Why Isn’t There More Demand For Programming Classes?

For the rising popularity of computer science and software engineering, few people at our school show much interest. We usually only have one computer programming class running; the others receive too few signups to run. When asked why this may be, Mr. Dennison the programming teacher, said the lack of signups could be caused by students who are somewhat interested in the topic not having schedule space for another class. This explanation leads to a disappointing truth about our school: we collectively have the same interest for computer programming as we do for classes like “World Drumming.”

Now, students’ preference for an easier class is completely understandable, but this could be an indicator for what major they pick in college. Companies in Silicon Valley, the name given to the area just south of San Francisco, are fighting each other for good software engineers due to a lack of qualified candidates (CNET). If there continues to be a lack of interest among our school, it could also represent a national trend. This could mean these companies will have their demands unmet for many years to come.

Another worrying factor about the students who take our computer programming class, roughly 90% are male. The STEM fields are struggling to bring more females in, as they are commonly reaching these massive gender divides (CMU). The students at our school seem to indicate that this trend will continue over at least the next decade.

Sources:

http://www.cnet.com/news/silicon-valley-talent-wars-engineers-come-get-your-250k-salary/

https://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/project/gendergap/www/

Image: https://businesscollective.com/how-to-hire-a-programmer-if-you-dont-have-a-programming-background/