Computing Professionals

Changing Needs for the 1990s

Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 9780309047906
eISBN Pdf: 9780309572842
Place of publication: United States
Year of digital publication: 1993
Month: January
Pages: 165
Language: English

Caption

Surprisingly little is known about the people responsible for advancing the science, technology, and application of computing systems, despite their critical roles in the U.S. economy. As a group, they can be referred to as "computing professionals." But that label masks an unusually wide range of occupations. To add to the confusion, the nature of these occupations is changing rapidly in response to dramatic advances in technology.

Building from discussions at a workshop, this book explores the number, composition, demand, and supply of computing professionals in the United States. It identifies key issues and sources of data and illuminates options for improving our understanding of these important occupational groups.

Computing Professionals
Copyright
Preface
Contents
Executive Summary
- WORKSHOP ORGANIZATION AND FINDINGS
  - Demand Is Fluid and Skill Requirements Are Growing
  - Equality of Opportunity and the Increasingly Global Talent Pool Are Among Supply Challenges
  - Dynamic Occupations Require Continuous Learning
  - Better Planning Requires More and Better Data
- THE CHALLENGE OF COMBINING VIEWPOINTS
1 Introduction
2 Data and Taxonomy: Computing Professionals Are Hard to Count
- INTRODUCTION
- WHY ARE THE DATA UNSATISFYING?
  - Need for Agreement on Labeling
  - Need for Better Taxonomies
- THE CURRENT SITUATION
  - Data on Employment
  - Employment in Academic Institutions
  - Data on Degree Production
- ISSUES AND CONCLUSIONS
- NOTES
3 Demand Crosscurrents: Emerging and Disappearing Jobs
- INTRODUCTION
- FACTORS IN THE MACRO ENVIRONMENT AFFECTING DEMAND
  - The Recession and Slow Recovery
  - Longer-Run Factors
    - Shifting National Priorities
    - Globalization of Markets and Production
    - New Economic Activity
- CHANGES IN COMPUTER-BASED TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS AFFECTING DEMAND
  - Recent Trends and New Directions
  - Implications for Occupational Demand
  - Implications for Levels of Skill Required
- WHAT DO EMPLOYERS WANT?
  - Differing Views from Industry and Academia
  - The Emergence of Multidisciplinary Teams
- TRENDS IN DEMAND BY FUNCTION
  - Research
    - Academic Research
    - Industrial Research
  - Applications and Systems Development
  - Applications and Systems Deployment
- ISSUES AND CONCLUSIONS
- NOTES
4 Supply: Who Enters the Profession?
- INTRODUCTION
- DEGREE PROGRAMS
  - Two-Year Programs
  - Baccalaureate Programs
  - Master's Programs
  - Doctoral Programs
- FUTURE SUPPLY: PIPELINE OR AQUIFER
  - Encouraging Student Interest
  - Experienced Workers
- PROMOTING DIVERSITY
  - Equality of Opportunity
  - Minorities
  - Women
- FOREIGN-BORN CITIZENS
- ISSUES AND CONCLUSIONS
- NOTES
5 Training, Retraining, and More Retraining
- OVERVIEW
- EDUCATION CURRICULA
- TRAINING
- ISSUES AND CONCLUSIONS
- NOTE
6 Conclusion and Next Steps
- ACKNOWLEDGING EVOLVING DEMAND
- BROADENING AND NURTURING THE TALENT STREAM
- PROVIDING FOR ONGOING TRAINING
- ACTING ON IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION
- IMPROVING THE LINKAGE BETWEEN SCHOOL AND WORK
- IMPROVING DATA GATHERING AND ANALYSIS
- NOTE
Appendixes
- A Comparison of Data Sources and Data
  - INTRODUCTION
    - Data Needed to Assess Supply and Demand
      - Sources of Direct Data
      - Sources of Indirect Data
    - Why the Data Differ
  - COMPARING AVAILABLE DATA ON SUPPLY
    - Bachelor's Degrees
    - Master's Degrees
    - Doctoral Degrees
      - Number of Ph.D.s Awarded
      - Demographic Characteristics of Computer Science and Computer Engineering Ph.D.s
  - DATA ON THE CURRENT LABOR FORCE
  - DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CURRENT LABOR FORCE
  - THE FUTURE
    - Data Indicators of Demand
    - What We Do Not Know—and What We Need to Know—About Current Supply and Demand
    - Forecasting the Future
  - BIBLIOGRAPHY
- B U.S. Degree Programs in Computing
  - INTRODUCTION
  - OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMS
    - Two-Year Programs
    - Baccalaureate Programs
    - Master's Programs
    - Doctoral Programs
  - BACCALAUREATE PROGRAMS
    - Information Systems
    - Information Science
    - Computer Science
    - Computer Engineering
    - Software Engineering
    - Computational Science
  - COMPARISON OF BACCALAUREATE PROGRAMS
  - SUMMARY FOR TWO-YEAR AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS
    - Two-Year Programs
    - Graduate Programs
  - CONCLUSIONS
  - REFERENCES
- C The Demand For Human Resources and Skills in the 1990s
  - THE ENVIRONMENT: GENERAL BUSINESS TRENDS
  - ACADEMIA
  - INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
    - Past
    - Present
    - Future
    - Outlook for Information Technology Investment
    - Growth Areas
    - Summary—Human Resources in Information Technology
  - RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
    - Past
    - Present
    - Future
      - New Technologies
      - Solutions to Current Problems
      - Applications
      - End-User Productivity
      - Software Development Productivity
  - DEMAND IN THE UNITED STATES
  - GLOBAL COMPETITION AND DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTIVITY
  - SUMMARY
  - BIBLIOGRAPHY
- D Workshop Program

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Changing Needs for the 1990s

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