In today’s job market, applicants cannot be competitive without digital fluency. For most people, that means proficiency in Microsoft Office and other Internet platforms. However, with the tech industry booming, more and more jobs are requiring more sophisticated digital know-how such as HTML or CSS coding skills.
However, are we properly arming ourselves and future workers to be competitive in this market? The answer to this question is, unfortunately, no. According to Code.org, while 90 percent of parents and families want their children to study computer science in school, only 25 percent of schools have a computer science program available to students. In a time when coding skills are becoming more and more vital to be successful in college and beyond, we are not adequately teaching computer science in our K-12 curriculum.
According to Code.org, 71 percent of all new jobs in the STEM fields are popping up in computing, but only 8 percent of STEM graduates are computer science majors. This massive gap between supply and demand of trained computer science engineers is startling, especially considering the importance of tech to the American economy. However, we could help close that gap if we began to focus on the importance of teaching basic computer science skills to students before they go to college.
By having a base knowledge of computer science skills, students would be more prepared to take on the jobs that are available after graduation. According to Code.org, it is predicted that there will be over 1 million computing job openings by 2024, across all industries and areas of the country. By teaching students to code at a young age, educators would not only arm them with the skills they need to be successful in their future, but inspire and motivate them to succeed in the technological world.
When the benefits to teaching code in schools are so obvious, why is it not being done? Well, the lack of proper training for computer science is a vicious cycle. Many public schools simply cannot afford to hire more teachers, hence the responsibility of teaching code falls on the existing (yet untrained in code) teachers. And how can teachers who are not confident in such a field be held responsible for teaching it to their students? It is simply an inefficient system.
Additionally, individuals who are trained in computer science are not incentivized to go into education to help alleviate this shortage of trained workers, and with good reason. The starting salary for a teacher is under $40,000, according to the National Education Association, while Forbes reports the starting salary for a computer science graduate in the tech field is just north of $70,000. While there are many outside programs such as Girls Who Code and Code Club that come into schools and teach coding skills, hurdles that school districts would have to overcome to make coding or computer science a core class are clearly immense.
Not only would teaching computer science skills to students help them succeed post-college, but it would also massively help students who do not go to college find a stable career. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 59 percent of Americans have a college degree, and those without a college degree make an average $25,000 less than their educated counterparts. But if all students were armed with coding knowledge when they graduate high school, this would open doors for those without a college degree. Those with only a high school diploma or equivalent would no longer be forced into vocational careers, but would be able to secure higher-paying, skill-oriented jobs. Increased education is a tool to help social mobility, and would provide important opportunities to those who do not have the chance to go to college.
If we want the future of our workforce to have a competitive edge when it comes to the job market, we need to give them the necessary tools to do so. However, in order to do that, we as a society need to recognize and act on the importance of coding and computer science training in our schools. Currently, only 28 states and Washington, D.C., count computer science as a math requirement for high schoolers—in states where computer science doesn’t count, students are not being incentivized to learn the vital skills required to help them find a career in the future.
Samantha is a freshman majoring in journalism and communication arts. Do you agree with her that including more technology classes in K-12 education is a necessity? Do you think that the technology industry will continue to boom? Let us know at opinion@dailycardinal.com.
