A new study was published by Network World this week, produced by the Computing Research Association stating enrollment in computer science (CS) majors at US universities was up 8.1% in 2008.  Some of the better known technical universties, such as Carnegie Mellon University stated CS applications were up 11% over the prior year.

In both information technology and computer sciences fields unemployment is listed nationwide at 1.6%, which Network World believes is considered "beyond full employment..."

This is great news for a number of reasons.  With the number of CS students increasing, it will drive additional skills in mathematics and hopefully software development.  We need those skills to have a strong core of workers ready to bring the US into a strong or even dominant role in emerging technolgies such as cloud computing.

It is also very exciting to see unemployment figures for technical and IT jobs are bucking the trend of other careers within the US.  Having spent the past week in the Silicon Valley tech community, and a lot of recent time in Orange County and San Diego, it is wonderful to be part of the excitement and enthusiasm surrounding new technologies - particularly my own personal favorite cloud computing.

As a member of the CTC community, I am happy to say we fully support and promote activities which encourage young people to pursue study and careers in technology.  We will also further solicit ideas on how the CTC can actively participate in activities that will continue to promote advanced education in math and computer sciences.  Send us your recommendations and ideas.

 Refreshing and exciting news!