C8WALKER said:
Hi everyone.
If this question offend anyone please don't read it and don't respond to it,
I'm here to gather valuable information not to piss anyone off. I will be
graduating from hich school this december, I really like computer programming
and I would love to work as a computer programmer. However my parents keep
telling me that computers jobs when away along with all the dot-coms. I really
want to get meaningfull information from you guys in the industry, do you guys
think that the IT job market will improve anytime soon? Is it worth it to get
into a four year computer science program? What type of demand do you see in
your industry?
Here are my thought on this subject -- one I've throught long and hard
about for quite some time.
Computer Science can be a very rigorous discipline -- if you treat it
as a science. There is quite a lot to learn, and there are nearly
infinite avenues of research.
The reality, however, is that most people and organizations aren't
particularily interested in such research, and probably won't let you do
anything particularily interesting. Many of the "computer science" jobs
out there are nothing more than babysitting a bunch of computers, or
trying to develop code around a bad design that was planned by a
committee of managers.
My advice: go into computer science because you love it -- otherwise,
don't bother. I started my University days just as the great "dot com"
era was on the rise. My first-year summer job was for a BBS company
that was just starting to move into the Internet Service Provider model,
and was one of the first to do so in the greater Toronto area. I had
classes with a lot of students who went wide-eyed into computer science
because they wanted to make lots of money -- people who went in knowing
nothing about computers, never having _used_ a computer, but expecting
to slide on through and make big money when they got out.
The first-year to second-year drop-out rate was exceedingly high --
from over 1500 students to just over 200. And second-year to third-year
dropout narrowed the field even more. By the time I graduated with my
honours degree, I was one of only about 4 or 5 doing so that year.
Everyone who went in thinking the university was going to teach them
how to use a mouse and a word processor either switched programs or
dropped out completely (thankfully (for their sakes) for more of the
former than the latter). Those who had a real talent and love for
computer science stayed on, and most of us did exceedingly well for it.
I graduated just as the dot-com bubble burst, but I readily got a job
at an IBM Software Development lab (where I stayed until the product I
was working on was dropped, and they did some cutbacks).
Personally, I love computer science. I've been a member of the ACM,
and I browse several of their journals to find out what's going on in
the latest research. I'm the lead developer and project administrator
for a highly regarded (and somewhat successful) Open Source project, the
jSyncManager (
http://www.jsyncmanager.org). I've always been into
computer science (and math) -- it's what I'm good at, and it's what I love.
However, it hasn't put food on the table for more than a year and a
half. The industry at the moment is terrible -- most of the job
openings are for either system administration (where you sit around and
babysit a bunch of computers and their networks, with little chance for
any real R&D or innovation...), or for basic middleware development --
both of which can be handled by your average community college graduate
(and for less money than a university honours graduate would normally
command).
Thus, if you're looking towards computer science for a well-paid
career, I'd suggest you might want to go with something else. On the
other hand, if you simply love computer science (like me
), go for
it. There are still _some_ areas where you can do interesting,
worthwhile work with it, including:
1) Academia, where research, creativity, and self-drive is
encouraged and rewarded. Get your Masters and possibly your
Ph.D, and become a professor somewhere, doing your own research,
2) If you're independently weatlhy (or have another well-paid
career), work on Open Source projects, again working on the
sorts of things _you_ want to work on, being as innovative as
you want to be,
3) Start your own company, if you have the business sense for
it.
Otherwise, get your major in something else. Note that you can usually
take the first-year Computer Science courses even if you're in another
program -- so if you want to augment something you love with some
programming skills, go for it (particularily if you're into math or
science, as computers are so applicable in these areas, but the
necessariy specialists versed in both computer science _and_ another
science field are less prevelent).
Myself, I've found something new (for me at least) that actually
_requires_ a computer science degree _and_ which is just hurting for
applicants. But I'm not prepared to say what it is until I find out
wether or not my application has been accepted or not (I don't want to
increase the competition or anything -- at least not until after I get
an offer
).
I hope this helps!
Brad BARCLAY