Computer Science Enrollments Rocketed Last Year, Up 22%

alphadogg writes "A sneak peek at the annual Computing Research Association's (CRA) report on computer science enrollments at colleges shows that strong demand for technically-savvy workers is luring students in a big way. The full 2013 Taulbee Report will be published in May, but the CRA revealed a few tidbits this week in its Computer Research News publication. Among the findings: Among 123 departments responding last year and the year before, there was a 22% increase in enrollment for computer science bachelor's degree programs at U.S. schools. Degrees awarded increased 0.9% and new enrollments rose 13.7%"

Based on inflation, don't take less than $53K

[Anonymous Coward]

Based on inflation, don't take less than $53K starting. That's the equiv of $36K in 1997. Inflation is a bitch.

Ugh :(

[Anonymous Coward]

I love the idea of people who are genuinely interested gaining access to these careers but this reminds me too much of the last dot-com bubble. All sorts of idiots who had no business getting into technology jumped into the pool chasing lucrative salaries and making gigantic messes once they got hired. It took years to flush them all back out.

Why this is happening...

[CaptainOfSpray]

I blame the Raspberry Pi myself. Oh, damn those fiendish Engishmen for inventing it! Nobody expected the Raspberry Pi.

Re:CS is not IT / system admin

[FearTheDonut]

Former nurse turned programmer here. Nursing demand has always been cyclical. Or, at least since the 90's when I went to nursing school. It starts with a huge demand for nurses. Lots of people jump into the field, getting ADNs, LPNs, and sometimes higher degrees. Within a few years, the demand is met and there is a glut of nurses on the market. Eventually, those people who got into nursing because they wanted a (relatively) high-paying job with decent benefits see all the crap (figuratively and literally) you have to deal with. Combined with a typically hostile workplace, many relatively new nurses end up leaving the field. The cycle repeats. I mention hostile workplace because nursing is well known for being one of the few professions out there that still "eats their young." All that to say: give it time. They'll be another shortage within 3-4 years.