Science, Engineering, and Technology Career Fair, Wednesday, February 2.

If you are a graduate student in our department (CSE), or an undergraduate who plans to apply to graduate school, and started school in a community college or regional campus then you can apply for the SC Graduate STEPs to STEM program which comes with a stipend of $10,000/year for 2 years. I know that CS is not listed in that webpage as one of the options, but I have been assured that they do accept CSE students (in fact, they have one currently in the program).

Position: Entry Level Java Developer Location: Spartanburg, SC Company: Confidential* (Financial Company) *Please contact for further details Salary: $50-$65k, commensurate with experience Our client is seeking to hire a full time Entry Level Java Developer for an immediate opening in Spartanburg, SC. Please contact Shannon Drawdy at sdrawdy@apexsystemsinc.com for more information and full description!

From this article in The State we get a list of new startups in Columbia. Notice that 3 out of the 4 startups involve the creation of software.

USC and Columbia officials announced Monday they will honor four businesses tonight as they graduate from the University of South Carolina Technology Incubator.

• EasyHRWeb makes computer software for companies’ human resources departments.
• Accelerations Educational Software makes computer software to educate people with autism and other learning disabilities.
• Quintesocial is a social media web site for trade associations.
• Hermosa Jewelry offers handcrafted, beaded jewelry.

DHS has a number of summer internships and scholarships available for undergraduate students. The deadlines for applying are in early January.

I just spoke to one of our project managers in the Columbia office and we just learned that we will need to hire 1 – 3 college hires this semester! I realize we’re a little behind the ball, but I was hoping that you might be able to help. Do you have any students that are graduating this December that do not yet have a job secured? If so, could you please encourage them to visit our website and apply to the position in SC, or send me their resume directly? Your help would be greatly appreciated! The link to the position is below: http://clients.njoyn.com/cgi/xweb/xweb.asp?clid=21001&page=jobdetails&jobid=J1010-0440 Whitney Ragan Campus Recruiting CGI, US Enterprise Markets

CSEDWeek is December 5 to 11 (yeah, finals week, I know!). It aims to:

• Eliminate misperceptions about computer science and computing careers
• Communicate the endless opportunities for which computer science education prepares students within K-12, and into their higher education and careers
• Provide information and activities for students, educators, parents, and IT professionals to advocate for computer science education at all levels.

And, as this document shows, it is officially recognized here in Columbia, SC.

“That’s the part of the story that was missing when people complained about foreigners providing computer services at a lower cost than Americans. It did put some Americans in some industries out of work at first. But it let companies pay a lot less for computer services. Companies that couldn’t afford computers before were now able to. Companies that already were using computers expanded their use of technology. The worriers ignored all those benefits and all the new things that became possible because Americans didn’t have to spend as much as they did before to get computer technology. And as it turned out, only the lowest-paying computer jobs became less numerous. Those were the jobs that foreigners could do at a distance much more cheaply than Americans. Between 1999 and 2004, when the worries about outsourcing were at their peak, the number of computer programmers in America fell by 25 percent. But the number of software engineers rose by 50 percent, more than making up for the lost jobs in computer programming. Overall, the number of high-paying computer jobs rose by 17 percent, and the real wages of American workers in the computer industry increased as well. Outsourcing made most workers in the high-tech sector better off as demand for those skills increased.”

FYI, a computer programmer is someone who taught himself a little bit of programming in order to land the job, a software engineer is someone with a BS in CSE.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Engineering and Computer Science degrees pay more than liberal art. In case you didn't know (really?!).

The pay advantage of graduates with technical degrees often persists throughout their careers, said Fort Collins, Colo.-based career counselor Katy Piotrowski. Although liberal arts majors have a wide range of salaries, Ms. Piotrowski said that mid-career liberal arts majors she works with in northern Colorado make between $60,000 and $70,000. Those with technical degrees make at least $10,000 more. Technical majors even have an advantage in fields that are typically hotbeds for liberal arts majors, she said. "Technical degrees are valued in all fields. I've a seen a [company] communications department actually prefer that someone have an engineering degree rather than a communications degree," she said.

Of course, Engineers are still underpaid when compared to Harvard MBAs and lawyers, whose starting salary is more than twice of an engineer.

Starting salaries at the biggest firms—those with more than 500 lawyers—roughly doubled, to $160,000. But such plum jobs are hard to get, especially for graduates of the less prestigious public schools. At smaller firms starting pay has for years failed to keep up with soaring tuition fees, and of late has fallen (see chart).

According to a recent study conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the average salary for this year's crop of computer science grads stands at $61,112. And while it's too early to say for sure, some industry watchers predict an influx of students who might otherwise have majored in finance. Harsha, for example, cites David E. Shaw, a computer scientist turned hedge fund manager who made a fortune in quantitative trading, then returned to scientific research: "He's a model for a certain group." There is also a coolness factor among a generation of students who grew up with computers and are deeply engaged with technologies like cellphones, Facebook and other social media, and the latest electronic devices from Apple and other hardware companies. "For every popular trend in computing there's a spike in interest," says Harsha, citing a similar boom-and-bust cycle that happened with the rise of the personal computer during the mid-1980s. Also, Harsha says, students may finally have realized that the stereotype of computing as a lonely career in which you sit in a cube and write code is not true.

Update: Originally posted on 9/30/10. They tell me this job is still open and they want to hire a December graduate.

• Bachelor Degree
• Computer Science Degree
• US Citizen or Green Card holder
• Java programming experience
• SQL Database experience

Compliance Innovations, a startup SC-Launch company seeks to engage two students part-time to assist them in their product development work related to an electronic license plate and system communicating with it. They are looking for a student[s] with the following background and could be undergraduate or masters student interested in earning extra income plus an interesting project. www.complianceinnovations.com Student 1 - Looking for someone with a background in computer science (general knowledge) and the knowledge of serial communications between devices with Linux operating systems and circuit board serial communications. Skill Set - General circuitry, serial communication protocols including USB 2.0 and RS-232, knowledge of Linux serial drivers as well as communication ports, and hands-on circuit building skills. Student 2 - We need someone proficient in Python scripting with a strong computer science background. This person will be programming the management of the serial (circuit) communications and a Linux Gumstix OS USB/serial port. Skill Set - Python Scripting Language, general understanding of AT serial modem commands, general serial communications. Knowledge of power management strategies from device, specifically cellular, would be a bonus. The students would work closely with two in Compliance Innovations principals, Brian Bannister & Rob Parks. Brian has 13+ years overall IT experience: database design, systems integration, systems analysis; 6+ years working with digital imaging; State Law Enforcement Dept. facial recognition team; 4+ years with SC-DMV developing various IT solutions; Computer Science graduate of Lander University. Rob has 15+ years of computer engineering, equipment and information technology experience. A USC computer science graduate, he has been Director of New Technologies, GroupSouth Software; Senior Systems Analyst, SC-DOSServices; Senior Systems Analyst, SC-DMV; Applications Development Mgr/Senior Architect, Trumbull-Services. Contact information: brian@complianceinnovations.com ; rob@complianceinnovations.com .

The University of South Carolina Career Center is pleased to announce that the Community Internship Program (CIP) will be available for spring and summer 2011. This program gives students the ability to earn a minimum of $8/hr with a summer internship in South Carolina. Our goal is to help students gain necessary work experience so they will be more marketable to future employers. During the summer of 2010, 114 students participated in CIP, representing 62 employers. Of the 114 students, interns were represented in the College of Engineering and Computing, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management, Moore School of Business, College of Mass Communication and Information Studies, School of Law, Arnold School of Public Health, College of Education, and the School of Music. For students to be eligible for CIP, students must have a 2.0 GPA, have their resume reviewed by a career counselor, obtain full access on JobMate, have a minimum of 12 hours and attend a CIP Orientation. Helen D. Fields Assistant Director, College of Engineering and Computing Career Center University of South Carolina 803-777-1974 email: hefields@mailbox.sc.edu