How can schools attract more students to IT?

If you want an IT job become a security specialist (but do not expect high salaries)

As a 17 year veteran of IT, I do agree with this Schrodinger’s Dog. Increasingly the cutting edge of IT is carried out by cheaper suppliers from overseas. What is the difference, for example, between a Java developer in London and a Java developer in Bangalore? Nothing except for the cost. Indian suppliers in particular seem to be dominating the IT world. It is a long time since I worked somewhere where there was not the likes of TCS, Wipro or IBM India. This is impacting on UK salaries where the trend is either downwards or flat. I am currently paid the least I have been paid for a decade. I used to be an independent contractor working on IBM websphere products but became increasingly concerned about the sporadic nature of work and the general drift towards overseas suppliers. So I have taken a permanent job for the security but do fear that I could be outsourced.

To mitigate the risk of being unemployed I have now established myself as an IT and Information Security specialist which I see as a strategic move. My hunch is that threats to the UK and UK Industry are increasing, you can not outsource governance and there will be a reluctance to have overseas persons working in security in areas that are related to critical national infrastructure or UK Government. But I am also hedging my bets and looking to study an MBA in technology management with a view to being able to move to a more general management role.

The UK appears for the moment to need security specialists to combat the threats from hackers, cyber terrorists, hacktivists and nation sponsored cyber threats. I tell young people that if you want a career in this study computer science, gain industry certifications, real world experience through internships and complete an appropriate MSc. Otherwise go study something else like business studies as a first degree and technology management as a MBA or MSc. Outsource suppliers still need to be managed and IT does need good managers.

Posted by: @laneyslaney  21 Jul 2011

A career in computing? Come on, forget it!

I can only endorse the comment from Schrodinger's Dog. I've worked in IT for 27 years, and the golden days are now well behind us. If I can eek out a few more years, then I'll be ready to retire. Or more likely I will commit full time to voluntary work, as well as dabbling in a little open source.

I would always recommend that youngsters learn the fundamentals of computing - which most of them seem to do anyway. But a full time career in computing, one that will span the next 30-40 years? Come on forget it.

Posted by: BH Bru  11 Jul 2011

Attracting Students to IT

Why are we trying to attract more students into IT? For at least two years computer science graduates have had the highest unemployment rate of all graduates. Meanwhile, British companies are outsourcing IT jobs by the thousands, the most recent example being LloydsTSB.

The issue isn't boring lessons. Unless a child is lucky enough to have an exceptional teacher, most school lessons are boring. The truth is young people have correctly figured-out studying IT is a dead end.

A twenty-five year veteran of IT, I know I've got little to look forward to except increasingly scarce work that pays progressively less. Consequently I am studying for a finance degree with a view to exiting the industry.

I believe IT in the west has no future and, unsurprisingly, I tell young people to avoid it, as do most of my colleagues.

Posted by: Schrodinger's Dog  08 Jul 2011

ICT

What is the "C" in ICT,ICT used to be International Computing and Tabulating,before being sold out to China,I used to help build them,as a technician,good old days !

Posted by: derek  07 Jul 2011

Attracting students to IT

Perhaps more students would be attracted to IT, if the industry treated its staff with more concern. The students probably look at the hours of work put in by staff in IT and realise they want a life

Posted by: Peter Swallow  07 Jul 2011

Students and ICT

I was teaching when the first computers started to arrive in schools. We were then interested in ways in which these could aid the teaching of our subjects and the ways in which they could be used creatively. The logic required for simple programs in BASIC, for example, gave us many learning opportunities and interested and challenged loads of students who subsequently went on to careers in IT. Nowadays ICT is treated as a separate subject. Syllabuses cannot keep up with the developments in technology and thus exam courses can be boring and probably irrelevant to the needs of the world of work. More disturbingly many schools do not allow pupils with learning difficulties to make use of new technology in their classrooms lessons.
Computers are now part of everyday life and should be used as such in schools for all subjects, not separated into specialist computer rooms for boring ICT sessions. All students need to have basic ICT skills, but as with many other skills, just having lessons in the skills without using them everyday will not help progress.

Posted by: vwkompak  05 Jul 2011

Students, ICT and Computing

I have been teaching A-level Computing for over 20 years, so this is a topic that concerns me.
Most of my students go on to do Computing related degrees, so they clearly enjoy the subject, but the numbers of students choosing to do it is in decline.
The problem is that too many students have been put off doing the subject because of what they have endured in ICT lessons.
My son thinks ICT is the most boring subject in secondary school. His ICT lessons seem to consist of endless 'Google' searches to do 'research' before doing a 'Powerpoint' presentation to present his research.
He is not alone in his opinion. Many of my A-level students say the same thing. They chose Computing because it is about computers but it is not ICT and they learn to program.
Introducing students to programming in year 7 using Scratch, Alice and Greenfoot is a great idea. The problem is that very many ICT teachers don't know anything about programming.
Until this skills gap is closed I have my doubts that the situation will improve.

Posted by: Kes  04 Jul 2011

Students and IT

It's not just attracting them, but keeping them too. The fall-out rate is pretty scary!

Posted by: Alan Yeates  04 Jul 2011