What employers want from students

Abstract

Recently, two of our stronger graduate students had trouble finding work as software developers. Both students had done masters-level work in operating systems, networking, software engineering, and various "hot" technologies, including Java, C++, and client-server computing. Both students had also worked as programmers before starting graduate school. Given these credentials, I was surprised when these students, in effect, had to move closer to prospective employers before they gave serious consideration to their resumes.My students' experiences caused me to conduct an informal survey about the perceived value of a computer science degree. In October 1998, I asked employees from 23 exhibitors at OOPSLA '98---software, consulting, and training firms---to assess what their company expected from any applicant with a BS or MS in computer science. What follows are my findings, together with concluding observations regarding what these findings might signify.

Communication learning outcomes from software engineering professionals: A basis for teaching communication in the engineering curriculum

“…The emphasis on informal and interpersonal communication that is evident in Table I agrees with and extends the work of Vest, Long, Thomas, and Palmquist [13] in electrical engineering, Pfeiffer [12] in software In Table I, the skills that comprise communication in the software engineering workplace are presented in the form of curricular outcomes. These outcomes may be focused to fit the needs of an individual department.…”

“…To design a curriculum that bridges this gap, educators need to know which communication skills are expected in the workplace. Although the expectations of engineering professionals and managers have been the subject of many studies, these studies either focus only on technical skills or treat communication skills in terms that are too general for designing a curriculum [1], [6], [8], [11][12][13]. For example, the participants in Lidtke's [11] research-from academe, business, and industry-were "uniformly concerned about the lack of skills to work in a team environment and to communicate orally and in written form"; yet when these participants described a knowledge base for a computer information science curriculum, the knowledge base contained no knowledge about communication.…”

“…For example, the participants in Lidtke's [11] research-from academe, business, and industry-were "uniformly concerned about the lack of skills to work in a team environment and to communicate orally and in written form"; yet when these participants described a knowledge base for a computer information science curriculum, the knowledge base contained no knowledge about communication. More information about communication expectations is provided by Pfeiffer's [12] informal survey of exhibitors at OOPSLA in 1998: Pfeiffer lists 6 expectations for communication of software engineers-such as "The ability to sell oneself" and "Strong written and spoken English." Though a start, these expectations are still quite general.…”