders. It simply doesn't make sense to go into a field where labor on the other side of the world has access to the exact same education and can live on a fraction of the purchasing power.

That is why the average student won't even bother going into the computer field, they have a better chance winning the lotto than getting a decent long term computer science related job. It's to bad the academics who are paid on taxes can't be outsourced. We simply won't be able to afford them much longer anyway.