Stuart McDonald - Journal 3

http://www.jiem.org/index.php/jiem/article/view/384/280

From this source, I learned that the main reason that people chose to study computer science was because they had an interest or passion about it before they began their schooling.  The main reasons that people did not study computer science were that they did not want to identify themselves as ‘computer nerd’ types and that the content of the degree sounded too difficult.  People studying other professions chose their fields based on career outlook and passion for the field, but this passion was far less evident than it was for computer scientists.

                After reading this source and learning that over half of the respondents chose CS out of passion for it, I feel that that may back up the argument that one does not need a degree to have interest or gain experience in the field.  If someone is interested, they will pursue it regardless of their education.  I would have liked to know more about the prior knowledge and experience the students had before they opted to study CS, so that may be some information to seek out.

                My view on my topic feels strengthened a bit by the statistics provided, mainly just due to the number of students following their passion, which is an ideal trait in entrepreneurship.  The author was very factual and unbiased in language mostly but if I had to guess I would say he is from a CS background trying to influence educators and institutions to promote more CS education abroad.  If he is from a dwindling CS market, he will try to promote an increase in interest by explaining what will happen if it continues to decline.  I think that a good place to go from here would be to try to find more information on what kind of people go to college for CS and what their interests and talents are.

http://search.proquest.com/docview/366885367

                I learned about starting salaries for graduates in many fields, including computer science.  The data provided showed that computer science salaries grow at a respectable rate per year.  This source will mostly just serve as a source of data to compare the incomes of college graduates to the incomes of those that do not hold a degree or that go and start their own business.  After seeing the starting salaries of graduates, I feel that going through school and obtaining a degree could be paid for shortly after graduation, assuming cost of living is kept low.  This makes it an economically viable option, but the matters of time spent and experience gained are still important to keep in mind.  I would have liked to know more about the specific job titles and what income those provide, but that data might be too tailored and hard to come across in such detail.  I feel slightly more inclined to support the traditional schooling process now, just due to the decent starting salaries being able to support a good standard of living rather quickly out of school.

                The author seems to be speaking from some sort of economist’s standpoint, possibly the likes of a forensic economist.  The author directly states that this paper and data are intended for forensic economists to use to predict lost income of college graduates.  If they are involved in predicting how much a person would’ve made, they may be inclined to skew the numbers upward to show higher net incomes.  After reading this, I would like to further investigate the salaries of specific job titles such as ‘Java Developer’ as opposed to broad terms pertaining to the degrees obtained.  Perhaps I can find salaries of positions that are more relatable to the work of an entrepreneur as well.