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Part of the problem, say both academics and Microsoft executives, is that the technology field just hasn't done a good job of positioning itself as hip and exciting. There needs to be more of a sense of romance and magic, says Kevin Schofield, general manager of Microsoft Research communications and strategy.
"You don't have to go to Hogwarts to learn magic," Schofield said in an interview with CNET News.com, referring to the fictional school in the Harry Potter series.
In a speech to 400 university researchers gathered Monday at the company's Faculty Summit in Redmond, Wash., Chairman Bill Gates admitted that he has not read enough Harry Potter--and noted that majors like physical education are growing in popularity while computer science continues to lag, even though there are plenty of jobs. In fact, the number of computer science majors dropped 60 percent between 2000 and 2004.
"I'm certainly very worried about it," Gates said. "We're very short of what we'd like to get. The competition for someone that has the right background is just phenomenal."
Gates made similar observations at last year's event. But even as Gates deplored what he sees as a lack of both people and research in computer science, he made his annual pitch for more attention from those who are in the field. This year Microsoft offered funding in three areas, including its perennial favorite: grants for those that are exploring ways of writing more secure code.
Microsoft is also looking for research proposals from those who want to study software tools that can automate work for scientists doing research in different areas. By looking at the work that different scientists do, the company can see whether there is enough commonality to create specific research tools or even a sort of Microsoft Office for researchers.
Chairman, Microsoft
Schofield noted that many researchers already use Office, but he said it is too soon to say whether Microsoft will pursue a product geared specifically toward scientists.
"It's clear to me that e-science continues to gain momentum," Schofield said, noting that he is a researcher and not a product planner. He added, though, that there will clearly be software written that automates researchers' tasks. "I hope some of them may come from Microsoft."
The last area that Microsoft put out a call for research in is the area of preserving digital memories. The company has long been pursuing such technologies. One project, known as "Sense Cam," combines a wearable digital camera with other sensors to automatically record a person's activity throughout the day, using motion sensors and pulse readings as a guide for when the camera should take its 2,000 pictures. The readings from the camera can be combined with the MyLifeBits software, which creates a sort of electronic journal of one's day.
The idea is based on the 60-year-old "memex" concept outlined in an Atlantic Monthly article by Vannevar Bush. But with memory and disk space continuing to drop in price, Schofield said, such concepts are now possible. "We think there are hundreds if not thousands of (ways that) people can take this...and really apply it today."
As part of its call for research, Microsoft will make available prototypes of the Sense Cam and MyLifeBits products.
On Tuesday, the researchers on hand for the conference will have a chance to check out a number of projects from Microsoft Research in a three-hour DemoFest. Among the three dozen projects are Teddy, an experimental consumer robot, and PlayAnywhere, a demo that turns any flat surface, such as a table or a whiteboard, into a display or input device.
But even as there are areas that show great promise, the breakthroughs won't happen unless there are enough people doing the research, said Princeton University engineering school dean Maria Klawe, who appeared with Gates in the conference's main presentation.
Of particular concern, Klawe said, is the fact that the already small number of women in computer science is actually declining in some areas. After years of participating in talks with women and girls of all ages, Klawe said, she is convinced more is needed, ideally something from Hollywood that glamorizes computer work in the same way that the popularity of law and medicine have helped draw more women to those fields.
Just 15 percent of doctoral computer science students are women. At the top research schools, about the same number of undergraduate computer science students are women.
"We're down there below physics in some cases," Klawe said. Klawe said that at this point her best hope is that Harry Potter's friend Hermione Granger decides to pursue a career in computer science.
Gates added that it is clear the industry is losing talented girls and women at many stages of their academic career, and that there probably is no single solution.
"I don't know the magic answer," Gates said.
See more CNET content tagged:
Bill Gates, researcher, computer science, scientist, magic
He needs to hang out a construction site. You know those old C
++ programmers are now roofers after being out sourced....
If I were a savy high school kid I would make an astute
observation that shelling out $40,000+ a year for school for four
years is a waste of money when your competition overseas can
live nicely on your book money.
If a paradox all right. I don't make any money so I ship all the
skilled labor overseas. But wait! no one can afford my product!
Now I have to cut costs again! Repeat....
He needs to hang out a construction site. You know those old C
++ programmers are now roofers after being out sourced....
If I were a savy high school kid I would make an astute
observation that shelling out $40,000+ a year for school for four
years is a waste of money when your competition overseas can
live nicely on your book money.
If a paradox all right. I don't make any money so I ship all the
skilled labor overseas. But wait! no one can afford my product!
Now I have to cut costs again! Repeat....
When you combine the high cost of education, the exodus of US jobs overseas, and the local cuts (15,000 at HP), a career in the ITC industry just doesn't look like a good bet when compared to a more transferrable skill (finance, marketing, etc.)
When you combine the high cost of education, the exodus of US jobs overseas, and the local cuts (15,000 at HP), a career in the ITC industry just doesn't look like a good bet when compared to a more transferrable skill (finance, marketing, etc.)
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2005/05/irony-thy-name-is-ibm-picture-credit.html
It is really a shortage of U.S. workers willing to work for 20k/year.
There's no shortage of tech workers, this is pure bologne.
Every hiring manager I know (from several different companies) is saying they get dozens of resumes for every job offer.
It is still an employers market for software engineers in the U.S.
The only shortage there is, is the shortage of U.S. workers willing to work for 20k/year (or less).
Companies just want the U.S. market to flood with Computer Science grads so they can offer low starting salaries.
And that is why these companies are all saying, there's a tech worker shortage.
If can't believe that companies conspire, then your same idiot who is happy paying for the speculative cost of gasoline, and electricity (ALA ENRON).
It takes 30k/yr to live anywhere in the U.S. nowadays, and many places (like Silicon Valley) 60k is more the minimum (unless you are living with your parents).
So you aren't going to get people interested in a 4 year college Computer Science degree, UNTIL YOU STOP THINKING LIKE A BUNCH OF CHEAP, LYING MISERS.
Of course, there are tons of VB and Web people, but that doesn't mean much. During the dot-com boom, everybody who could spell "computer" was hired.
It is really a shortage of U.S. workers willing to work for 20k/year.
There's no shortage of tech workers, this is pure bologne.
Every hiring manager I know (from several different companies) is saying they get dozens of resumes for every job offer.
It is still an employers market for software engineers in the U.S.
The only shortage there is, is the shortage of U.S. workers willing to work for 20k/year (or less).
Companies just want the U.S. market to flood with Computer Science grads so they can offer low starting salaries.
And that is why these companies are all saying, there's a tech worker shortage.
If can't believe that companies conspire, then your same idiot who is happy paying for the speculative cost of gasoline, and electricity (ALA ENRON).
It takes 30k/yr to live anywhere in the U.S. nowadays, and many places (like Silicon Valley) 60k is more the minimum (unless you are living with your parents).
So you aren't going to get people interested in a 4 year college Computer Science degree, UNTIL YOU STOP THINKING LIKE A BUNCH OF CHEAP, LYING MISERS.
Of course, there are tons of VB and Web people, but that doesn't mean much. During the dot-com boom, everybody who could spell "computer" was hired.
I don?t know of any. If you do, please respond with a description of the position.
Tony Leonard
Missouri
"Ok I know this is an offshot but if you know any good compiler people please let me know. We are hiring like crazy and just can't find enough qualified people."
The shortage of good people is a fact.
hand. Jobs that had multiple resume's, but the company insisted
it had to hire an H1B. The reasoning was obvious, money.
Who would want to go into this industry today when the job is
going to get outsourced to the cheapest bidder.
More fun than that is the case of my current company: the boss
hired out some of the simpler code work to a company in India
that came highly recommended. I've spent nearly 80 hours in
just the past week debugging the code from this company. I
thought it was just me, but my supervisor told me that he's been
getting tons of complaints from customers about the code these
guys have done. He originally thought the outsourcing was a
good idea, now he is pissed because of the downtime fixing
these problems.
So yea, you can save a lot of money using offshore developers.
As long as you don't have to justify the amount you spend
getting it fixed by people who know what they are doing.
When handed lemons, work for M$ (just kidding), when handed lemons, make lemonade.
Leaving school, I always thought that there would be work for me, writing IBM mainframe COBOL - there are jobs, but in Manilla & Bangalore. So what - if there are jobs for architects in the US, train for what employers want.
It's painful to make the switch, but the alternative is worse.
There's no such thing as a job for life.
When handed lemons, work for M$ (just kidding), when handed lemons, make lemonade.
Leaving school, I always thought that there would be work for me, writing IBM mainframe COBOL - there are jobs, but in Manilla & Bangalore. So what - if there are jobs for architects in the US, train for what employers want.
It's painful to make the switch, but the alternative is worse.
There's no such thing as a job for life.
It is about keeping up to date. The only people who complain are the losers who haven't learned any new technology for 20 years.
It is about keeping up to date. The only people who complain are the losers who haven't learned any new technology for 20 years.
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2005/05/irony-thy-name-is-ibm-picture-credit.html
I don?t know of any. If you do, please respond with a description of the position.
Tony Leonard
Missouri
"Ok I know this is an offshot but if you know any good compiler people please let me know. We are hiring like crazy and just can't find enough qualified people."
The shortage of good people is a fact.
hand. Jobs that had multiple resume's, but the company insisted
it had to hire an H1B. The reasoning was obvious, money.
Who would want to go into this industry today when the job is
going to get outsourced to the cheapest bidder.
More fun than that is the case of my current company: the boss
hired out some of the simpler code work to a company in India
that came highly recommended. I've spent nearly 80 hours in
just the past week debugging the code from this company. I
thought it was just me, but my supervisor told me that he's been
getting tons of complaints from customers about the code these
guys have done. He originally thought the outsourcing was a
good idea, now he is pissed because of the downtime fixing
these problems.
So yea, you can save a lot of money using offshore developers.
As long as you don't have to justify the amount you spend
getting it fixed by people who know what they are doing.
- HERE IS THE ANSWER
- by wazzledoozle May 1, 2008 6:00 PM PDT
- http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/wazzledoozle/answer.jpg
- Like this Reply to this comment
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