You have probably heard or read about in the press that there is a decline in the students who are majoring in Computer Science which may lead to more jobs being sent to overseas.
This is definitely not a good thing for a country which needs to stay as a leader in various technological fields. Offshoring has been a “problem” mostly for the people who are looking for jobs whereas it was probably beneficial for the companies when the reduced labor costs are considered. However, everything has a reason and the companies often complain about the lack of quality CS grads in the candidate pool. Recently, Bill Gates even said: “Anybody who’s got good computer science training, they are not out there unemployed. We’re just not seeing an available labor pool.” There seems to be a pressure from Microsoft for the government to dismiss the H1B visa cap which limits the number of foreign people to be hired. Needless to say, being a foreign engineer, I thing that would be a great thing.
Despite all the outside factors and political reasons that cause jobs to be shifted overseas there is a lesson to be learned for those of us who are advancing in technical majors and it is to focus on the skills that the industry is looking for. I don’t see a reason why low level programming jobs to come back or even stay inside the US. What companies are looking for are people with higher technical skills. In today’s world, where it may be possible to be a programming guru without higher education, it is very critical for one to distinguish himself/herself from the bunch. It is crucial to realize that some low-level skills are commoditized.
There was also an article on Nashville City Paper last week which pointed at the decline in Vanderbilt University’s CS enrollments. Prof. Douglas Schmidt is also quoted in that article. Here is an excerpt where Prof. Schmidt also points to the need for high-level skills:
Schmidt thinks developing automation technology, which requires higher-skilled workers, is the main key to keep computer science jobs from being outsourced and replaced by lower-skilled workers.
For Vanderbilt students looking for computer science jobs, it often depends on their focus. Students who focus on research “have no problems finding jobs,” Schmidt said. Those students concentrating more on general purpose computer science are more concerned.
“They are very worried and they should be,” Schmidt said.
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