Word of caution for aspiring CS majors - [wealthy mom textboard site]

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/compute...-job-market-7ad443bf

WSJ is reporting what many are already seeing -- market for CS majors is pretty saturated.

Are English majors in high demand?

Actually, yes. The future is bright for humanities majors.

For low paying jobs.

I make $300,000. But sure.

Kids that have actual social skills are in demand more than. Kids that can communicate effectively, look people in the eye when talking, write effectively. Kids with great time management skills and EQ.

All of these executive functioning disorder/adhd Geniuses glued to a screen, not so much.

My husband always tells our HS sons--if you put down the iphone and channel more time in face-to-face and real world you are going to fare so much better than the others of your generation. Set serious limits.

Read the 'Anxious Generation'--if nothing else doesn't convince you that tik tok and SM and iphone are dumbing the h*ll out of our kids and making them socially inept IRL.

anxious generation...

What market isn't saturated?

Also, this is why it is so hard to get admitted to a CS program -- they aren't expanding the seats to meet student demand unless there is market demand.

UMD CP actually halved the CS class, but I think that was due to too many students who are not ready for it being interested in it, and wanting to keep the classes more intimate. UMD is also developing its AI/ML programs.

Job market is cyclical, but low level IT jobs have all been offshored. The big thing now is AI and ML, both of which are related to CS degrees. Some colleges are now starting to offer AI majors. That's the next big thing.

Lets push more kids into a technology whose primary benefit is requiring less workers

It's good that they're not expanding the seats. My English major found a good high-paying job quite easily out of school, but I know there are not clearly established paths for those majors as there are (or at least used to be) for CS majors.

Please share firm and $.

I won't name the firm but it's a large consulting firm with quantitative focus. Salary is around $90k. I agree with the advice to go to the best school you can get into, do as well as you can in that school, and don't accept the notion that you are limited by your major. My English major also took math, econ, government, etc, so firms knew she could do the work.

Great advice.

And hustle. Wherever you are.

I've already help DS [dear son] research the clubs/teams to join at Ivy - will be freshman in fall.

The parenting job doesn't end once they get in to a top college or program. It shifts and changes. Now they need life & career advice. Show them where to look, questions to ask, clubs to join, people to meet.

I know this is much harder with introverts….

Ugh

Many CS majors end up with contractors and bouncing from job to job with little job security.

A friend seems to be "off" every few months as they say, looking for a new gig.

They are probably in lower level jobs or in older tech. My spouse was the same. Luckily, spouse is at the tale end of their career and retiring.

This economy sucks

I guess people should go into the low paying industries like home health care hospitality instead since that is where the job growth is.

Get a liberal arts degree (economics and something soft) from the highest ranked school you can.

Recruiting for finance, consulting, and corporate /strategy roles are much much easier if you are in English and economics major coming from Rice or Vanderbilt or Emory compared to CS at Purdue…..

Ask around people!!!

lol at this bs

Unless you have good connections/networking, that will not help.

DS [dear son] will graduate from an Ivy, commencement is today, and he is still looking for for a job, as most of his friends who don't have connections. Those with connections have good jobs.

Your kid had to join the clubs in schools and network network network….

Nothing lands in your lap.

These "clubs" arent the only way to network. One of my undergrad TAs encouraged me to apply for a job he used to have, since I had mentioned in office hours that I was interested in that subfield and I had a high A in the class. You don't need to golf.

+1. Some seem to think it's not fair when a person gets in the door a job interview due to connections, but you need to work to develop those connections.

Ultimately though, outside of CS, you need a graduate degree if you don't want to hit a hiring ceiling a few years down the road.

Huh? Why wasn't your kid networking? It's a requirement in life…..

Social skills people.

Golf and tennis….

That's why my kid is double majoring with math. Hoping for options...just in case.

Also, 90% of the people who were CS, along with myself in undergrad, moved into other areas like sales or management. Very few spent their career in tech. Some of the best product managers I've met at top Silicon Valley companies started off as Engineers even before going on to business school.

My husband is a senior software engineer with a highly specialized skillset; the market for entry-level to low mid-level is extremely saturated and starting salaries are no longer competitive.

Party's over!

I know! My oldest just graduated from UMDCP and only got 3 offers for over 120k.

Nice!!

That's why my kid is double majoring with math. Hoping for options...just in case.

My kid is also a double major in math and CS, but only because they love math. I don't think a math major in and of itself is lucrative.

Math connects back to the data science and financial quant side (and goes further "just for fun")

This is why we need entrepreneurs to create more of the jobs your kids want.

We need your kids to be the entrepreneurs! That's what Gates and Zuckerberg and Page did!

Being an entrepreneur is too hard for most people. I say this as an owner with 50 employees and $26M in sales last year. People want the success without the risk and pain. Honestly, most people are basic and want a steady paycheck for minimal effort.

I mean, my CS major took English and Business classes (straight As). I guess they can do non CS related work, too?

+1 Our CS major is minoring in creative writing and theater.

Very soon the CS degree will be considered obsolete

+100

good thing my CS major kid can communicate effectively and look people in the eye (debate team), and write effectively (IB DP grad), as can many other students of other majors, not just English.

English majors aren't in high demand, though. So, it's better to major in STEM or business AND communicate and write effectively.

Just returned from a college reunion, and my friends' kids who majored in CS and graduated last year and this year are all un- or under-employed. It seems pretty obvious to me that low-level CS jobs are the first to be gobbled up by AI. If you go to a top school, it truly does not matter what you major in. Most of those kids who want top jobs in tech, finance, consulting will get them. Majoring in something skill-based is more important if you attend even a slightly lower-ranked school. This is why people work so hard to secure spots in the Ivy-plus schools.

Again the data doesn't agree with your imagination.

Harvard english major 4 year out median salary = $49,675

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?16602...301=&fos_credential=3

This is utter BS.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

oh shit there's 10+ more pages of this shit