CS Degree Interest Plummeted Since 2000 - Drop in interest may not be significant (
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Enrollments in computer science programs have fallen for several years as well. Between the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years, enrollments fell 18 percent to 28,675, and they've dropped 49 percent from their 2001-2002 school year peak.
However, researchers caution against drawing too many conclusions from recent numbers, pointing to the cyclical nature of interest in computer science careers.
"Interest in computer science as a major has been essentially flat since 2005. But, it is important to remember that that it has happened before. In the mid-1980s there was a surge of computer science students and a drop off. There was another one in the late 1990s, and this drop off is being measured against that peak" said Vegso.
In fact, the number of Computer Science bachelors degrees granted in 2007 were higher than 1997, suggesting that the drop-off of the last seven years might be less significant than it sounds. In the 1997-1998 school year, there were 7,496 bachelor's degrees granted in computer science at the universities studied by the CRA, a number which jumped to 10,376 in 1999-2000 and peaked at 14,185 in 2003-2004, before beginning its current decline.
"There is still an ongoing effect from the tech industry's downturn in 2001, which created a lingering feeling that computer science wasn't a good field to go into. But the BLS' [Bureau of Labor Statistics'] ten year outlook numbers contradict this, and their numbers are about as neutral and conservative as you can get," said Vesgo.
Released in December, the BLS' 10-year economic and employment predications found that job opportunities for computer professionals would be growing at record paces through 2016. Network systems and data communications professionals made up the single fastest-growing occupation categorized between 2006 and 2016, increasing by an estimated 53.4 percent.
"Even though the slowed interest in computer science careers doesn't look as significant when you compare it to pre-boom levels, there's still an image in peoples' heads about what's going on in the tech sector and that's going to be hard to beat," said Vegso.
| | Reader Comments: CS Degree Interest Plummeted Since 2000 | | >>> Post your comment now!
| | Degrees, we don't need no stinkin degreesThis comment and others like it are the only ones that address the issue. I have been in IT for over 20 years and never managed to keep a job for... Posted At: 08-05-08 By: Anthony Mathews | | | | | | No surprises hereIT is an awful choice of career - lots of effort, lots of domestic (and now overseas) competition, little reward and NO security.
Everyday at work I... Posted At: 06-14-08 By: Joel Riengold | | | | | | | | | | | | A user comment on this articleThis document complies with all known standards and laws.
Decreasing the number of computer programmers is probably the best thing that has ever... Posted At: 03-17-08 By: Anonymous | | | | | | OMG!Your "fortune 100" company should have some influence over the colleges/universities in the area! I think your HR department needs to be a bit more... Posted At: 03-13-08 By: Steve | | | | | | hmmCollege curriculums definitely need to be updated to keep up with demand. I graduated in 1996 with a BS in CIS and they taught us Pascal and Cobol. ... Posted At: 03-12-08 By: Anonymous | | | | | | A user comment on this article'Why wouldn't a decline in interest in a CS degree be expected? I have a 14 y/o kid who sees me constantly in touch with work - pager, cell phone,... Posted At: 03-11-08 By: Anonymous | | | | | | >>> Post your comment now! | | | | | |
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