Computer Science

Computing for the Social Good

Michael Goldweber, PhD
Mission Academy

The Landscape
Broadening participation in computing, which is believed to be vital to America and Ohio's both continuing economic health and high tech leadership, is a difficult problem. There are a number of observations that can be made in this regard.

  • Jobs requiring computation skills are the fastest growing and the best paying. 2012 marked another year where all Xavier computer science majors had secured lucrative employment prior to graduation. With salary ranges from the mid-40's ($k) and up, many computer science graduates had multiple job offers to choose between.
  • Five out of ten of the most in-demand jobs are in computation-related areas.
  • Approximately 70% of all future jobs in Ohio are expected to involve computation1.
  • Computing-related degrees declined 47% between 2004 and 2009[25]. Sadly, Xavier's own computing programs suffered similar enrollment declines.
  • Initial data indicates that the computing enrollment decline reversed in 2010-2011[25]. Fortunately, Xavier's computing programs also mirror this trend. The number of incoming freshman indicating a desire to study computer science as of May 2012 is approximately twice the number from May 2010.
  • One respected study reported that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) oriented high school students described (their perceptions of) the computing discipline(s) as boring, tedious and irrelevant[15, 24]. This study did not address other common misunderstandings regarding computing; gender stereotyping, general misunderstanding of the discipline, job opportunity myths including outsourcing, perceived professional daily activities and responsibilities, lack of meaningful role models, relevance to students lives, the un-coolness factor, and the supposed need for the geek gene.

Despite the abundance of lucrative employment opportunities, even during the height of the Great Recession, it was reported that students selected social science majors at a rate of 4x over computing2[4]. Over the same period, there were roughly 4x more job opportunities in computing over those with degrees in the social sciences[5]. Most importantly, the Buckley study went on to conclude that students select a major (intended career path), in large part, based on their desire to have a positive societal impact.

 

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