大学生在美国大学追求计算机科学学位的人数上升，2008年的第一次六年，根据刚刚发布的研究报告。学术界和政策制定者欢呼的消息，但CIO们面临着和其他人负责的IT招聘的问题是：多少钱？computer science degrees matter?
Read what are the 10 top tech skills
Computer science grads still in demand
做企业需要员工通过计算机科学和软件工程学位开发的深厚的技术功底，或者是他们最好招聘tech-smart商业专业。
2012'S NUMBERS:Largest IT employment gains in 4 years reported
UPDATE:The 5 hottest IT jobs for summer 2012
Not surprisingly, computer science educators, software companies and hardware manufacturers are adamant about the need for computer science majors to drive innovation at U.S. tech companies. The dearth of U.S. computer science graduates is forcing companies to look offshore for qualified people, they argue.
“没有足够的计算机科学专业的学生对我们的竞争力造成严重影响，”卡里Laxer教授，罗斯 - 豪曼理工学院的计算机科学和软件工程的负责人。“有大量的谁是非常，非常在做这个工作有兴趣的中国学生和印度学生。我们将失去我们的竞争优势，作为一个国家，如果我们不把更多的软件工程师。”
When a computer science degree matters, and when it doesn't
But CIOs and IT staffing firms say theskills他们最需要的是合作，解决问题和沟通 - 所有这些都可以通过任何激励大学生进行开发。毕竟，今天的技术娴熟的新千年一代集成到他们的生活方式和把握如何远胜于他们的40多岁的老板们利用他们的无线和社交媒体技术。
"Computer science degrees mattered a lot 20 or 15 years ago, when IT was a cost center. But the job of being in IT hascompletely changed.The huge IT budgets are not even under CIOs; they're under the lines of business," says David Foote, CEO of Foote Partners, which conducts a quarterly survey of IT skills and pay. "This has brought in a whole new group of IT skills that come out of mathematics, economics, business and marketing."
Computer Science enrollments are increasing
On March 17, The Computing Research Association issued its annual report on the number of college students pursuing computer science bachelor's degrees at U.S. universities. The numbers have shown a sharp decline throughout the decade.
In the fall of 2000, there were around 16,000 newly declared computer science majors. That figure dropped by half after the dot-com bust, bottoming out at 8,000 for the last two years. But in 2008, there was an 8.1% increase. (See howcomputer science major is cool again。）
有足够的计算机科学和软件工程专业是美国高科技公司，谁表示，他们需要聘请本科生与深厚的技术功底和实际编程经验的关键。
"For our software engineering roles, we tend to look for people with a strong computer science background who have experience with programming," says Yvonne Agyei, director of Talent and Outreach Programs in Google's People Operations Department. "We need core programming skills, algorithm skills and quantitative analysis. We're looking for people who have majored in computer science or engineering or sometimes math or physics."
Agyei saysGooglehires computer savvy business majors for other departments, but not software engineering.
"In addition to software engineering roles, we have roles within business, within legal, within finance where having a facility for technology and a passion for technology are important," Agyei says. "It helps if they have familiarity with our products. Having that knowledge is really important regardless of what aspect of the business you go into."
Even with this year's rise in computer science majors, U.S. tech companies say there are still not enough computer scientists and engineers to fill all of their open jobs. That's why tech companies and CIOs often hire熟悉电脑的商务专业instead.
IBM推电脑培训业务专业
In 2004,IBMresponded to the drop in computer science degrees by creating theIBM Academic Initiative, which provides free software, training and tools to college professors across disciplines rather than computer science departments. IBM is working with more than 9,000 college faculty worldwide and around 900,000 students.
"As companies have a greater and greater need for computers, communications and software, there's been a decline in students going into IT…The consequence is the supply and demand are not in balance," says Kevin Faughnan, director of IBM's Academic Initiative.
IBM's goal with the Academic Initiative is to encourage college students to become more familiar with IT and how to apply it across industries. With this initiative, IBM is focusing on strengthening the technical underpinning of business majors rather than encouraging more computer science majors.
“生意学生没有计算机科学技能 - 介绍到数据管理或Web 2.0 - 因为这不是他们的主要的组成部分，” Faughnan说。“我们试图鼓励教师更跨学科的。”
作为其计划的一部分，IBM已经提供了100多所大学与Innov8, a simulation game that teaches business process modeling
"It's incumbent on business schools to integrate technology into the curriculum," Faughnan says. "I think of technology not so much as computer science majors, but as a horizontal skill that can be applied across disciplines. For example, you can't do marketing these days without data mining."
CIO们超越计算机科学学士学位
CIOs say they are hiring more business majors with IT experience than computer science majors.
Henry Eckstein, senior vice president of strategy technology at York Insurance Services Group, says only 10% of the members of his 50-person IT shop have computer science or software engineering degrees. Most of those employees are from Russia.
Eckstein says that when he is making a hiring decision, he weighs experience first, IT certifications second and college degrees third.
`"If I look at a candidate, and I see that they have a computer science major, that is going to influence my decision if I'm looking for a newer, low-end candidate…At least I'll know they have had good training and discipline," Eckstein says. "But it's not going to be a show-stopper for me if someone doesn't have a computer science degree. Particularly, if I'm looking for developers, I'm looking at what skill sets they have, how many years of experience and their knowledge of the subject matter."
当CIO们调查了他们正在寻找在入门级和中级员工顶技巧，他们举出几个技术技能。相反，他们最关注的问题是道德，批判性思维，协作，解决问题和沟通技巧，根据编译2008年CIO调查信息管理协会。精湛的技术是在需求 - 编程，数据库和系统的分析 - 被排在第10或CIO们的优先级列表上的降低。
"You don't have to have a computer science degree to get an entry level job in IT," says Professor Jerry Luftman, executive director of the School of Technology Management at Stevens Institute of Technology. Luftman compiles SIM's annual CIO survey. "When CIOs are asked what skills they are looking for in entry-level and mid-level people, it's clear that…technical skills aren't that critical."
Luftman表示，计算机科学专业，工程师们为'非常，非常好的IT专业人士'，因为他们的批判性思维能力和逻辑分析。但他说，业务和信息系统专业是有价值的员工，也因为他们平衡技术技能与业务，协作和沟通技巧。
“在经济衰退期间,它是被要求的工作ith its business partners to identify opportunities to leverage IT to improve processes and to improve productivity," Luftman says. "My advice to Generation X and Generation Y…is to make sure you have a good balance of technical and business skills."
Ideal candidates are well-rounded
SIM的前任主席和一位汽车行业的CIO史蒂芬·皮克特说，缺乏计算机科学专业的是CIO们的一个问题。这就是为什么SIM的地方分会一直与商学院合作，以提高他们的技术产品，并与计算机科学学院，以提高他们的业务课程。
"We don't necessarily need a computer science graduate. A business graduate with a strong computer science curriculum can work out in a lot of cases," Pickett says. "In computer science schools, we try to add business curriculum so we can get a more well-rounded student coming out."
皮克特说MIS度是IT和业务技能的良好匹配。这是不够的，他补充说，是一个电脑爱好者。
"The things we need are project management experience and business process evaluation. You don't get those from knowing the applications on your desktop," Pickett adds. "College grads who can look at a business process and find out how to improve it – those people are going to be popular."
引人注目的技术技能和商业知识之间的平衡将考虑到全球经济衰退更为重要的，皮克特说。
"In a downturn, it's even more important to get people who can solve business problems because the business problems are much more difficult to solve," Pickett says. "You have to solve the problem without significant business resources. You have to have technical knowledge, business knowledge and lots of imagination."
富特说，他会法律顾问一名高中学生要仔细了解其中的业务，他们想工作想。
“现在的问题是：你是想成为一个技术人员，propeller headguy and work in the bowels of an organization and work on…all the infrastructure jobs, or do you want to be out in front working on applications?" Foote says. "If you want to be more out in front, you might want to work in HR or finance or whatever area of the business interests you most. You also want to look at the industry – casinos, insurance, whatever, and figure out what products and services you are interested in."
Foote recommends students majoring in math or business pursue a minor in computer science. "That gives you a much more forward-looking view of IT, and it gives you more options," he says.
Computer science departments adapt to new realities
Computer science educators claim the propeller-head image is an old fashioned way of viewing their programs.
“有媒体传播的看法，作为一个计算机科学专业的方法，你在组织中的肠子工作，由7的终端24前编码，吃薯片，喝激浪，”莱尼皮特教授，主任说：本科专业中计算机科学伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳 - 香槟分校的系。“这是事实远非如此。我们的毕业生工作的管理和技术人员之间的桥梁，他们正在做的技术文档，软件测试和可用性。”
In light of declining enrollments this decade, top computer science schools like the University of Illinois have retooled their curriculums to embrace soft skills such as collaboration and communication. These departments are focused on graduating well-rounded students who can explain complex technical issues in laymen's terms.
“在过去的六年入学人数的下降已经迫使教授想想我们所教的计算机科学专业的学生，并确保我们给他们，他们需要成功，如协作学习和工作作为一个团队的一部分技能，“彼得·戒，与CRA政务主任。
卡内基 - 梅隆大学强调团队精神和协作在计算机科学程序，这需要技术和通信的课程。学生还必须参加课程的人文追求在非计算领域的未成年人，如外语。
“二十年前，孩子们，我们将进入我们的节目将是非常，非常讨厌的，我们加入要求纳入我们的计划，迫使他们成为更广泛的，”卡内基·梅隆大学计算机科学系的负责人彼得·李教授说，。“今天，我们有相反的问题，因为人们必须戏水的趋势。我们希望他们深厚而广泛的。”
Carnegie Mellon's strategy seems to be working. Last year, 70% of Carnegie Mellon's computer science graduates went to work for industry, including IT vendors such as Microsoft and Google and IT users such as Bloomberg and Goldman Sachs. The other 30% went to graduate school.
`"Where we see the demand and the high salaries are for the people with deep technical software skills," Lee says. "These students aren't just computer savvy and able to manage an IT operation. They actually understand software issues and can engineer software. Those are the people the recruiters want."
Lee predicts that computer science majors will remain in demand because industry is becoming more dependent on data-intensive computing and data mining.