Computer
science survives despite dot-com decrease
By Toby Lewis
On-line Forty-Niner
Computer
science majors who are graduating have much
to look forward to despite a shrinking economy
and job market, said Robert Wendt of the
Cal State Long Beach Career Development
Center.
“We rely more and more on computers,” Wendt
said. “It is not going to go away. The options
are still there, there’s just not as many
of them.”
With the disappearance of a vast number
of “dot-com” companies, the market has been
forced to make changes but the jobs are
still out there, Wendt said.
The federal government reports that eight
out of the top ten jobs in today’s market
are computer related.
Some of those jobs include computer software
engineers, network and computer systems
administrators, database administrators
and computer systems analysts.
Many companies represented at today’s job
fair are looking for graduating seniors
with a computer science degree.
Some of those companies include Bank of
America, Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman
Corporation, Navy Civilian Jobs and U.S.
Department of Labor.
Other companies that will be recruiting
computer science majors are Talbert Medical
Group, Los Angeles Unified School District,
Capital Group Companies, American Golf Corporation
and Urban Science.
Wendt said that computer science is the
largest major in the College of Engineering
and that finding experience is crucial for
students.
“I think that to some degree, the market
is depressed. Companies are beginning to
focus more on people with experience,” Wendt
said.
Some ways that college students can get
more experience while still attending school,
Wendt suggests, is by getting involved with
internships as early in their college career
as possible.
“Even three to four hours a week can be
enough to give students exposure to the
industry,” Wendt said.
This experience will allow the student to
learn more about the industry and it can
be a good resume builder, Wendt said.
For graduating seniors who may not have
had the opportunity to get involved with
internships, Wendt suggests volunteering
for a non-profit organization.
“Finding experience is crucial,” he said.
“[Working for a non-profit organization]
is a good way to get experience while building
a resume.”
“The market is tough, but it is not impossible.
I really want to stress that students need
to be patient and persistent,” Wendt said.
Another thing that graduating seniors can
do is work on getting A’s, Wendt said.
“A lot of companies use these compensation
formulas,” he said.
Companies that use a compensation formula
will look at what school the student attended,
grade point average, experience with specific
company related work issues, participation
in student activities and geographical location
of the school.
“Grade point average is important. Companies
like that,” Wendt said.
Some tips from the Career Development Center
on how to get the most out of the job fair
are having business cards made, updating
your resume and sending “thank-you” notes
to the companies with whom you spoke.
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