I wonder if not having enough teaching staff to add additional CS and engineering classes is the reason why the California public schools are so tough for CS/engineering admits. If so, they really ought to try to address that. It makes no sense for them to be losing out on these high-stat students. And that’s totally aside from the fact that their mission ought to be to serve all California students no matter what their major – it’s not quite equitable that my D as a Letters & Sciences major has so many more opportunities than STEM applicants do.
On the other hand, maybe too many students are trying to go into CS and engineering right now? Will there be job opportunities for all of them?
@socalmom007 Sorry! You’ve been talking Freshman, and I’m talking total enrollment (thinking that’s what you had meant).
@dustypig CS, has over the years, gone through several peaks and valleys. The following paper does a quick summary of what’s happen before, and what may happen in the future.
Honestly @dustypig I wish they would just accept them undeclared then, like other schools do. It’s heartbreaking for some of these kids to end up shut out everywhere.
Yes @Gator88NE I was unclear in my first post, I meant freshman seats in CS departments.
I also question wether there will be a “glut” of CS majors looking for jobs in the next 5-10 years. It is very common for tech companies to farm out their entry level jobs to overseas workers and H1b visa programs.
My DH with 20 years in IT has been looking for employment for 6 months - his job was offshored and his position was filled by 8 new hires in India - none of them can do the job in total, but they cost less than one person who can do the whole job.
Did you see the news special the other night about the IT department at a large children’s hospital that was offshored completely to another country? As part of the terms of their severance package they were required to sit and train their replacements. Brutal.
Congrats to those hearing good news and hugs to others who are having some disappointments. We have been fortunate to get good news from Rice & Carnegie Mellon engineering. DS will need to decide what schools to revisit over his spring break. Recently went back to USC and GTech which was helpful. Soon all decisions will be out – not a lot of time to finish this process and make a decision. Good luck to all still trying evaluate options.
@5redheads – I do think the use of the H1b visa as you described needs to be addressed. So sorry your DH was caught up it this.
@5redheads Are there any govt/defense jobs in your area? Those are jobs that often require a clearance and can’t be outsourced. Good luck to him.
@carachel2 I believe you are referring to last week’s 60 Minutes episode. That hospital was at UCSF which was very maddening, especially considering it’s a public institution.
@youcee --yes! I couldn’t remember if it was 60 minutes or 20./20. At the very end they said they are slowly starting to hire some of them back. Those IT professionals seemed to be VERY dedicated to their role in assuring things worked well at that hospital for the children who desperately needed it–and it has become quite clear that the offshore IT employees don’t have the direct care passion the department was once known for.
It seems 1 out of every 2 kids I’ve spoken with is applying to to college as a CS major. I haven’t done any research on it as my son is not a STEM kid but my experience over the past 10 years is that companies (non-tech) in the US do not seem to hesitate to say that their IT/ Tech people are irreplaceable. Outsourcing to other countries used to be what was happening but now companies are offshoring. It removes the negative connotation associated with outsourcing and provides an international presence. This is also allows companies to tout themselves as able to “follow the sun.”
@5redheads Sorry about what happened to your H. It’s people like your H, 20 years in IT, that are affected the most right now because they are viewed as being too expensive. A company can hire multiple individuals for the salary they would have to pay your H.
As far as kids going into CS and tech, my evidence is completely anecdotal, but based on my daughter’s friends… for many Asian and South Asian immigrant parents there are only a couple of acceptable paths, medicine, or engineering/CS/tech. All of the high achieving kids of Asian decent we know are headed into these fields. My daughter’s boyfriend is an avid debater and I think he could do very well in a political science/pre law type of track… but that was never really on the table. Don’t get me wrong, he loves computers, but that is also what his parents were expecting.
Ds Received an acceptance packet for fall at USC (California) yesterday. We were surprised with this and I don’t think it changes anything but it gives him something to think about for a few days. Guess that deposit to Kentucky will wait a little longer to be submitted.
@5redheads I am so sorry, that is incredibly sobering. Having gone through a couple of layoffs during the recession in an at the time saturated field (marketing) I can relate. I still worry about it at times.
My son is a CS major and was WL at Cal Poly. My brother, years ago, worked for the company that did FarmVille. They finally outsourced to India and his team had to train their replacements in India. :-<
My mistake earlier was not having enough coffee I meant to say that over the past 10 years, companies are saying their IT/ Tech people are replaceable (not irreplaceable).
Was away for the weekend, so catching up now! Hugs and congratulations where applicable!
D was accepted at Hamilton, which is a whew after that little misadventure with her midyear grades report being sent to them late. I do like that Hamilton personalizes their acceptance letter - D’s contained a callout to something in her essay. I was a bit worried about the results after she got waitlisted at Colby and Kenyon, but Hamilton did have a short ‘why Hamilton’ essay she was able to submit and she had a really great alumni interview, so maybe that actually helped!
Final result she’s waiting for is Vassar on Tuesday before we figure out how many admitted student visits she’s going to try to do. I have to say, I feel really good about her current options!
I meant to say that over the past 10 years, companies are saying their IT/ Tech people are replaceable (not irreplaceable).