I first heard about this a few months ago when I ran into Devika (one of my Rice CS profs) at the grocery store:
CS Degrees Low in 2007 But Bouncing Back
An anonymous reader writes “The number of undergraduate computer science degrees awarded last year hit a new low with the Class of 2007. The degrees awarded, 8,000, as tracked by the Computing Research Association, is only half of what it was five years ago. In 2003-04 — the high point of this decade — 14,185 students were awarded bachelors degrees in computer science from the 170 PhD granting universities tracked by the CRA. That said, after a decade of severe declines, the number of students at top universities declaring themselves as computer science majors is finally seeing an increase. Though it’s only a small increase, it’s an increase nonetheless. Experts attribute the shift to changes in job market, and also to changes in curriculum and the marketing of comp sci programs.”
It’s funny actually. I saw this with the aviation industry many years ago. When a trade/ industry is hot, young people flock to take courses and by the time they graduate & gain some experience, there is a spurt of supply and sometimes coincidently perhaps a decline in demand. The attraction of new people to the trade declines and in about 3-4 years, there is a decline in supply and so salaries go up. It’s the circle of life. 🙂
Rakesh