The [Solve] Friday October 21

Trusted to Deliver

Happy Friday! Ron Kimlinger, Partner and Business Transformation Capability Lead, wrote an intriguing article this week about the decline in Computer Science offerings throughout our education system. He presents some great statistics on how Minnesota compares to other states and how we can do better to increase the number of professionals our industry!

Kelly Wendlandt interviewed Sean O’Neil from United Health Group/Optum VP of Technology. Click the link below to listen to his podcast!

We have a variety of jobs available so please reach out if you or anyone you know is interested!

Is there a decline in Computer Science in our education system?

By Ron Kimlinger, Partner/Business Transformation Capability Lead

Most data support that computer science is declining in our education system, for example Computer Science degrees have dropped nearly 20% in the last two decades and high schools have reduced adoption of computer science curriculum and policies by school districts. Despite the decline in computer science curriculum and policy adoption, the technology industry continues to grow at rates far above other occupations.

Computer Science education mainly focuses on core principles like hardware/software design, computer and algorithmic processes, computational thinking and coding/programming. To attract more computer science students and to better align with industry growth, most colleges currently have formed more specific CS related majors such as artificial intelligence, business/data analytics, cyber security and cloud computing. However, speaking with a local college professor, it is estimated that only about 1 in 14 CS majors arrive on campus with some programming/coding experience. Because of the lack of programming experience from their high school education and the need for programming in core principles, many CS majors have to learn the needed programming skills for college courses outside of the classroom. Many students are learning programming on their own using free internet-based sources or “side hustles” usually around programming for gaming or video applications. The lack of programming experience from graduating high school students could be caused by the lack of computer science teaching in high school curriculums and district policy adoptions.

To make matters worse, Minnesota ranks nearly last in US high schools that offer Advanced Placement (AP) level course in Computer Science. In fact, less than 1 in 5 Minnesota high schools offer AP level Computer Science courses. Minnesota is also well behind the 5- State area in the adoption of school district policies related to computer science for CS teacher funding and certification, CS district standards for K-12 grades and a state wide CS plan.

Why do we need more Computer Science in our education system? Forecasts project a 22% job growth for information technology positions in the next decade. This growth outpaces the average 8% growth for all occupations. As most companies become technology-driven enterprises, the need for computer science educated professionals will continue to grow.

The question then becomes, what can be done to help promote the computer science change in our education system? First, encourage your local school districts to develop more curriculum, policies, and standards that are more focused on CS. Also, get involved with STEM/CS volunteer opportunities at your local school districts and promote the focus on the core Computer Science principles.

Welcome to Logisolve

Check out who is joining us in October!

 

Sandeep G – Business Transformation/Sr. BA (new project)

Dean R – Business Transformation/Sr. PM (new project)

Fabian A – Digital Solutions/SQL-Data Developer

Milan S – Digital Solutions/Sr. QA

Sathya C – Digital Solutions/Java Developer

Heidi R – Business Transformation/BA (new project)

Justin V – Business Transformation/Sr. BSA/Digital Product Owner

Available Positions

If you have individuals in your network that may be a fit for any of the positions below, this is a great time to make a referral. Many clients are starting to head back to the office one or two days a week and are focused on local resources!

Use our referral email address: referrals@logisolve.com

Below are our most active Client Opportunities; contact us for more information! There are additional positions posted on our website: http://www.logisolve.com/positions.aspx

Quality Assurance

Sr. QA Lead – highly desired Financial/Insurance industry experience – local to MN – hybrid

Sr. QA – Data experience – local to MN

QA – API – local to MN – hybrid

Jr. QA – Regression experience – local to MN – hybrid

Project Management

Sr. Project/Program Manager – remote

BA

BA – mid-level (3 years exp.) – highly desired Insurance/Financial industry experience – remote

Sr. BSA – Wealth Management experience – hybrid (MN)

Business Analyst/Oracle ERP Functional Administrator – hybrid (MN) – FTE, contract to hire, contract

Microsoft/Java

Sr. Java Developer (2 positions) – react, Java8, spring boot, spring – remote – local to MN

.NET-SPA-C#, SQ, Web API – remote

Application Support Lead – local to MN – hybrid – contract to hire

Data

DevOps Engineer – informatica – Azure-remote

EDW-ETL Administration – health catalyst experience required – remote

SQL DBA – contract to hire – hybrid – local to MN

Azure SQL DBA – remote

Misc

Salesforce Developer – remote

D365 Solution Architect-Direct hire – remote