Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!steinmetz!ge-dab!codas!killer!elg
From: elg@killer.UUCP (Eric Green)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: U.S. Mathematicians dying breed
Message-ID: <2424@killer.UUCP>
Date: 11 Dec 87 02:08:38 GMT
References: <1878@pdn.UUCP>
Organization: Bayou Telecommunications
Lines: 27

in article <1878@pdn.UUCP>, reggie@pdnbah.UUCP (George Leach) says:
> In article <2376@killer.UUCP> elg@killer.UUCP (Eric Green) writes:
>>[excerpted from an AP news article in the local newspaper:]
> 
>>An annual survey found that nationwide only 362 U.S. citizens got doctorates
>>in math during the 1986-1987 school year. 
> 
>      Has anyone taken a look at trends in Math and EE doctorates relative to
> CS doctorates?  About twenty years ago there were no CS departments and
> therefore no CS PhD's.  Over the years there has been an increase in the
> number of departments granting PhD's in Computer Science.  This fact alone
> would account for declines in other fields that are related to CS.

Have you looked at the reports on production of CS majors lately? I don't
recall the exact numbers (which I saw in an issue of IEEE Computer while
searching for the article on the AMD29000), but they were quite disappointing
for the MS and, especially, the PhD level. Apparently all us folks get a BS
and then ride out upon the winds to gain our fame and fortune :-). Maybe some
of these underpaid underemployed BS's will come back for an advanced degree,
but it looks pretty doubtful right now. For one thing, someone capable of
gaining a MS or PhD isn't very likely to be either underpaid or 
underemployed. 

--
Eric Lee Green  elg@usl.CSNET        Snail Mail P.O. Box 92191       
{cbosgd,ihnp4}!killer!elg            Lafayette, LA 70509             
"There's someone in my head, but it's not me...." -PF