Chowrangi

I think that decline in the interest in the computer science and information technology in Pakistan is largely due to the public perception.

If you look at the growing trend (and it’s not new) of outsourcing and development work being done in China, India and Philippines; I think a number of people in Pakistan have the mistaken impression that Computer Science jobs are declining locally and there is no scope whatsoever in the future.

In reality, the demand is out there for the IT professionals and will only grow in Pakistan. There’s room for everyone, yet I think the prophecy that tech jobs will be increasingly exported to other countries from the Europe and America, and not to Pakistan, is self-fulfilling due to a lower enrollment in science and math programs.

The dismal plight of the application of IT in the local market is also something very discouraging, but the automation process is going on steadily and will only continue to grow in the future. The boom in e-commerce and other web-related tasks is yet to blossom in Pakistan, and this is on the cards.

Perhaps, the sharp decline in the enrollment in the IT programs in the universities and colleges is also due to the fact that, by the nature of IT, if you know how to develop a software and don’t have a degree, you still possess a heavy and serious chance to land with a hefty and nice job.

This is simply a sign of the demand that’s out there for developers. However, the best companies, and the best opportunities, look for candidates who are investing in themselves and their education, and so it’s to a professionals advantage to go out there and get that degree. Most lead developer jobs in the software industry require a B.S.

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• New But Old Dimensions - November 17th, 2008