You know what? Job-hunting sucks.
Everywhere I look, I see article clippings that all say the same thing: that computer-related jobs are on the rise. Well, they're right in a way, but wrong in all the others.
First off, computer-related jobs technically are on the rise. Unfortunately, "computer-related" is a very broad category ranging from typing documents in Word to programming tasks for NASA robots. Now, this isn't to say that there aren't a lot of jobs out there for Computer Science majors (you know, that actually uses the skills we learn in college). But that brings me to my next point.
Too many people want "IT guys." Technically, a Computer Science major can perform this job well...but an Information Systems and Technology major is actually trained for it. Again, I'm not saying that there aren't a lot of jobs for Computer Science majors that are programming positions, but there's another problem.
Everybody and their mother wants at least 5 years of prior experience in whatever industry they happen to be in. It sucks to be a college grad, because even with an internship, you're probably looking at a year of total experience, if that.
But wait, there's more!
In addition to everything I've mentioned, I keep finding job listings (that don't require 5 years experience) that say they want a Java programmer. Here at Mercer, Comp Sci majors come out with incredible use of Java SE and C++. Unfortunately, those jobs want knowledge of Java EE. Which shares almost none of the same commands as Java SE.
I pretty sure this is the definition of irony.
1 comment:
Ouch. I didn't realize there was such a disconnect between what we teach and what people want. Have you made these findings known to the professors in your department? On the one hand I guess the purpose of a liberal arts degree is to teach students how to learn, but on the other hand if you are graduating with a CompSci degree I imagine you have a higher expectation of employability than might be the case for an English major.
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