U.S. students passing on computer degrees
Experts say trend could hurt future innovation

By Lori Hawkins and Sachi Izumi

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Friday, March 26, 2004

University of Texas students and their counterparts across the country are
giving up on computer sciences and engineering programs amid concerns about
a soft job market and the loss of tech jobs to other countries.

According to a new survey by the Computing Research Association, enrollment
in computer technology and engineering dropped by 19 percent in 2003, and
some industry experts warn of the consequences for America's global
competitiveness if the trend continues.

At UT's Department of Computer Sciences in Austin, one of the top-rated
programs, enrollment was down 25 percent in the fall of 2003 compared with
the previous fall. That drop followed a 12 percent drop in 2002.

"We find it very shocking," said department Chairman J Strother Moore. "My
belief is that there won't be enough people capable of doing this work."

Nationwide, enrollment in such programs soared during the tech boom and kept
growing even after the dot-com crash in 2000. But it fell sharply in the
2002-03 academic year, the study said.

The number of newly declared majors in computer science also plunged 23
percent in 2003.

Enrollment at UT's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department fell 6
percent in 2003 but was up about 2 percent the year before.

However, most programs saw declines similar to those in computer sciences,
said Stuart Zweben, chair of Ohio State University's computer and
information science department, who directed research for the study.

Students are fleeing for a number of reasons, educators say, including worry
over the growing trend of sending software work overseas, and worry about
the U.S. economy, which has been slow to add high-paying technology jobs.

The unemployment rate last year was 5.2 percent for computer scientists and
6.2 percent for electrical engineers, both 20-year highs, according to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"I have thought about changing my major," said Edward Mao, a UT computer
sciences sophomore, who said law is one possibility. "You can't offshore
patent law."

Technology experts worry that the decision by students to avoid computer
science careers could jeopardize the country's future talent pool.

"If you don't have qualified workers in the United States, innovation isn't
going to happen in the United States," said Matthew Kazmierczak, senior
manager for research at the AeA, a technology trade group. "We need the
risk-takers, the ones who are going to take on the new ideas. "

Also, when the economy does recover, there is the danger of a shortage of
high-tech labor, as happened in the late 1990s.

"Employment reports that take into account the economic downturn still
forecast job growth in technology over the next 10 years," Zweben said.
"We're going to need skilled workers to fill those jobs."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, for example, says software engineering jobs
will be among the 10 fastest growing occupations through 2012.

The Computing Research Association's survey tracks enrollments at U.S. and
Canadian universities granting doctorates in computer science. The number of
undergraduates surveyed represents an estimated one-third of the total at
all universities. Researchers say the findings are an accurate barometer of
what's happening nationwide.

"There is a misconception that there are no jobs out there," said Moore, the
UT chairman. "What is happening is that the skill mix is changing. In
addition to having good problem-solving skills, you need to be able to talk
to people. The challenge in our case is to educate people that are both
technically superb and capable of communicating and willing to take risks."

To widen students' skills beyond routine coding, Moore's department
encourages them to get involved earlier in its research program.

"Research teaches you how to take a chance. You need to actually teach that
failure isn't bad if you learn something from it," he said.

Still, it's unlikely that this year's graduates will be as intensely
recruited as their fellow alumni just a few years ago.

"We had companies come into classrooms and try to pay students to quit
school and go to work," Moore said. "If your notion of a job in computing is
you have 21 job interviews your senior year, that's not the case now. There
are fewer jobs in computing, but there are fewer jobs in virtually every
field."

Yasuko Watanabe, who will graduate in May with a UT computer science degree,
has sent out some 35 résumés, but has a single job offer, from Sony Corp. in
Japan.

"I can't believe how tough it is," Watanabe says. "I have friends who
graduated in December, and they're still looking for jobs."

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