CIO —
The future of the U.S. information technology industry—and thus the competitiveness of the nation—is caught in a trap of misperception. Since the burst of the dotcom bubble in 2000, young people have avoided careers in information technology. The number of computer science majors at U.S. universities has plummeted. Worse, the dwindling pool of people who enter the field is losing diversity even more rapidly, a tragedy for a field that already had one of the lowest participation rates by women, African-Americans and Hispanics. Now more than ever, the field attracts people who are fascinated with programming and technology for their own sakes—to put it harshly, the true geeks. High school students who do not devote all their waking minutes to computers and programming feel they are unfit for careers in computer science.
Yet the demand for people with computer science skills is at an all-time high. The latest figures from the U.S. Department of Labor show that the number of computing-related jobs has surpassed the previous peak in 2000. What is more, computing-related jobs are no longer an isolated component of American industries; IT underpins every function of the business community—market research, product design, finance, strategic planning, environmental issues—every aspect of doing and leading. That means these jobs are not only vital but fun. They require people who have strong technical knowledge but who also can work and contribute in a much broader realm. A recent New York Times article dubbed this kind of IT professional “the renaissance geek.” The leaders of Microsoft, Google and other companies have made their point clear: Give us more well-trained, well-rounded computer scientists!
The reality is that a career in IT is dynamic and in demand. Yet the myth of a narrow, boring and uncertain work life persists. Unless this misperception is corrected, we will continue to lose talent, and the United States will become a technology backwater. Companies will shift technical and innovative work offshore. Our standard of living will decline because the driving force behind today’s economies is innovation, which, in turn, requires a workforce that is highly educated in science and technology.
So what are we to do? Addressing this issue will require significant changes in our culture. I take heart in past educational campaigns that have made a difference, such as the antismoking efforts of the last 30 years. But the answer requires more than public relations. Industry, government and academia all have a duty to cultivate and celebrate the dynamic nature of today’s computing careers. As a professor of computer science and dean of an engineering school, I believe that substantial responsibility for the current situation lies in the way we teach engineering and applied science. We can do so much more to attract and engage young people from kindergarten through graduate school.
