I don’t think computer science graduates will ever have trouble getting hired. As you know, I have a technology degree; not a computer science or software engineering degree. This requires me to be able to explain to employer why they should consider someone who isn’t a programmer (me) over someone who is. While I’m very comfortable doing that (selling my strengths), it’s just as important for me not to be applying for the types of jobs where I’m being asked to do something that doesn’t represent one of my main strengths. I have no desire to become a programmer.

My advice to aspiring technology professionals is to build or do something. My good friend built a database application for student-athletes like himself before graduating. Although he graduated from FSU, he was recruited for a position that’s typically fulled with graduates of the top-tier universities. A company would be foolish to overlook a self-starter who has the presence of mind to voluntarily undertake a project that increases their skills.

Good post though. You bring up a lot of good points, and you’ve almost given me the impetus to snatch up the .org and .net versions of my name. It’s also a good idea to use a nickname that might be less common than your given name – I knew you in college as Will Jackson, and you knew me in college as David Schwarz.

Although I never really experienced the issue of not being able to get hired cause of my lack of experience. I just wrote up a sweet resume and posted it on Monster. Within four hours, I got a call from the recruiter who landed me my first job. There are always going to be tech companies looking for relatively cheap, inexperienced labor to do the grunt work, even (or maybe especially?) in this economy.