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Irrelevant
The National Science Foundation was complaining about all this in 1989... yet that didn?t seem to stop our economic growth in the 90?s.

The point being that many other things DRIVE our economy. For starters, entrepreneurs. Yes, the people who create jobs for the majority of Americans.

It takes a certain personality to go out and strike success. These personality traits have nothing to do with Phds and/or science programs.

I also think computer science programs are overrated at this point - speaking as someone who earned such a degree in the space quite some time ago. A lot has changed since I received my BS in computer science 13 years ago.

For starters, software has become commoditized. A lot of exciting work that happens nowadays in the space is not even happening with traditional software companies (of the ones that remain) but in the open source movement.

Also, computer science is a space that has become fairly staid in some ways. The need for "Phds" in software is NOT great. Various fields have promised quantum leaps but have delivered nothing in practical terms, e.g., computer vision, artificial intelligence.

And gauging open source's impact on the software industry, you will note MOST projects have not been started by Phds. From LINUX (who hasn't heard of it?) to Larry Wall's pervasive PERL (which helped decode the human genome).

The subject this article broaches appears lofty but the reality is the reason the computer industry exists is because it has served businesses. If you follow the earliest days of what is often ascribed as "computer science", e.g., Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, it was all an exercise no different than perhaps engaging in clever puzzles. In other words, none of it had direct business applicability.

But it was a chance meeting between an IBM salesperson and an airline executive in the 1950's (concerned with scheduling) that computing started its ascent in mainstream business.

The concerns aired by this article are mostly a tempest in a teapot.
Posted by: betelgeuse68   Posted on: 08/06/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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glut in S&E and visas  Professor8 | 08/06/04
it is just economics  dg mh | 08/06/04
I agree  Protector | 08/06/04
Are degrees that important in research?  s-f@... | 08/06/04
Cure for cancer is not profitable  voska | 08/06/04
Good question  Bill4 | 08/06/04
Mirrored experience.  Outside T. Box | 08/06/04
Yeah, but that's not research  markdoc.geo | 04/11/05
WHere is the need, and why is it of such low value?  No_Ax_to_Grind | 08/06/04
It's like that need in other fields  voska | 08/06/04
Its a lot scarier then that even  johnnyu | 08/06/04
Tech is sending more than low paying entry level jobs offshore.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 08/06/04
customer service jobs are going fast  V Sanders | 08/06/04
You have some interesting points there!  B.O.F.H. | 08/06/04
Absolutely correct  Bill4 | 08/06/04
A case in point...  No_Ax_to_Grind | 08/06/04
OTOH  Torgam | 08/11/04
no one can orchestrate innovation  dmennie | 08/09/04
The problem is...  markdoc.geo | 04/11/05
Irrelevant  betelgeuse68 | 08/06/04
Possisble reason  Update victim | 08/06/04
Why should the kids bother...  balsover | 08/06/04
no kidding  V Sanders | 08/06/04
"NEXT president" Hah!  Outside T. Box | 08/06/04
Loss of high tech lead is certainly next  mespoppa | 08/10/04
No....  markdoc.geo | 04/11/05
"worry about their future work force"  BitTwiddler | 08/06/04
Are you ready??? I Agree with you.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 08/06/04
haha  V Sanders | 08/06/04
Completely dishonest premise  crankyinmv | 08/17/04
The brains just figured out where the future is  MyLord | 08/06/04
Quote from a close friend...  Linux User 147560 | 08/06/04
Don't waste your time.  systemcleaner | 08/06/04
Industry Leaders Worried?  samp_z | 08/07/04
Giving advice- Mine and Yours.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 08/07/04
I have been pointing students away from computer science for three years  erok | 08/09/04
I would, but not the same way I did.  tranjaime | 08/11/04
What, Me Worry?  jonnjonnzdnet | 08/10/04
This is all you need to know about the Ph.D.  lchavez | 08/12/04
It's The Tax Gap, Stupid (Ed)  mark_pecora | 08/17/04
Brain drain  jtsylvanis@... | 09/30/04
tax solution  jessebos | 04/20/05

What do you think?

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