Students Shift to Computer Science

“The increase follows a national trend: Computer science majors increased 7.6% across the country from 2009 to 2010, the most recent available data, according to the Computing Research Association.

“Computing now penetrates into just about every line of business and academic discipline,” said Zhigang Xiang, chair of Queens College’s Computer Science Department. “It’s hard to find one field where you don’t need it.”

“People certainly realize [computing] is now getting to be a basic skill in the 21st century,” Mr. Xiang said.”
in The Wall Street Journal

Tech Executives See Paths for Women, Especially Geeks

“All three say that despite the dearth of women in senior roles, the rise of social-media companies including Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. appear to be attracting more women to the field.”

in The Wall Street Journal

Computer science grads fielding ‘multiple job offers’

“It’s a good time to be a computer science major. Job prospects are rosy for today’s graduates, who are entering the workforce at a time when tech hiring is on the rise and talent is hard to find.

“We’ve calculated that there are about two to three open jobs for every computer science grad this year,” says Alice Hill, managing director at job site Dice.com.

“We’re job-rich, candidate-starved right now,” says Stephen Kasmouski, partner and general manager of the software technology group at recruiting firm Winter, Wyman. “The supply and demand has shifted dramatically, and it has shifted very quickly relative to what happened coming out of the last dot-com recession.”"

in http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/060111-computer-science.html

Red Hot: The Computer Science Job Market

“In other words, across all fields of science, engineering, and the social sciences, more than 60 percent of all newly-created jobs, and more than 50 percent of all available jobs (both newly-created and vacancies), are in computing!”

in http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2011/05/17/red-hot-the-computer-science-job-market/

Tech sector faces “serious and pervasive” skills shortage

“TORONTO – There could soon be more jobs than qualified people in Canada’s information and communications technology sector.”

in www.canada.com

IT graduates not ‘well-trained, ready-to-go’

“There is a disconnect between students getting high-tech degrees and what employers are looking for in those graduates.

Employers agree that colleges and universities need to provide their students with the essential skills required to run IT departments, yet only 8% of hiring managers would rate IT graduates hired as “well-trained, ready-to-go,” according to a survey of 376 organizations that are members of the IBM user group Share and Database Trends and Applications subscribers.”

in Networkworld

DARPA seeks to shape young minds

“The Defense Department’s research and development agency has started an initiative to increase the number of computer science graduates in the United States. The three-year, $14.2 million dollar program will use a variety of online tools and educational approaches to guide interested middle and high school students into pursuing computer science careers. “

in http://gcn.com/articles/2010/10/12/darpa-launches-computer-science-education-program.aspx

Programming, Development Skills in Demand

“Job opportunities for technology professionals are fluctuating in the United States, but programming and development skills are hot across the country–especially in Java/J2EE. In New York City, IT managers and networking analysts have also seen a sharp increase in demand.”
in eWEEK.com

The Market For Computing Careers

“There are lots of myths about computing careers. One of the most ridiculous is the myth that all the computing jobs are going overseas. By contrast, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (US-BLS) predicts that computing will be one of the fastest-growing U.S. job markets in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for the foreseeable future,”
in http://cs.calvin.edu/p/ComputingCareersMarket