University celebrates CS Education Week
Josh Kurtz
Issue date: 12/4/09 Section: News
The United States House of Representatives recently passed a resolution declaring the week of Dec. 7 National Computer Science Education Week. Drexel will recognize the national week through a series of campus events.
Jeremy Johnson, head of the Department of Computer Science and professor of computer science and electrical engineering, hopes that the week will highlight the importance of computer programming to job seekers and students of all ages.
"I still see [computer science] as a heavily in-demand field," Johnson said.
While some programming jobs have been outsourced to other countries, the outsourcing has not eliminated U.S. jobs to the extent some people had thought, according to Jeffrey Popyack, associate professor of computer science.
Outsourcing "turns out not to be as a big a problem as people thought it might be," Popyack said.
Popyack said jobs that are less likely to be outsourced focus on general programming concepts like algorithms rather than specific technologies.
Such general concepts are central to computer science, according to Popyack, who said computer scientists are usually more interested in using computers to solve problems than they are in new software.
While outsourcing, as well as the end of the dot-com bubble earlier in the decade eliminated some jobs, they also hurt enrollment in computer science programs, although Drexel was affected less than many other colleges.
"It's possible Drexel's technology focus made the drop not as big as at some other schools," Popyack said.
The drop in computer science enrollment in some colleges could affect the future job market, according to a study by the National Center for Women and Information Technology at the University of Colorado at Boulder that was cited in a news release from Congressman Jared Polis (D-Colo.). The study found that U.S. universities will only be able to supply half the necessary computer science workers by 2016.
Jeremy Johnson, head of the Department of Computer Science and professor of computer science and electrical engineering, hopes that the week will highlight the importance of computer programming to job seekers and students of all ages.
"I still see [computer science] as a heavily in-demand field," Johnson said.
While some programming jobs have been outsourced to other countries, the outsourcing has not eliminated U.S. jobs to the extent some people had thought, according to Jeffrey Popyack, associate professor of computer science.
Outsourcing "turns out not to be as a big a problem as people thought it might be," Popyack said.
Popyack said jobs that are less likely to be outsourced focus on general programming concepts like algorithms rather than specific technologies.
Such general concepts are central to computer science, according to Popyack, who said computer scientists are usually more interested in using computers to solve problems than they are in new software.
While outsourcing, as well as the end of the dot-com bubble earlier in the decade eliminated some jobs, they also hurt enrollment in computer science programs, although Drexel was affected less than many other colleges.
"It's possible Drexel's technology focus made the drop not as big as at some other schools," Popyack said.
The drop in computer science enrollment in some colleges could affect the future job market, according to a study by the National Center for Women and Information Technology at the University of Colorado at Boulder that was cited in a news release from Congressman Jared Polis (D-Colo.). The study found that U.S. universities will only be able to supply half the necessary computer science workers by 2016.
Be the first to comment on this story