For every thing, there is a season

Every time a colleague asks the question, "What the hell happened to computer science enrollment?" I answer, "These things are cyclical. CS enrollment will come back, and some other field's enrollment will drop." And, indeed, as the dot-com bust has faded in new student memories, enrollment has increased again (new enrollment was up last fall in my department and is up again (over 30%, year over year) this fall.

The title above links to a Computerworld article speculating that the current banking crisis will mean further increases in CS enrollment. That many or may not be true; I'd prefer the steady growth associated with students following their interests than the sudden boom of students chasing the latest fad. The article does at least have some entertainment value, with Carly Fiorina (of HP and now McCain/Palin campaign fame) showing her lack of insight that American workers are also HP (or any company's) customers -- no jobs for Americans mean no customers.

Then again, I understand this, but I'm not getting $42 million for any of my failed efforts.