PROGRAMMERS ARE IN HOT DEMAND COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS CAN WRITE THEIR OWN TICKET: [METRO Edition]

Abstract

While those with undergraduate degrees start at about $40,000, [John Potochnik] said, a master's degree may bring $42,000.

Computer programming is one of the hottest careers a college student can get into today.

Graduates in computer programming can walk out of school and start at jobs that pay $30,000, $40,000, even up to $50,000 for those with advanced degrees. But it takes more than just being able to write computer codes.

"I look for people who are well-rounded individuals," says John Potochnik, a recruiter for Symbios Logic Inc. He looks for creative, flexible people who have other interests, such as art or music or history, people who can solve problems and who like to learn. They are the people the company can eventually move to upper management or sales.

"Long term, we have found that they make the best engineers on a sustainable basis" as opposed to those totally consumed with the job, who "are the ones that after 10 or 12 years burn out and go open flower shops," he said.

Of course, programming isn't for everybody. "Some talent in reasoning is necessary, and some endurance because there are so many concrete skills to learn," said Jan Zytkow, head of Wichita State University's computer department.

"It's not bad work," said Randy Rossi, owner of Wichita's InfoSource Inc. "It requires a high level of intelligence, but it is within the mind-set of the average carbon-based life form."

An ability in math is a plus, Zytkow says. But "often a person who does not do well in math does well in computer science," he said. "I think there is some sort of detail work in programming that is quite different from math skills.

"Sometimes, mathematicians make rotten programmers. There is a big overlap in skills, but talent (in programming) is important," he said.

The languages to learn are the takeoffs of C, which has become one of the top programming languages, and Java, the language of the Internet. It also doesn't hurt to know the UNIX operating system, mainly used on computers in scientific laboratories, animation studios and some business applications.

"The whole world is looking for C and UNIX people," Rossi said. "There is a tremendous demand and a terribly inadequate supply.

"The growth of the market has surprised everybody," he said. "Businesses are grabbing people as fast as they can."

"It is an extremely hot market," said Jill Pletcher, director of career services at Wichita State University. "They can almost write their own ticket."

While those with undergraduate degrees start at about $40,000, Potochnik said, a master's degree may bring $42,000.

Those with four to five years of experience are looking at $50,000 to $55,000, which can rise to nearly $80,000 with 20 years or so.

Plus, there are bonus plans that can add as much as 10 percent to 15 percent for senior programmers, Potochnik said.

"These are things we find we have to offer to compete," Potochnik said.

It takes time to become a programmer, Rossi said. "There are shorter routes, but the good people we see have gone the four-year college route."

"If you look at a list of high-demand jobs, software engineers and programmers are in high demand," Potochnik said.

"As hardware becomes more and more of a commodity item, software is where the value-added is. We're finding that it has become more and more difficult to recruit people because the demand is so high now.

"If you are a competent programmer coming out of a decent university, you're not having trouble finding a job," he said, adding that people he recruits often have six to 10 job offers.

"For the foreseeable future, the demand is extremely high," Rossi said.

There are several paths programmers can take. Businesses are looking for people skilled in manipulating databases - putting information into an orderly and retrievable form.

"Just about any business application is driven out of a database of some sort or another," Rossi said.

The United States leads the world in developing database software, Zytkow said.

"Every company has a database, a network. Every company needs systems programmers. They are all finding work," he said.