<p>I'm currently pursuing a BS in CS from University of Michigan and plan on getting a MS in CS as well. I've read numerous articles stating that US companies like Microsoft, Ford Motor, or any company in Silicon Valley are having "difficulties filling in tech positions" and are looking for talent (what kind of talent?). Not only that, but I've also read that there is NOT a STEM shortage, as many are stating, and companies would rather hire workers from overseas than their own home country.</p>
<p>What's the truth? Can anyone elaborate? My goal is to work as a software engineer for Silicon Valley or any top tech company after graduating.</p>
<p>There’s a shortage of STEM graduates who will work for relatively low wages, which is why companies like H1-Bs.</p>
<p>There’s also a problem in that companies don’t like spending time training employees, so they want people who know everything about everything. They can’t find people like that, which causes them to complain that there aren’t enough qualified workers.</p>
<p>If you have a CS degree and you’re semi-competent, you should be able to find a job within a few months of graduation. You may have to move to where the jobs are, though.</p>
<p>Companies used to train employees. Now they say they can’t do it because they’re in a rush to develop products, and don’t have time to train anyone. New employees have to “hit the ground running.”</p>
<p>Also, there was a tradition of job-hopping in high tech, and companies felt they were wasting money to train employees who weren’t around very long. When I first started working as a programmer in 1983, 2 or 3 years was as long as anyone stayed in a job. It’s not quite that crazy these days.</p>
<p>People usually hop jobs every 1-3 years because that’s the faster way to get promotions/raises over the course of your career (in the defense sector). If you stay with the same company, you may be looking at 2-8% raises per year maximum. If you jump from company to company every 2 years, you’re looking at at least 10% for each jump usually. This matters a lot when your a junior developer/engineer.</p>
<p>The project that I work on has a very low new hire retention rate for 12 months. The problem may be that the company feel like it’s a waste of money to train someone who won’t stick around… but these new hires left because the company was not willing to train them. Go figure.</p>
<p>The answer to your question is YES but you need a skillset that can have you “hitting the ground running” when you graduate. As for myself (a Math/CS undergrad degree), I made it a point to take courses in databases, networks and operating systems to get me noticed.</p>
<p>Now you have industry certifications to help you when starting out. If you want to do pure development, look into getting the Java Certification from Sun/Oracle. If you want to come in as a junior systems admin, take the 1st level Linux certification. That will get your feet in the door and then you can get your employer to help get you into technologies that you REALLY like (if you don’t want to do the Java or Linux thing)</p>
<p>You work a “gopher” job for 2-5 years than you get a better paying job. Its the same for every career. As for getting the gopher job, it should be far easier for a computer sci/engineer guy than a business guy as there are few STEM grads.</p>
<p>Talk to people. It seems like a 1/3 of the people from Michigan I knew in CS went to Google/Microsoft/Amazon/Facebook. The rest still do pretty well. I’m at a smaller Midwestern company, pay is pretty damn good, especially for the area. </p>
<p>At Michigan I don’t think any major has as good of employment prospects as CS majors. </p>
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<p>At Michigan I’ve never heard of a person in CS that didn’t find a job before graduation.</p>
<p>Domino’s isn’t so bad… Yeah, kind of low prestige for a school like Michigan, but it’s a perfectly fine option for someone looking to stay in Ann Arbor. But as I said, I know plenty of people who go to top companies, but if you think anything less than Google/Microsoft/Amazon/Facebook “doesn’t count” then sure, plenty of people don’t find jobs ever. I don’t have a job now at all. </p>
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