Listen
Over the last ten years, the number of computer and IT jobs in the U.S. has grown 13 percent. But fewer students are completing degrees in those fields. There’s been a drop of 11 percent.
CareerBuilder crunched data from labor market databases and national education statistics.
Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources with CareerBuilder, says the numbers match what she hears from employers.
“Employers are having a difficult time finding the skills they need and you hear that quite often in the areas of IT and technology. And so it is a bit concerning that employers are saying we have a demand that’s growing and the supply is not there.”
Here in Houston, however, the supply is growing. There’s been a 10 percent increase in computer and IT degrees in the Houston region since 2003.
Also on the rise in Houston: more degrees in engineering and the health professions. Those areas have seen increases of 33 and 88 percent, respectively.
But the biggest jump is how many students are majoring in liberal arts in Houston. That’s grown almost 150 percent in the last decade.
“The nice thing about liberal arts is that it is applicable in a lot of fields. Where we see an increase in jobs, we see that in revenue-generating fields such as sales, customer services — those liberal arts degrees are going to be very applicable for fields that we’re seeing some jobs creation,” says Haefner.
She also suggests that students with liberal arts degrees cast a wide net when they’re hunting for a job.