<p>When I talk about computer science I am NOT referring to computer programming or basic tech support. That would be like getting a business degree in order to be a customer service associate or a retail sales rep. I am referring to people who have jobs as software engineers (the guys who design and develop the systems that are then coded by the Indians), computer systems analysts, network and database administrators, and information systems managers, among many others. The United States is still the world’s leader in technology innovation (followed closely by Japan) and technology is growing faster than any other industry by far. Certain sectors of the healthcare industry may compare, but eventually technology will start to swallow up some of their jobs too. I don’t think people get it quite yet. Microcomputer technology is just barely starting a revolution similar to the one industrial technology went through starting 150 years ago, although I expect the computer revolution to be more intense and last longer. It’s already changing society in dramatic ways and it’s only the beginning. </p>
<p>A common misconception is that the outsourcing of menial programming jobs is somehow a bad thing. It is a bad thing for the Americans who made their living programming, but it’s a good thing for our society overall. It’s a basic economic principle called comparative advantage and what it does is allow America to specialize in more profitable and worthwhile activities, like the development and engineering of new, innovative technology and the improvement of existing systems, instead of spending the valuable time that could be spent in those activities doing menial programming labor.</p>
<p>You know, when calculators were first invented a lot of people lost their businesses and their jobs. These people owned or worked in companies that manufactured slide rulers which were soon made obsolete by the new invention. However, society as a whole, and economic productivity as a whole, has been incredibly benefitted by the invention of the calculator.</p>