Computing Professionals Changing Needs for the 1990s (1993) / Chapter Skim
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Training, Retraining, and More Retraining
Training, Retraining, and More Retraining
Pages 78-87
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From page 78... ...
In introducing the discussion of education and training at the workshop, Linda Pierce voiced the goal of reaching "a consensus around a core set of knowledge and skills" to support future career paths. Discussions at the workshop suggested that although there 78
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From page 79... ...
degree program that is heavy in the application area, probably not a major in computer science or management information systems, whatever it Is called, but a minor to develop the necessary computational computer science skills and a major in the primary area of application. Gear suggested that the trend toward embedding more and more computer devices or systems into other equipment or systems will result in significant new skill requirements and potential problems in meeting them.
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From page 80... ...
With respect to accreditation and standardization, Marvin Zelkowitz contrasted the conditions in academic computer science with the more stable and predictable conditions in such fields as physics or chemistry: "When I am asked what is the core of computer science, my comment is that it is whatever the computer science faculty want to teach." Similarly, Peter Freeman argued that "all of us have a strong responsibility to continue to push the formation of a core computer science discipline, and that is only going to happen by the continued
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From page 81... ...
And, yet, those are precisely the areas in which industry wants the most training among our students." Speaking from industry, Robert Kraut remarked that "In Bellcore's research organization, there are a large number of Ph.D.s in computer science, but there are very few of the sort that Bellcore is looking for, which are the systems researchers." A shift toward theory would weaken the fit between the education supplied by colleges and universities and the skill sets preferred by industry. Zelkowitz and other participants also noted that universities traditionally have not devoted much effort to specific issues of concern to industry project management, teamwork, cost estimation, evaluation of alternative designs, risk management, for example because those issues are crowded out by other items in the curriculum and because typical computer science faculty are not sufficiently knowledgeable about them.
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From page 82... ...
Similarly, Gries pointed out that computer science departments are not likely to address organizational and management issues (e.g., cost-estimation and teamwork) through case studies because "that requires the teacher to know something about those topics and that is not the case for most computer science faculty members." Paul Young contended that, overall, universities are responsive, if not rapidly so.
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From page 83... ...
.... I look at that as a third generation of computer science, what we are calling computing, which is a combination of the core computer science and some other discipline." Among industrial participants, Don McLean argued that broader perspectives in general, drawing from liberal arts, would be valuable.
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From page 84... ...
Speaking from their experience, workshop participants described a labor market in which employers, especially large firms, are investing more and more in training people to meet their particular needs (Box 5.1~; this practice allows them to focus on specific skills when making hiring decisions, as discussed in Chapter 3. Workshop participants agreed that training is an ongoing concern for computing professionals because of the dynamic evolution of computer science and technology.
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From page 85... ...
that are altering the opportunities for advancement and professional growth among personnel in industry. Linda Pierce also enumerated managerial concerns that complement concerns about technological change: product delivery needs, business savvy, ease of use of technology and applications, ability to work in teams, more formality in product research and development, higherquality expectations, and so on.
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From page 86... ...
Shelby Stewman, professor of sociology and demography at Carnegie Mellon University, speculated that applications skills are neither as transferable nor as malleable as most might expect. He observed that workshop participants and people he has interviewed in industry have indicated that it is difficult to transfer people across system and application areas; it is often easier to hire someone new with the appropriate skills.
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From page 87... ...
· Corporations must reconcile themselves to the financial and organizational commitments implied by continuous shifts in skill requirements. Changes in skill requirements may result in some dislocation for individual employees.
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