Of course, it is easy for me to say that, considering my area of interest and expertise (technology) is one of the two hottest industries in the U.S., and I had no trouble finding a job upon graduating from college. In the past year, those with liberal arts backgrounds, no skills in science or technology, and little stomach for law or business, usually settled for jobs in the other fastest growing industry-the service sector. From all appearances, employers only want two kinds of employees-those who can program Java, and those willing to serve it.
This isn't a particularly new phenomenon. The market for history professors has never been lucrative, the most common adjective preceding "writer" or "artist" tends to be "starving," and the Political Correctness Dictionary that floats around the Internet equates the politically correct "philosopher" with the actual definition, "bum."
In truth, I'm not necessarily sympathetic towards those who choose to major in the liberal arts, and then complain that they can't find a job after college. If you are naive enough to believe that just having a college degree entitles you to a job, you deserve a few years of unemployment. However, I'm equally discontent with those who decide that studying anything other than computers is a waste of time.
Coming out of college, students have two things to sell: knowledge and skill. Right now, companies are looking especially for students who know the World Wide Web or Windows. But as Al Stevens notes in this issue, the technology in our field is constantly changing, and what's hot right now can become old hat in a few months.
The demand for any kind of knowledge is fickle, but the demand for those with fundamental skills, like critical thinking and communication, is always high. That's why traditional computer-science curriculums, especially at some of the better universities, emphasize basic theory and algorithms rather than particular programming languages.
Good courses in history and literature can be just as useful (and often more enjoyable) in developing skills like critical thinking as a course in optimizing compilers. While anyone with Internet expertise can easily find a job now, those with broader backgrounds are more likely to have a better job ten years out of college and beyond.
A common theme throughout this special issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal is that finding a software job is the least of your worries-choosing what you want to do is far more challenging. In that vein, knowing the software industry and the tools used by professional programmers can be just as useful as knowing how to prepare a résumé. We've included several articles on some of today's important technology-Java, C++, the Internet, and the like-along with contributions from some of the software-development industry's most respected columnists. In this regard, this issue closely resembles the regular Dr. Dobb's Journal. If you enjoy the content of this special issue, I highly encourage you to check out our regular magazine.
DDJ