U.S. students shun computer sciences

U.S. students shun computer sciences OFFSHORING MAKES TECH CAREER LOOK RISKY By Karl Schoenberger Mercury News Undergraduates in U.S. universities are starting to abandon their studies in computer technology and engineering amid widespread worries about the accelerating pace of offshoring by high-technology employers. A new study, to be published in May, shows there was a dramatic drop-off of enrollment in those fields last year -- 19 percent -- and some educators warn about the potential consequences for America's global competitiveness. Enrollment in undergraduate computer-science courses continued to grow after the collapse of the dot-com bubble until the sharp decline in the 2002-03 academic year, according to the Washington-based Computing Research Association. The number of newly declared majors in computer science also showed a sudden 23 percent plunge last year. Many students are making rational choices, and hedging their bets. ``It's always good to learn more about computer applications, but for stability I think I'm going to focus on business skills,'' said 22-year-old Vince Ronan of Daly City, a senior majoring in information systems at San Francisco State University who plans to pursue a master's in business administration after graduating rather than an advanced degree in technology. Good jobs rare ``I don't know about outsourcing, but I know how tough it is to get a good job these days,'' said Ronan, whose older brother earned a technology degree three years ago, but kept his day job as a supermarket checkout clerk. The Computing Research Association's annual Taulbee Survey tracks enrollments at U.S. and Canadian universities granting doctorates in computer science. The numbers of undergraduates surveyed -- showing a fall from 94,461 to 76,844 for enrollment and 23,033 to 17,706 for newly declared majors -- represent an estimated one-third of the total in all institutions. But researchers said they believed that their findings accurately reflect trends in computer education across the nation. At San Jose State University, which was not part of the Taulbee Survey, enrollment in the computer-science department has fallen by one-third over the past three semesters, and the number of majors has declined to fewer than 1,400 students from more than 2,000, said David Hayes, the department chair. ``I'm hoping this trend will stabilize,'' Hayes said, ``but I don't know that it will.'' He's worried there could be a mismatch in the high-tech labor force if the trend continues. Research for the CRA's study was directed by Stu Zweben, chair of the Ohio State University's computer and information science department, who said he was alarmed to find a 30 percent drop in enrollment last year in his own department. The cause is subject to speculation, but many educators say their students are worried that the growing trend of sending software-industry work overseas limits their future opportunities. ``I think there are policy issues that need to be addressed because of offshoring,'' said Zweben. ``We should be prepared to take a look at what we're teaching and ask if we're preparing our students for jobs that are going to be subject to outsourcing.'' Bill Gates involved The problem is serious enough that Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates went on a tour of major university campuses last month to encourage students to stick with their studies despite the exodus of computer-industry jobs overseas. Gates even stopped at Harvard University, where he had dropped out as an undergraduate to start his software empire. ``We need your excitement,'' he said in his pep talk to Harvard students, according to a report in the New York Times. ``Most of these jobs are very interesting and very social -- you work with a lot of smart people. I'm excited about the future of computing, and I'm excited to see how each of you can contribute to it.'' It's no secret that Microsoft, as well as nearly every major U.S. technology company, is involved to one degree or another in shipping software-development work to offshore contractors. The reasons to do so are compelling. Many companies turn to India because its technology workers are comparatively cheap -- about one-ninth the cost of their U.S. counterparts, according to documents in a recent tax case involving the Indian software company Infosys Technologies. Companies also say they are taking advantage of a workforce in India that is well-trained and highly skilled in cutting-edge technologies. Microsoft, which has about 55,000 employees worldwide and 36,000 in the United States, estimates it will hire an additional 3,000 people domestically in its current fiscal year, said spokeswoman Stacy Drake. ``We've always had a challenge of hiring the best and the brightest,'' Drake said. ``so declining enrollments is a concern for us.'' National goal Central economic planners in the governments of India and China have made it a national priority to train students in computer science and engineering, supporting growing numbers of advanced technology institutes. Undergraduates at top-ranked universities don't appear to be losing interest in computer-science education as rapidly as counterparts in second-tier schools. But they still face the harsh realities of the job market and their expectations are lower, said Robert Gray, vice chair of the electrical-engineering department at Stanford University. ``At Stanford they are going to find jobs,'' Gray said. ``But they may not be the jobs of their dreams.'' Ohio State's Zweben is optimistic about the continued need for technology graduates in the marketplace, and said the American university system offers unparalleled excellence at the graduate level. ``Our field is a pretty creative field, and we're teaching people to do all sorts of creative things,'' Zweben said. ``If you believe that most of the solutions to the complex problems that companies need to solve haven't been written yet, well, that's what we should be preparing our students to do.''

I just left the industry as a freelance programmer, while I was still making money at it, it seemed the opportunities were getting both narrower and less common every month. The work was getting less pleasant as well, with people expecting more for less. I don't see it as a good place to be long term, honestly. So I'm looking at something else as my "career".

I personally feel offshoring will lead to more problems that it solves for the clients, but it doesn't much matter what I think. They're gonna do whatever they've been sold on.

If I were in school now, I'd change majors to something a little more concrete. Or at least something where the suits can at least differentiate between good work and bad work.

Too many CEOs who are worried about that extra 2 cents per share profit for the next quarter are eating their seed corn. Less Americans intrested in technology majors, and eventually Indians will form their own companies to take marketshare, but that is about 5 years down the road, by then US CEOs will probably have to worry about higher taxes and more regulations than ever before because at the rate and direction things are going in the US, with a unsustainable trade policy and no effective immigration restrictions, there is NO doubt in my mind the US will become a European style welfare state.

Smart kids these days.

Last year my former company continued its layoffs and oursourcing overseas and eventually I got voted off the island. I lived in a a midwest city and it was flooded with thousands of IT workers and the job market was awful. I sent out hundreds of resumes and barely got any nibbles. After months of unemployment I moved east and within a month I had 3 job offers. I still get calls from recruiters every week, so based on that I think the market is improving in some areas of the country.

You are dead on about your statement that they will do what they are sold on.

Companies when you get down to it are herd animals that follow the crowd if there get any scent of a projected success even though it never seems to materialize.

I can't wait to stop working for them, our future is small biz. We need to over haul the tax law to the max and look at finance law changes to encourage and fund new business.

Count me as just one more displaced programmer.

It's only sensible that there would be a downturn in the number of kids going into Comp-Sci. It'll take a few years for the market to adjust.

Outsourcing is part of the problem, but just a small part.

My last programming gig was with a Fortune 500 company as a contractor. I was let go in 2001 and was unemployed for over a year. I looked for IT work for 13 months and finally woke up, contacted some people at the same company, and was hired -- as a perm (for my reputation of solid work and good user relations) in logistics.

The pay sucks, the hours suck -- but I'm working. The company will pay for a Masters Degree and IT still hasn't hired a single person since 2001. And they haven't outsourced. They just spent their wad in the run-up to 1/1/2000 and have rethought their IT strategy.

While the job market for dedicated IT professionals has remained somewhat static for the past few years, it seems to me that the rest of the job market is demanding employees with more and more knowledge of computers. When I started working for the cable company, 6 years ago, cable internet was in it's infancy and no one expected me to know how to work a computer. Now on a typical day I have to fix spyware problems, install NIC's and work with various home networks and I carry a laptop and a test modem with me. About 75% of our field technicians now have to work with computers on a regular basis, although some of them probably shouldn't be. There are some newbies and some old mossbacks that haven't adapted yet, but that's changing fast and I'm sure that in 5 years or so we'll all need to be fully proficient.

The reason why more of us arent taking these courses is because no one is getting hired in these fields in this country.

The Local Community College told me last fall that they havent placed any graduates in IT in 2 years.

I dont know about this year.

My College is one of those type. Well in a way that is, they have bounced over 75% of the CS majors out of the program there. This figure includes myself and to be honest it ruined my momentum at college so badly that I have since been asked not to come back as I was unable to find another suitable major. They seemed to set all but the very brightest of us up for failure in their system by having teachers who had no interest in teaching the basic levels of computer science. It got so bad that my entire class had to collaborate just to get our final project (which we were given two days to do and it was something even a more advanced class wouldn't have been able to do by themselves, which I verified with a friend who was at the time one year from graduation) I'm wondering if anyone else has heard of things like this happening? I would hate to think that I was the victim of the growing trend of discouraging new Computer Science majors.

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