A declining large tech job market affects students studying computer science –
Barsha Mishra
A shrinking major tech job market affects students studying computer science
Pakyong, Dec 11: Tech giants like Facebook, Google and Microsoft have promoted software employment to students as a path to rich careers and the ability to change the world, fueling the explosion in computer education.
Over the past ten years, young people worldwide have flocked to the study of computer science, or the study of computer coding and processes such as algorithms, on university campuses because of the possibility of six-figure starting salaries, benefits such as free food and the opportunity to work on applications developed by used by billions of people. According to the Computing Research Association, which monitors computing degrees at about 200 colleges, the number of undergraduates studying in the field more than quadrupled from 2011 to 2021, to about 136,000 students.
In addition to making it difficult for recent graduates to land new jobs, the layoffs have made it difficult for college students looking for high-paying summer internships at major consumer technology companies.
In the past, computer companies recruited qualified job prospects through their internship programs and made offers to many graduates to come back as full-time professionals after graduating. However, these opportunities are becoming fewer this year.
For example, Amazon hired about 18,000 interns this summer and paid many computer science students about $30,000 for their work, excluding housing allowances. The firm is now considering cutting the number of internships by more than half for 2023, according to a person with knowledge of the program who was not authorized to speak publicly.
