What employers want from students: a report from OOPSLA

Authors:
Phil Pfeiffer
Affiliations:
East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee
Venue:
ACM SIGCSE Bulletin
Year:
1999

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Abstract

Recently, two of our stronger graduate students had trouble finding work as software developers. Both students had done masters-level work in operating systems, networking, software engineering, and various "hot" technologies, including Java, C++, and client-server computing. Both students had also worked as programmers before starting graduate school. Given these credentials, I was surprised when these students, in effect, had to move closer to prospective employers before they gave serious consideration to their resumes.My students' experiences caused me to conduct an informal survey about the perceived value of a computer science degree. In October 1998, I asked employees from 23 exhibitors at OOPSLA '98---software, consulting, and training firms---to assess what their company expected from any applicant with a BS or MS in computer science. What follows are my findings, together with concluding observations regarding what these findings might signify.