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I have a computer science degree from 19 years ago but never used it for much. Had mundane office jobs and then got a decent tech writing job which ended in 2001. I've been working on and off as a temp ever since, doing trivia like Excel. And I haven't worked at all in 2.5 years.
I've been thinking of learning Java or ASP.net etc but there's so much outsourcing. And I'm sure people want to hire programmers with work experience and not somebody who just read a book or took a course.
I thought I might learn computer networking more, since American companies have to hire people who are physically in the office to do networking. But I don't like networking.
If you know someone entering college in America, would you discourage them from taking computer science? It can't hurt, but how many 22 year old American programmers are going to get hired today?
I would not recommend computer science to anyone now. Too many jobs being outsourced and I don't see that trend slowing down soon. You should learn computer networking since you physically have to be there plus cloud computing is becoming a big thing. Someone will need to maintain, install or program new computer servers. Better be you.
If you know someone entering college in America, would you discourage them from taking computer science? It can't hurt, but how many 22 year old American programmers are going to get hired today?
Depends on what you decide to go in.
There's a huge tech boom here in the Bay Area, so I'm not sure the outsourcing everything line is totally applicable. Just because a lot of people from India are in the field doesn't mean it's outsourcing.
The tech boom is pushing out lower income people from SF and SJ, driving up rent prices, etc. etc. Google, Mozilla, and other companies are here.
Computer Science and Software Engineering degrees are consistently listed in the top 5 desirable/worthwhile degrees. You can't outsource innovation and creativity or you're out of business quickly. But you can outsource maintenance and support.
I would not recommend computer science to anyone now. Too many jobs being outsourced and I don't see that trend slowing down soon. You should learn computer networking since you physically have to be there plus cloud computing is becoming a big thing. Someone will need to maintain, install or program new computer servers. Better be you.
Are you joking? If you are an expert in .NET, Java, Perl, C#, heck even SQL you'll be able to find a job. And yes, cloud computing is the next big thing, but that refers to the delivery of the software. Cloud-based software is fundamentally the same, with a layer of complexity.
There are tons of IT jobs out there, and it's just growing. I work in IT as a business analyst, I have offers for interviews weekly at least, and my developer friends aren't doing much worse.
I have a computer science degree from 19 years ago but never used it for much. Had mundane office jobs and then got a decent tech writing job which ended in 2001. I've been working on and off as a temp ever since, doing trivia like Excel. And I haven't worked at all in 2.5 years.
I've been thinking of learning Java or ASP.net etc but there's so much outsourcing. And I'm sure people want to hire programmers with work experience and not somebody who just read a book or took a course.
I thought I might learn computer networking more, since American companies have to hire people who are physically in the office to do networking. But I don't like networking.
If you know someone entering college in America, would you discourage them from taking computer science? It can't hurt, but how many 22 year old American programmers are going to get hired today?
First of all, no one will hire you just because you know a programming language. Java developers have to know a whole lot more than just Java. You have to understand object oriented programming and design patterns, web application architecture including web frameworks, databases, and plenty of other tools to be proficient as a Java developer. The jobs that get outsourced are the ones that just require heads-down coding. If you're the guy who can just take requirements and go turn them into code, your job will get shipped overseas. What companies want here is someone who do full lifecycle development. You gather requirements, come up with designs, code, test, etc. You also have strong communication skills and can deal with customers and other non-technical people.
Disagree about networking being less "outsourceable"... with better communications and virtualization, many small/medium sized organizations can get a lot more with managed services (remote management/monitoring, SOC/NOC services, etc.); and many are going that route - or even one step further and just skip having a traditional infrastructure and go with cloud services. Of course, one can always work for the outsourcing companies (or are people referring to offshoring?).
Bottom line - IMO, if you don't like doing it... the chances of you being the "cream of the crop" is going to be less... which will lessen your chances of being the top candidate for the job. Simple as that. This isn't to say that there are no "natural" talents out there... but they certainly aren't the majority.
If you know someone entering college in America, would you discourage them from taking computer science? It can't hurt, but how many 22 year old American programmers are going to get hired today?
My company is hiring a lot of them, but sadly mostly from the upper tier of schools, and preferring masters degrees.
I would not recommend computer science to anyone now. Too many jobs being outsourced and I don't see that trend slowing down soon. You should learn computer networking since you physically have to be there plus cloud computing is becoming a big thing. Someone will need to maintain, install or program new computer servers. Better be you.
Disagree regarding the outsourcing (offshore to countries like India). I think that trend has been slowing down a bit over the past several years as more companies are recognizing the downsides of outsourcing. Which is good; I was never a fan of it.
I interviewed with Capgemini this past Wednesday, which is very big on outsourcing to India, so I don't really agree with the slowing down.
I do think that you can be successful with a computer science degree. I interviewed with a company last week and they even wanted their finance people to have some SQL experience.
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