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A comment on Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble. Parent comment

Re:Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the... by closeparen on Saturday August 12, 2017 @04:15PM (#14999744)
>Did everyone suddenly forget all the un/underemployed college graduates we've got? Are they stupid, too?

I think you'll find the HN consensus is that they're stupid (or were tragically misled) for going to college in a major other than computer science or engineering.

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Re:Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the... by ptero on Saturday August 12, 2017 @05:21PM (#15000036)
Ok, I will bite. I do not think blanked statements "CS or fools" make any sense, but I think a number of folks who dedicated 4-8 years of their lives to getting a liberal arts degree did this without a clear idea of what they can realistically expect at the end and making backup plans.

A PhD in English or French culture may make sense, but one must realize that professional opportunities outside academia are sparse and number of positions in academia is small.

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Re:Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the... by jmenn on Saturday August 12, 2017 @11:01PM (#15001258)
They're probably a lot worse inside academia for those fields. That said, everyone I know with an MA in English is doing really well for themselves, both inside and outside the academy. Maybe it's my small sample size though.
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Re:Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the... by 8fGTBjZxBcHq on Saturday August 12, 2017 @11:15PM (#15001307)
This argument is strong only if you consider a BS or BA program a vocational school.
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Re:Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the... by closeparen on Saturday August 12, 2017 @11:25PM (#15001328)
It seems to be a fairly common viewpoint that your major should be vocational, and you should get a liberal education along the way in core and elective classes.
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Re:Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the... by opencl on Saturday August 12, 2017 @04:44PM (#14999863)
There are plenty of CS/engineering majors who end up un/underemployed too.
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Re:Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the... by tonyedgecombe on Sunday August 13, 2017 @03:21AM (#15001910)
The UK seems to have a particular problem with this: https://www.studyinternational.com/news/uk-computer-science-...
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Re:Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the... by manmal on Saturday August 12, 2017 @05:31PM (#15000102)
Here in Austria, you have to behave really bad to not make a decent living if you can code, or at least pretend to be able to code. Developer conferences are _flooded_ with recruiters and CTOs trying to recruit.
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Re:Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the... by wutbrodo on Saturday August 12, 2017 @11:03PM (#15001267)
That's true here too, but it's not true of every part of the US. If you're stuck somewhere with a weak labor market and unable to move, that's pretty much the only way you'd end up unemployed with a CS degree at this point in time.

I don't imagine it will continue like this forever, obviously, but the labor market is tight enough that I know multiple people who changed tired for a living, were waitresses, etc and went through a bootcamp and now make a solid living as an engineer. For those who actually have Computer Science degrees, the demand is infinitely higher.

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Re:Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the... by gaius on Sunday August 13, 2017 @06:46AM (#15002397)
major other than computer science or engineering

The unemployment rate for CS grads in the UK is 10%, one of the highest. It's been up as high as 13% in recent years. The skills shortage is a complete myth designed to lower wages by inflating supply.

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Re:Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the... by krisroadruck on Sunday August 13, 2017 @07:39AM (#15002516)
Just tossing this out there, but do you think it might be marginally possible that not all CS grads are created equal and that on a bell curve, 10% is really not an insane amount to be the left-hand-side tail?
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Re:Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the... by gaius on Sunday August 13, 2017 @08:14AM (#15002604)
Wouldn't that be the same for all majors? Why are CS grads less employed that graduates in agriculture or civil engineering or even philosophy?

Because there's a glut of them.

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