Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2006 23:13:43 -0800 From: Norm Matloff To: Norm Matloff Subject: So you think the computer job market is picking up? To: H-1B/L-1/offshoring e-newsletter The industry lobbyists are lobbying Congress fast and furiously to get an increase in the yearly cap of H-1Bs issued. Microsoft, Intel and so on claim that they just can't hire enough people. Our universities just aren't producing enough graduates in the computer area, they claim. Well, compare that to the data available on the Web pages of California State University, Sacramento: First, here are the numbers of Bachelor's and Master's graduates in engineering at Sac State in Spring 2006: Civil Eng 52 17 Comp Eng 39 1 Comp Sci 74 54 EEE 75 77 ME 52 16 (source: http://www.oir.csus.edu/Reports/FactBook/Default.cfm) Now, here are the number of firms saying they will hire graduates of the various majors, as of November 30, 2006: Civil Eng 35 Comp Eng 9 Comp Sci 9 EEE 13 ME 20 (source: http://www.ecs.csus.edu/career/c-updates/) Look at the ratios of the numbers of firms to the numbers of graduates. Computer Science and Electrical-Electronic Engineering have the highest numbers of graduates but the lowest numbers of firms seeking them! Granted, we don't know how many slots these firms are trying to fill, but it should be clear that the computer job market has NOT rebounded as claimed. As I've pointed out before, starting salaries in CS and EE, adjusted for inflation, have been flat or declining since 1999, both at the Bachelor's and postgraduate level. As usual, the only "shortage" is one of cheap labor, folks. Norm