ACM Tech News:  Tech Students Are in the Chips; Computer, Engineering Employers Comb Campuses
Sacramento Bee (CA) (04/30/07) P. D1; Swett, Clint

Demand for graduates with computer and engineering degrees is so high that college career centers are constantly receiving requests for graduates and businesses are waiting in line to participate in college job fairs. Cici Mattiuzzi is the director of the career center for the College of Engineering and Computer Science at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). "I've done this job for 30 years and across the board it's the best hiring market I've ever seen," Mattiuzzi said. "These companies want students so badly I feel like I'm being harassed." Demand for computer science and engineering students has increased recently as the economy recovers from the dot-com bust and baby boomer computer scientists and engineers retire, opening up numerous positions. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 34.2 percent increase in computer and math specialist jobs in California between 2004 and 2014. The problem is that not enough students are graduating with computer and engineering degrees. Enrollment in computer programs at American River College is down 35 percent since 2000, and enrollment in the engineering and computer science department at CSUS fell nearly 25 percent between 2000 and 2007. Enrollment in tech-related fields is expected to increase as students recognize the lucrative job market, but the non-profit group LEED (Linking Education and Economic Development) is hoping to help the problem resolve a little faster. LEED has partnered with 12 California middle and high schools to encourage students to study engineering and computer science, including programs helping high school students land summer internships at Intel and special math and science curriculums in the schools.