This is the image
Well, actually, it was the middle statistic with the two pie charts that I saw on facebook, but then I went to Code.org to see the rest of their information.
This was really alarming to me, because I never thought of computer science as a field that was lacking in qualified job seekers. When I was getting my undergraduate degree in Anthropology, a lot of people I was friends with or knew from high school or through other friends, were going to school for computer science. It seemed like a lot of people in my circles were getting that degree then, and finding jobs with it as well. I didn't realize that this was such a concern for the industry these days.
I think, perhaps, that as a school counselor I won't be pushing students into the field, but I think it would be appropriate to highlight for students the variety of jobs out there that are in demand. If a student is interested in maths and sciences then why not encourage that student to look into compute science and engineering and perhaps job shadow someone in the field or do an internship with a company.
Computers are going to be a part of everything in our lives from now on, and I feel that i'd be disservice not to share that with students and not to encourage them in that direction.
Of course, encouraging them is one thing, but supplying them with opportunities for that experience is quite another. In a lot of schools, computer science and programming classes are not counted towards math and science requirements, but are only seen as electives. I feel that it could be beneficial to start conversations at the high school level about the availability of computer programming classes to students and starting to count them towards math graduation requirements.
In addition to my thoughts, here's an interesting article from New York Times about Microsoft's answer to the foreseen shortage of technical talent in their industry.
Fostering Tech Talent in Schools
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