IP: Re: FIRMS GO OUTSIDE BOX, TO CONGRESS TO SOLVEHIGH-TECH WORKERSHORTAGE from Educause

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> From: "Jonathan S. Shapiro" <shap () eros-os org>
> To: <farber () cis upenn edu>
>
> As it happens, I've recently been looking for academic positions in computer
> science. The visa situation will only get worse. The real problem is lack of
> teachers.
>
> If we take "multiple openings" in a job add to mean "2" (which is probably
> conservative), there are over 700 faculty openings for "systems" positions
> in the United States this year. These are the faculty who cover the areas
> (operating systems, compilers, databases) that industry most directly wants
> to hire.
>
> Total production of new computer science Ph.D.'s in the US this year was
> 600. That's *all* of them, not just systems candidates. All but a few of the
> systems people are going to industry.
>
> Computer science faculties are getting raided left and right by the various
> companies.
>
> Student interest in graduate studies has fallen to all-time lows. It's
> simply too lucrative to jump right into industrial jobs. Given this,
> academia must either produce fewer Ph.D.'s (and therefore fewer potential
> faculty members) or it will shift to producing foreign Ph.D.'s. Foreign
> Ph.D.'s produce foreign students, leading to a further shift in supply.
>
> Meanwhile, academia continues to apply traditional academic standards in
> faculty hiring. People trying to return to academia from industry have a
> great deal to offer, but lack the usual credentials in the form of
> publications and teaching evaluations.
>
> In short, we are eating our seed corn. As bad as the shortage is now, it is
> going to get much much worse.
>
>
>
> Jonathan S. Shapiro