Over Supply of CS Grads?

Data10
Thu, 23 May 2024 06:24:36 +0000

MDparent22:

So on a related note, if CS is in oversupply what are good alternatives for someone with true interest in that area of study? Math and Physics are also of interest to similarly wired kids, but I think it becomes very difficult to do anything with a BS other than teaching route. You have to do PhD and then you’re in research.

I’d suggest reviewing outcomes for students with the majors or career paths that interest you at the colleges that interest you, rather than changing career plans based on website articles or anecdotes, which as you note often include conflicting information.

While there is some overlap; the bulk of CS, math, physics, and physics majors tend to go in to different career paths. Across the full US (NCES), the percentages of new grads continuing education and seeking employment by major are below. Among the listed math-heavy majors, all have a similar portion seeking work around 10%. The trend from previous years does not show an significant increase in portion of CS majors seeking work.

A notable portion of math/physics majors are employed, without having grad degrees, particularly math. At highly selective colleges the most common career paths of math/physics majors who do not pursue grad degrees is often finance and CS/software (software eng positions have tech interviews that require CS knowledge, may have double major/minor). At not as selective colleges, common outcomes often also include things like teaching at the HS level, working in related engineering fields (more so physics), positions emphasizing stats/data/numbers (more so math), and positions that do not have a direct relation to major.

Computer Sci: 72% Employed ($100k) / 15% Grad School / 10% Seeking Work

Computer Eng: 73% Employed ($95k) / 15% Grad School / 11% Seeking Work

Electrical Eng: 70% Employed ($85k) / 17% Grad School / 10% Seeking Work

Mechanical Eng: 71% Employed ($75k) / 15% Grad School / 10% Seeking Work

Economics: 68% Employed ($75k) / 18% Grad School / 10% Seeking Work

Math: 53% Employed ($75k) / 32% Grad School / 10% Seeking Work

Physics: 39% Employed ($70k) / 45% Grad School / 9% Seeking Work

While all of the majors above have ~10% seeking work, less clear is why those ~10% of grads are seeking work. Some may have not put a strong effort into finding work and have instead focused on other things. Some may do poorly in tech interviews, coding tests, or similar. Some may have an interpersonal issue that is problematic during interviews. Some may have a poor resume, with insufficient work experience, poorly written resume, or other red flags on resume that stand out to employers. Some may be applying to positions that are not a good match with their major/skillset and experience and/or have unrealistic expectations. Some may be applying in ways that are unlikely to lead to hiring, such as submitting a resume to every position that comes up in an online search for particular keywords, and not taking advantage of connections or campus resources. Some may have successfully found a job after graduating, then quickly been laid off or had offer revoked, through no fault of their own . Switching majors often will not fix issues like above.