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High-tech jobs - but not for us
August 17, 1998
The Washington Software Alliance last week produced a powerful argument for expanded opportunities in Washington's higher education system. The alliance - which represents computer firms - wasn't offering a broad critique of the state's public colleges; it was just complaining about the appalling scarcity of programmers, engineers, analysts, computer scientists and other information-system specialists. According to the group, at least 9,000 and possibly as many as 30,000 information-technology jobs are currently unfilled in Washington. The state's colleges can't even begin to meet the demand. Community colleges are trickling approximately 500 graduates into the field every year, and four-year schools - both public and private - produced about 1,340 last year. No wonder the computer companies and other employers are squealing. They're having to scrounge far and wide - often as far away as Asia and Europe - for the talent they need. And they're still coming up short. This means that software isn't getting written, products aren't being brought to market, systems aren't being installed and opportunities are being lost. Meanwhile, Washingtonians are being denied entrance to computer-related courses for lack of space and funding. At the University of Washington, for example, two out of every three applicants to the computer science program is turned away. Four out of five are denied admission to computer engineering. A good part of this bottleneck is nobody's fault. The demand for computer technology specialists has exploded beyond all expectations in recent years, and it would have been impossible for any institution to stay ahead of the curve. Washington's universities and community colleges are in fact scrambling to expand their programs and catch up. But the problem also reflects the Legislature's historic refusal to fund adequate opportunities for four-year and graduate degrees. Compared to the citizens of other states, Washingtonians rank nearly dead last in their rate of enrollment in upper-division programs. This state doesn't just scrimp on advanced computer courses; it scrimps on the whole gamut of junior-, senior- and graduate level courses that lead to highly paid positions in research, engineering, inter-national trade and other growing fields. As a result, employers are often forced to pass over untrained Washingtonians as they recruit for key positions. In King County, the average wage for a computer pro-grammer now exceeds $100,000 a year - and many programming positions are going begging. It's too bad the funding policies of the Legislature are effectively reserving such jobs for folks from other states and countries.
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