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Comment by logical_person | Hacker News Reader

This article is absurd, the statistics are entirely around "computer and information science" degrees - note this is NOT comp. sci. What software developers do any of us know with that major, lol? As if the # of software engineers in the job market is tied to that major at all (or any specific major, really)...

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> "computer and information science" degrees - note this is NOT comp. sci

If you read the reference, you'll see that the phrase 'computer and information science degrees' really means all degrees related to computer science, information science, software engineering, etc. It doesn't literally mean a degree called 'computer and information science', like you think it does. So yes it does include anyone with a computer science degree.

The reference does not state what other majors are categorized under CIS, unless you've got a link?

The article says:

> bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. degrees in computer and information science (CIS). [6]

So your first strong hint is already here without reading anything else. They say 'computer and information science' - they don't say 'Computer and Information Science' so it already looks like it's not a proper noun and they are talking about a group of degrees not a specific degree.

But that [6] takes us to this:

> 6. National Center for Educational Statistics. Digest of Educational Statistics. Tables 322.30, 323.30, and 324.25, (2020); https://bit.ly/3opVMCL

Look under Chapter 3, Section 322, and you can see a table of degree classifications, Table 322.10.

You can see how broad each class is, and that 'computer and information sciences' (again lower case)' are listed alongside other broad classes such as simply 'engineering'.

Footnote 3 again makes it clear they're broad classes:

> Includes Engineering technologies and engineering-related fields; Construction trades; and Mechanic and repair technologies/technicians.

Thanks for the reply! I'm glad you're able to click the link and read the same table, which does not clarify what majors are categorized in these groups. Another user posted a category 11 link, for example, where CIS includes "word processing" degrees, while excluding CE & EE (but still, the table does not claim that their statistics under that grouping are category 11).

Do you work with a lot of software developers with word processing degrees?

> which does not clarify what majors are categorized in these groups

Ok, but we now understand it is a group of majors, and not a single major or degree, right?

I'm sure its an poorly defined group, yes.

> Do you work with a lot of software developers with word processing degrees?

I work with software developers with an almost endless variety of degrees and non-degrees.

what? i'd say ~90% of the people I know in software have CS degrees, and the balance have EE, CE, or no degree at all.

CIS is not computer science.

I understand that there are many people who want to insist that "computer science" is not programming, and that computer science degrees have nothing to do with programming.

At the same time, many of us went to college and got degrees that our university called "computer science" and we learned how to develop software and became software developers. and people continue to do this.

That's not relevant to the point they are making. CIS is a different major than CS.

That's not what that means. It's an official grouping of subjects by the Department of Education.

It'd cover everything under CIP code 11:

https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/cipdetail.aspx?y=55&cipid=...

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