Computer science majors have many career paths available.  As graduates, they may be employed in a variety of positions.  In addition to working in traditional computer science positions, graduates work in chemical, petroleum, medical, auto, publishing, telecommunications, and consulting industries. Computer science graduates also often work in areas such as software engineering, hardware design, system analysis and design, network and communications engineering, database design and development, artificial intelligence, graphics and image processing, and technical consulting and marketing.

Well prepared graduates of computer science and information technology (especially those with undergraduate degrees) are finding a windfall of opportunities.  Even during their college years, qualified computer science students are being wooed by companies to accept high-paying part time jobs (e.g., $50-$60 per hour).  Howard University, for example, reports such wooing as being common among its information technology and computer science majors.  According to federal government reports from the Commerce and Labor Departments plus the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), an estimate of 200,000 jobs are going unfilled.  Additionally, the Labor Department projects that between now and 2005, an average of 95,000 new computer scientists, system analysts, and programmers will be needed every year.  The shortage of high-tech workers is real, as the number of U.S. students who earn bachelor's degrees in computer science has fallen 43% from 1986 to 1994, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.  Clearly, we have a supply and demand problem, with only about 25,000 B.S. degrees in computer science awarded annually.  Barring a recession, there is no end in sight to the demand for more computers and networks. And there is no reason to think that the U.S. workforce will catch up with this expanding demand easily.

Under study are some initiatives that address this problem over the long-run. For example, an Arlington, VA-based industry group working with the Commerce and Education departments has established task forces to focus on issues such as recruiting underrepresented minority groups into technology careers, improving math and science education in primary and secondary schools, spicing up the image of information-technology jobs and upgrading skills of people already in the workforce.  Specific recommendations from these task forces are forthcoming.

This high-tech job shortage is not just local to a specific region; it is widespread.  For example, the Silicon Valley projections of the shortage  severity vary, but experts and studies have pegged the figures to be at more  than 50,000 jobs.  In the Washington D.C. area alone, industry groups estimate that 25,000 technology jobs are going unfilled.  Other areas of the country where the job shortage is very visible include tech centers such as Austin, Seattle, Denver and Raleigh-Durham.

When a given region's economic health is considered, the high-tech industry is a major player.  Although technology jobs account for only about 5% of the nation's employment, they comprise a much higher portion of the country's net growth in jobs.  Indeed, many business leaders say the shortage has reached near-crisis proportions and is costing billions of dollars per year in lost wages.  There is an on-going debate about how much growth is welcomed in the years ahead, and whether the economy is too dependent on high-tech job creation.

Industries often look for candidates with specific qualifications. Craig Walker, who heads Intel's Technical College Recruiting Program, says The person we're looking for should display abilities in problem-solving and leadership along with the ability to work on a team and have excellent communication skills." Greg Porter, a program manager with IBM's National Recruiting Organization, remarks We look for graduates with a background in computer science, computer information systems and/or engineering disciplines. IBM takes a special interest in candidates who've achieved special accomplishments such as designing web pages, been active in school activities/societies and have received various honors.

Opportunities and Challenges

Amid this scarcity of qualified personnel, you may be aggressively recruited by many companies.  "The job market for computer science majors is soaring", says Dmitri Perkins, who received a B.S. degree in computer science from Tuskegee University and later earned an M.S. degree in computer science from Michigan State University (MSU).  After completing summer internships at Lincoln Research Lab of MIT, MSU and Bellcore, Dmitri turned down several attractive job offers in favor of pursuing a Ph.D degree in computer science at MSU.

Several companies including Dell Computer Corp., Lucent Technologies, IBM, and Bellcore target schools with large African-American enrollments for special recruitment programs.  For example, these companies provide experts to be located on these campuses for a period of a year, to teach in their computer science/computer engineering programs.  Of course, other effective forms of recruitment are co-ops and summer internships.  Also, each company typically has a person on staff who focuses on recruiting African Americans.  One consultant, who closely follows campus recruiting, claims this year's placement will be up at least 20%. Despite the multitude of recruitment strategies employed by companies to fill the overwhelming number of available positions, corporations are still unable to find enough qualified candidates.  As such, many corporations are looking at the same candidate, and therefore entry-level applicants will have multiple offers.

For those already employed computer specialists who have the sought-after skills, corporations are enticing them to jump from job to job every few months by bidding up their wages and extracting signing bonuses.  Other  computer specialists have opted to sell their services (i.e., consulting) to  high-tech temporary agencies for exorbitant rates (e.g, as much as $70 per hour).  Although there are exciting opportunities and some benefits awaiting you including higher entry-level salaries in the range of $38,000 to $50,000, shares of stock and the possibility of a signing bonus, companies are still choosy in this seller's market.

Technology Skills in Greatest Demand

Employers say they are most in need of programmers who can handle software systems such as Oracle, C, C++, Visual Basic and Java which solve complex business problems and allow companies to communicate over the Internet.  Familiarity with both UNIX and Window NT operating systems is also expected by companies. And lately, programmers who know the older COBOL and FOTRAN languages are in demand to fix the world's Year 2000" computer bug, which threatens systems that aren't reprogrammed to recognize dates in the next century. You can see what employers are looking for by checking newspaper help-wanted classifieds or browsing through the Internet job sites.  Here are two excellent Internet sites to try: THE BLACK COLLEGIAN Online, www.black-collegian.com and IMDIVESITY.COM, www.imdiversity.com.

Qualifications Other Than Technical Skills

A computer science degree, a 3.0 or better G.P.A. and excellent academics all look great on a resume; but only rarely are they enough to land an entry-level computer science or information system position.  Instead, employers are scouring resumes for real-work experience in the business world, from summer internships and co-ops to part-time work elsewhere.  Also, very high on companies' lists of requirements are excellent oral and written communications skills, participation in team activities and membership in clubs, preferably in leadership roles.  In a nutshell, today's companies want well-rounded candidates with excellent people skills and good work ethics.

Balance Between Training and Education

In preparation for careers (not just a job) in computer science and information technology, you need to balance training (e.g., mastery of programming languages, Internet fundamentals and operating system's usage) with good education (e.g., mastery of the ability to apply fundamental principles, theories, and concepts to learn and independently acquire new knowledge).  Training is very specialized, and with the dynamics of technology, it tends to be quite transient.  Education, on the other hand, is more long-lasting and provides those underpinnings which will enable you to bootstrap yourself into knowledge.  In other words, you have to learn how to learn and be able to think logically. Once equipped with a sound education, then any training required for you to adapt to new technology becomes straightforward.  Candidates who exhibit a good balance between education and specialized training are more likely to display those problem-solving abilities that many companies are seeking.

Summary

Several job opportunities await each computer science graduate at all levels (i.e., B.S., M.S. and Ph.D degrees). Some employers are making attractive offers to undergraduates for both part-time and full-time jobs, prior to their graduation. However, those of you who accept full-time jobs prior to graduation may be the first to be released by the companies during cutbacks. From a study conducted by the Junglee Corp. of Sunnyvale, California, about 76% of the high-tech jobs called for a bachelor's degree, 16% asked for a master's degree and 8% required a Ph.D degree.

As previously mentioned, companies are looking for candidates who are skilled in database software made by Oracle, C, C++, Visual Basic, and Java.  Also, experience with UNIX and Windows NT operating systems is essential.  If you know how to design Web pages, this may also be a plus.

In addition to these technical skills, and an attractive academic record, companies are looking for well-rounded individuals whose college experiences display an appropriate balance between specialized training and a good liberal arts education. Finally, employers are seeking candidates with good work ethics and excellent people skills.

Opportunities in computer science and information technology are at their highest point in recent years, including high salaries, multiple offers, and a variety of perks for joining a company.  Although the job shortage is severe, companies are still sorting through many applications to find those candidates they want to follow up with interviews. The lack of a sufficient number of qualified computer science graduates remains a sizeable problem for prospective employers in both private industry and the public sector. There're still too many unfilled high-tech positions in industry and government, too few students available to attend graduate school, and numerous unfilled computer science/computer engineering faculty positions in colleges and universities.

In general, students who have graduated from college make the best fit in the corporate world and will most likely be maintained by organizations after any down-sizing. For the African-American computer science and information technology graduates, there is a high-tech haven awaiting you.  While in college, prepare yourself well for a career, not just a job. The ball is in your hands. What are you going to do with it?