{"id":23317,"date":"2020-12-11T02:08:15","date_gmt":"2020-12-11T02:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=23317"},"modified":"2020-12-13T03:41:55","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T03:41:55","slug":"computer-science-jobs-pay-well-and-are-growing-fast-why-are-they-out-of-reach-for-so-many-of-americas-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/computer-science-jobs-pay-well-and-are-growing-fast-why-are-they-out-of-reach-for-so-many-of-americas-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Computer science jobs pay well and are growing fast. Why are they out of reach for so many of America’s students?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tamara Pearson<\/a>, Spelman College<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

When it comes to the digital divide<\/a>, often the focus is on how lack of internet service and basic technology will hurt students\u2019 academic performance<\/a>. This is particularly true during the pandemic, when most schools are operating online.<\/p>\n

But as a STEM educator<\/a> at one of the nation\u2019s elite historically Black colleges, I see another negative effect of the digital divide: racial disparities<\/a> in the field of computer science.<\/p>\n

Computer science is one of the fastest-growing and highest-paying<\/a> fields. So if students from certain groups are being shut out of the field, it means that public education is failing in its role as the great equalizer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I see some ways for that to change. But first, a few statistics.<\/p>\n

The color of computer science<\/h2>\n

When you look at computer science, just 8.9% of the more than 71,000 bachelor\u2019s degrees awarded in this field in 2017 went to Black students, and only 10.1% went to Latino students, federal data show<\/a>. This is significantly less than the percentage of Black and Latino people in the United States: 13.4% and 18.5%<\/a>, respectively.<\/p>\n