Computer science major is cool again, college enrollments up 8% | Hacker News Reader

Computer science major is cool again, college enrollments up 8%

networkworld.com

13 pointsiamelgringo10 comments

An important question is whether the retention rate will sustain along with the rise of enrollment.

I'd be wary of the motivation of those now suddenly deciding to pursue a CS degree who in a different economic climate would have chosen a different path (e.g. investment banking, financial services, etc.)

I have a suspicion that these folks that do follow through with getting a CS degree are really grooming themselves to hold positions in tech management versus jobs that involve actual coding and engineering.

We saw the reverse effect at the end of the dot com era. Those that had no real passion for technology dropped out leaving those who truly care about the craft of programming to remain and to innovate.

A CS degree is hard. What does a fad CS major do when he runs into the compilers or OS class?

If I were looking for a relatively easy way to make money while setting myself up for future management opportunities then I'd study accounting, personally.

Valid point, but people who are just in it for the economics might go for what's classed as an information science or management of information systems degree, which are usually viewed as easier than the mainline computer science degrees.

The raw number of comp sci majors is up 8%. That doesn't mean comp sci is "cool again." There are more people going back to school -- enrollment is up across the board.

Repeat after me, more programmers is not the same thing as better programmers.

On balance, though, I think it's better to have more people trained in CS rather than fewer. Most of these people won't become programmers, but they will apply CS ideas to their own professions.

CS != programming

"the popularity of computer science majors among college freshmen and sophomores is because IT has better job prospects than other specialties, especially in light of the global economic downturn."

An old joke:

- Scientists learn to ask "why does that work?".

- Engineers learn to ask "how does that work?".

- Accountants learn to ask "how much does it cost?".

- Liberal arts majors learn to ask "do you want fries with that?".

So yes, maybe economic necessity is driving here.

so...we using "cool" for economically competitive now?

Computer science was never cool. I personally think that's cool.

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