18th Mar 2017

Computer science has a great outlook for graduate job prospects.

Recent reports show that there are almost 10 times more US computing jobs open right now than there were students who graduated with computer science degrees in 2015. There is little reason to think that the situation is much different in the EU and Ireland.

For 2015, the most recent for which the National Center for Education Statistics has collected data, about 60,000 students graduated from US institutions with bachelor degrees in computer and information services, and there are about 530,000 computing jobs currently open, according to Code.org, which used data from business research association The Conference Board. “Of course,” wrote former education secretary Arne Duncan in a recent article for the Brookings Institute, “we wouldn’t expect new graduates to fill all job vacancies in a healthy labor market—as many open positions will require more experience—but filling less than 10 percent is indicative of demand for talent far outstripping supply,”

In his op-ed, Duncan called for the US to help fill the gap by making technology education a priority. Some non-profits have seen the shortage of qualified tech workers as an opportunity to encourage companies to hire employees with less traditional (and more equal opportunity) credentials, such as simply being able to do the work.

But for now, it’s easy to see why computer science majors are the highest paid recent college graduates.

From qz.com