The CRA (Computing Research Association) runs the Taulbee Survey which studies trends in computer science education and employment. There are some pretty interesting numbers in the reports which came out earlier this year.
BS and PhD Production
I was first surprised to see just how many PhDs are being awarded. Almost 1800 new PhDs were produced last year, and the growth compared to the 90s and early 2000s is pretty staggering. The report suggests that the numbers will be even higher in the coming year, although the rate of increase is expected to drop.
On the other hand, undergraduate CS enrollment is doing terribly right now. I’d blame this partly on bad stereotypes about computer science, but mainly on most undergraduates having no real logical basis for why they choose a major. Sadly, I’m not sure if that will ever change.
