Computer Science Enrollments Soared Last Year

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
75,399
For all of you in Computer/IT Management, better start taking an occasional glance over your shoulder. There is a new bumper crop of enrollees studying to join your ranks soon. The number of computing majors has been on the rise for the past five years, culminating in a 29% rise in just this past year.

Harsha said that many fields "are increasingly data-driven and computationally-driven, and students see that a degree in computer science gives them access to a wide range of well-paying careers."
Click to expand...
 
Harsha said that many fields "are increasingly data-driven and computationally-driven, and students see that a degree in computer science gives them access to a wide range of well-paying careers."
Click to expand...

That's one thing that always bothered me with this field. I realize there's a shortage, and I'm all for having more people fill it. I also realize that the world is becoming more techified, so having some knowledge is probably for the best.

But more and more I see people who say they got into CS because it was going to pay well over they got into CS because they were interested in computers. Yes, I understand many people take jobs for the paycheck alone. But it's changing the culture (and not always for the best). Also, quite often, software development requires problem solving, where the people who are focused purely on the money look for the quickest way to solve it, rather than the better way to solve it.
 
I agree. I have been met with developers in the field that don't know what 'static', 'break', 'continue', and other basic concepts are. It hurts me.
 
When I was still in school (about 4 years now) the biggest dept. other than engineering was Comp sci. Also of note the largest demo in comp sci were koreans haha.
 
Great, more shit candidates who got a piece of paper and still couldn't install Windows if their life depended on it. Yea I'm jaded, interviewed far too many applicants with a CS degree who knew dick all about how to actually use a computer.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Great, more shit candidates who got a piece of paper and still couldn't install Windows if their life depended on it. Yea I'm jaded, interviewed far too many applicants with a CS degree who knew dick all about how to actually use a computer.
Click to expand...

Why are you interviewing CS candidates for the ability to use a computer? You should be interviewing them for their ability to program one.

Also, if they're programming on Windows, they lost already.

;)
 
As an aged mechanical engineer, if I had to do it again, I'd pick CS since it seems to pay much higher.
 
LuminaryJanitor said:
...What do you think CS is, exactly?
Click to expand...

My question also, and I'm one of those new students in CS/Digital Arts.
I was told, CS =! IT. Don't expect a CS major to know how to troubleshoot anything.

I'm genuinely interested in computers, pretty obvious because I'm here.
Everything makes sense to me and I'm not in it for the money. I like to create and innovate.
 
LuminaryJanitor said:
...What do you think CS is, exactly?
Click to expand...

I am well aware that CS is pretty broad. However generally if you are applying for IT jobs with a CS degree and still don't know anything about computers..well. My rant was aimed at those particular people.
 
It's been my experience that being a "computer guy" doesn't mean you are going to be a good enterprise IT. Also, the "computer guy" doesn't understand that being able to write code for a web page doesn't mean you mean dick about computers, servers, or anything truly IT.

I really wish the schools would force you to learn the actual hardware as well. I mean, you really cant understand wth you are doing with that code if you don't know WHY what you are doing has the effect it has.
 
KarsusTG said:
It's been my experience that being a "computer guy" doesn't mean you are going to be a good enterprise IT. Also, the "computer guy" doesn't understand that being able to write code for a web page doesn't mean you mean dick about computers, servers, or anything truly IT.

I really wish the schools would force you to learn the actual hardware as well. I mean, you really cant understand wth you are doing with that code if you don't know WHY what you are doing has the effect it has.
Click to expand...

I can agree with this. I remember when I was at college how many of the other CS majors knew absolutely nothing about hardware. And I'm not talking gates, registers, etc. I mean, the people who didn't know how to install a PCI or ISA video card.
 
At least where I work, they seem much more interested in experience than a degree. Nova is the best. :D
 
Nytegard said:
I can agree with this. I remember when I was at college how many of the other CS majors knew absolutely nothing about hardware. And I'm not talking gates, registers, etc. I mean, the people who didn't know how to install a PCI or ISA video card.
Click to expand...

it's probably still like that
 
Metrocall said:
At least where I work, they seem much more interested in experience than a degree. Nova is the best. :D
Click to expand...

This should be the case imho, but that piece of paper is just worth too much now. Software Development is one of the fields imho that a formal education is barely worth anything over a trade school.

What is software development honestly? I think a lot of it deals with problem solving. And unfortunately, schools can teach mechanics of programming, but they can't really teach ingenuity. You either have it or you don't, with most people falling into the latter category. This is part of the reason I've seen many companies I've worked with/for stopping the outsourcing of software development jobs. It's not like building a car. Throwing more people to program won't make a product be developed any faster. You need to put the right people on the job for that.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
I am well aware that CS is pretty broad.
Click to expand...
Not that broad. CS graduates might know a thing or two about virtual addressing mechanisms, RDBMS theory, CPU microarchitecture and network topology, but no reputable CS course is teaching people to configure a Windows installation, administer a database, assemble a PC or set up a router.

Really, the only practical skill you can expect is programming. If you're looking for a sysadmin, CS is about as relevant Arts.
 
jpm100 said:
So a 30% increase in foreign students, then.
Click to expand...

Sadly this is the truth. 50 percent of students in PHD programs are foreign and have zero incentive to stay after they finish it.

Fucking pathetic really , our educational system. Go to college , go in debt to the tune of between $50,000-$100,000 (or $300,000 for a PHD) , hope you get a job , do not end up getting the job you wanted , take a far lesser job while waiting for the job you went to school for , make fractional payments on massive student loans and carry debt for decades if not the rest of your natural life.

I got a GED and now I'm making $85,000 a year with the job I have. Skipped college , no big debt.
 
I have to wonder at what point the scale starts to tip and you end up with an oversupply of CS majors for the market? I imagine part of the reasoning though is that students ask for advice and end up getting, "Oh, you don't want that major! It's passe! Go into this one instead!" And then you have busloads of kids entering university all going for the same degree even though what they needed was support and direction, not heavyhanded pushing.
 
LuminaryJanitor said:
no reputable CS course is teaching people to configure a Windows installation, administer a database, assemble a PC or set up a router.
Click to expand...

A good CS person is foremost a problem solver - and those are all pretty simple sorts of problems that any one that spends all day on a computer, is half-good at problem solving, and has access to Google should be able to at least half-figure out and make work. If someone can't figure out how to install windows, how are they going to react when you introduce them to a new language or API or they have to work with code that uses an algorithm or design pattern they weren't explicitly taught in school?
 
Seems like we just went through this during the dot-com bubble. People getting into IT and CS for the money.

We all know how that ended.
 
Nytegard said:
That's one thing that always bothered me with this field. I realize there's a shortage, and I'm all for having more people fill it. I also realize that the world is becoming more techified, so having some knowledge is probably for the best.

But more and more I see people who say they got into CS because it was going to pay well over they got into CS because they were interested in computers. Yes, I understand many people take jobs for the paycheck alone. But it's changing the culture (and not always for the best). Also, quite often, software development requires problem solving, where the people who are focused purely on the money look for the quickest way to solve it, rather than the better way to solve it.
Click to expand...

This thread was done in one
 
The good news, if you're a good developer your job will become increasingly more secure. The bad news, if you're a good developer more and more of your time will be spent cleaning up the mistakes of bad programmers.

Most of the people I work with have CS degrees, I don't. Most of the people I work with still don't understand how to write good, decoupled, testable programs. They don't understand dependency injection and when you try to explain it to them you get a deer in the headlights look. All of them are able to solve problems but most are unable to do it in a way that keeps the code quick and maintainable. Despite working with an object oriented language, they don't understand polymorphism and usually just write 2000 LoC methods and call it a day.

This is the future we have to look forward to. Poorly written, unmaintainable systems full of regression bugs. The good programmers will try, unfortunately, there will just be too few of us left. Meanwhile the salaries in our profession will drop like a rock due to the flood of crappy programmers. Decreasing the preceived value of all of us.
 
I have a degree in computer science and haven't done anything with it. A degreee alone doesn't mean shit, it's how much you know about something.
 
Majoring in CS is stale and stupid these days. Unless your passion for programming is above and beyond, I have to say you're in for a long haul of shit.

Computer Engineering, or Business/IT will get you 20 million times further than a degree that is being outsourced.
 
Godmachine said:
Sadly this is the truth. 50 percent of students in PHD programs are foreign and have zero incentive to stay after they finish it.

Fucking pathetic really , our educational system. Go to college , go in debt to the tune of between $50,000-$100,000 (or $300,000 for a PHD) , hope you get a job , do not end up getting the job you wanted , take a far lesser job while waiting for the job you went to school for , make fractional payments on massive student loans and carry debt for decades if not the rest of your natural life.

I got a GED and now I'm making $85,000 a year with the job I have. Skipped college , no big debt.
Click to expand...

+1 GED at 75k and a wife with just a HS diploma at 106k, experience goes a long way (in her case).
 
It'll be 2003 all over again. Hordes of graduates with CS degrees, and nobody to hire them. The usual catch 22 will apply, and they'll all be off flipping burgers with $50k in student loan debt. I know, I was there and saw it happen. I was just one of the lucky ones who got my foot in the door, but the vast majority of my classmates and friends weren't so lucky. They pull this shit every few years and flood the market in some field (nursing, IT are the worst) with graduates, then hang em out to dry.
 
B2BigAl said:
It'll be 2003 all over again. Hordes of graduates with CS degrees, and nobody to hire them. The usual catch 22 will apply, and they'll all be off flipping burgers with $50k in student loan debt. I know, I was there and saw it happen. I was just one of the lucky ones who got my foot in the door, but the vast majority of my classmates and friends weren't so lucky. They pull this shit every few years and flood the market in some field (nursing, IT are the worst) with graduates, then hang em out to dry.
Click to expand...

Yep.
 
you guys are scaring me... I'm currently in college for CE, I hope its drastically different than CS, seeing your comments...
 
The IT field is already saturated with dime-a-dozen developers, sysads, and everything else under the sun that get paid nothing. All it needs is another tidal wave if new graduates expecting high salaries upon graduation that are shocked they're not able to make the money they thought they could. IT growth is flat and the number of people needed to support any given thing is decreasing. It's a much better time to be in some other industry with some other degree.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top