1
Outlook for the next decade

"Employment in the software publishing industry has more than
doubled since 1990. As firms continue to invest heavily in
information technology and demand for specialized software
rises, software publishing is projected to be the third fastest
growing industry in the U.S. economy over the next decade. Wage
and salary employment is expected to increase by 68 percent
between 2004 and 2014, almost five times the 14 percent growth
projected for all industries combined. Even in difficult economic
times, organizations continue to make investments in software.
Software boosts productivity, increases efficiency, and, in some
cases, reduces the need for workers."
-2006-2007 Occupational Outlook Handbook
http://bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs051.htm
2
Average starting salary for
College graduates by major
The National Association of Colleges and Employers
(NACE) surveyed recent college graduates
 Engineering Majors $49,672
 Computer Sciences Majors $48,717
 Business Majors $40,413
 Health Sciences Majors $39,703
 Sciences Majors $37,734
 Home Economics Majors $33,339
 Agriculture & Natural Resources Majors $32,092
 Communications Majors $31,429
 Humanities & Social Sciences Majors $31,232
 Education Majors $31,015 (SF Teacher -- $39,520)
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http://www.jobweb.com/SalaryInfo/05_fall.htm
Top Jobs for 2005-06 Graduates

In a survey, the NACE asked employers which jobs they have
offered the most so far this year and what their starting salaries
were.
 Management Trainee (Entry-Level Mgmt.)
$38,408
 Sales
$37,622
 Teaching
$31,954
 Financial/Treasury Analysis
$46,051
 Project Engineering
$49,759
 Consulting
$49,991
 Accounting (Private)
$43,987
 Design/Construction Engineering
$47,881
 Accounting (Public)
$44,776
 Software Design & Development
$53,330
 Auditing (Public)
$46,245
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http://www.jobweb.com/SalaryInfo/06_topjobs.htm
5
Top Computer Engineering schools


Smaller Colleges and Universities
1.
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. (IN)
2.
Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo
3.
Cooper Union (NY)
4.
Harvey Mudd (CA)
5.
Milwaukee School of Engineering (WI)
Larger Universities
1.
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology
2.
University of California–Berkeley
3.
Stanford University (CA)
4.
University of Illinois (Champagne-Urbana)
5.
Carnegie Mellon (PA)
6
Other well regarded Computer Sci/Eng schools
Local
1.
UC Davis
2.
San Jose State
3.
University of Santa Clara
4.
Mills College (Women only!)

Further away
1.
Cornell (NY)
2.
Georgia Institute of Technology
3.
CalTech
4.
Purdue (IN)
5.
Princeton (NJ)
6.
UCLA, UCSD, UCSB
7.
Brown (RI)
8.
Dartmouth (NH)
9.
Swarthmore (PA)
and many, many others

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Computer Science vs. Computer Engineering



Computer Science
 Liberal Arts--more variety in classes and more
electives
 Study more than just programming--create own
computer language and compiler
 Not as much Calculus
Computer Engineering
 More emphasis on Hardware and Electronics
 Lots of Calculus and Engineering classes
 Not as many opportunities for electives
Both majors prepare for careers in programming
and software design
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The MIS Degree: Management Information Systems




Usually offered as a Business degree
Studies in using and managing computer
information systems in a business organization
Strong emphasis on networking and the the skills
needed to design, implement, and evaluate
computer-based systems
Not much emphasis on programming, engineering
or calculus
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Computer animation and gaming





More and more schools are offering specialized training specifically in
animation and gaming
UC Santa Cruz's Dept of Computer Science offers a major in computer
game design.
MIT, Georgia Tech, UC Irvine and Carnegie Mellon offer curricula on
video-game criticism, games as educational tools, and game design.
Academy of Art (SF) offers a bachelors of fine arts in "Game Design",
"Motion Graphics", "Special Effects" and "2D and 3d animation"
Digipen (Redmond Washington) offers degrees in "Real-Time
Interactive Simulation", " Computer Engineering ", "Applied Arts in
3D Computer Animation", "Production Animation"
" Mario has made twice the revenue of all the Star
Wars movies combined, so it would seem to me that
academia should absolutely be engaged in this area"
Dr. Celia Pearce, UC Irvine
http://www.animationarena.com/majoring-in-video-game-design.html
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Computer animation and gaming

"The market for educational software and
entertainment software, which includes
video games, is expected to experience
robust growth over the next decade. "
-2005 Occupational Outlook Handbook
http://bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs051.htm
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Computer Programming in
different majors

There are many majors that require or benefit from
programming. For example:
 Engineering
 Economics
 Information & Library Science
 Business & Accounting
 Music and Visual Arts
 Meteorology
 Biology
 Mathematics and Physics
12
Computer Programming in
different college majors

Engineering


Many Engineering majors (including UC Berkeley and
Davis) now require coursework in programming
"Admissions requirements for undergraduate
engineering schools include a solid background in
mathematics, and science, and courses in English,
social studies, humanities, and computer and
information technology." -Occupational Outlook
Handbook 2004-2005
13
Computer Programming in
different college majors

Economics



"Because of the importance of quantitative skills to
economists, courses in mathematics, statistics,
econometrics, sampling theory and survey design, and
computer science are extremely helpful."
"Many businesses, research and consulting firms, and
government agencies seek individuals who have
strong computer and quantitative skills and
can perform complex research."
- from the 2004-2005 Occupational Outlook Handbook
14
Computer Programming in
different college majors

Mathematics & Physics


Many schools, like Cal Poly San Luis
Obispo, now require Math and Physics
majors to study computer programming
"Mathematicians should have
substantial knowledge of
computer programming, because

most complex mathematical computation
and much mathematical modeling are
done on a computer."
- from the 2004-2005 Occupational
Outlook Handbook
15
Computer Programming in
different college majors

Many Universities have centers for Computer
Art & Music Research



UC Berkeley CNMAT: "is an interdisciplinary research center,
drawing participants from many university departments
including physics, mathematics, electrical engineering,
psychology, computer science, cognitive science and music."
Stanford CCRMA "The Stanford University Center for
Computer Research in Music and Acoustics is a multidisciplinary facility where composers and researchers work
together using computer-based technology both as an artistic
medium and as a research tool. "
UC San Diego CRCA "Center for research in computing and
the arts. Since 2000, the University of California San Diego's
Music department offers both Masters and Ph.D. degrees in
computer music."
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Computer Programming in
different college majors

Business & Accounting
 In Business, writing Macros is very useful, and
is seen as the mark of a computer "power user"
 A Macro is a small program inside of a
Microsoft office document
 Each of the components of Microsoft Office
(Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access etc.) has
built into it a powerful version of the Visual
Basic (VBA) programming language.
 Programming Macros allows Office to be
customized to meet the particular needs
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Computer Programming
in different college
majors

Meteorology

"some companies equipped with supercomputers and
weather-modeling programs customized to local
conditions hope to carve a niche in the forecasting
business by providing short-term, highly focused
predictions that zoom in on a particular location." - NY
Times 7/10/03

"Weather forecasting has transformed over the last halfcentury, thanks to innovations ranging from high-speed
computers and space satellites to "chaos theory" and
gadgets with acronyms like AXBT. " - SF Chronicle
10/25/04
18
Computer Programming
in different college
majors

Biology


Biotechnology is one of the fastest growing and most
complex industries in the world
"undergraduate biological science majors usually study
allied disciplines such as mathematics, physics, and
computer science. Computer courses are
essential, as employers prefer job applicants who are
able to apply computer skills to modeling and
simulation tasks and to operate computerized
laboratory equipment." - Occupation Outlook
handbook 2004-2005
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Computer Programming
in different college
majors

Information and Library Science

Berkeley SIMS : "The School of Information Management and
Systems (SIMS) prepares leaders to understand, organize, and
manage information. Through research and teaching we seek to
discover better ways to collect, describe, evaluate, classify, store,
retrieve, manipulate, present, and distribute information. We work
with information as text, statistics, graphics, video, and audio, both
stored and real-time sensor data. "

Companies see potential profits in Information:
"Google's efforts to widen its search capabilities beyond basic Web
page results" include "a feature that lets surfers see excerpts from
some books", "satellite imagery" and a "Desktop Search" - Cnet,
October 27 2004
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