Recently ranked the best job of 2012, software engineering is not a highly desired job by Schuylkill County residents despite an impressive rate of Informational Science and Technology graduates from Penn State Schuylkill finding jobs almost immediately after they finish school.
"It's not a popular degree," Dr. Elinor Madigan, program coordinator and assistant professor of IST at Penn State Schuylkill said Friday.
"But it's a very marketable degree," she added.
Software engineer was ranked No. 1 on a list of the best jobs of the year by CareerCast.com.
The career website owned by Adicio Inc. ranked 200 jobs from best to worst based on physical demands, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook. According to the website, the IST field offers a mid-range income of $88,142.
"We are not really the technology melting pot here in Pennsylvania," said Robert S. Carl Jr., executive director of the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce. "The real surge in technology companies saw its hay day in the early part of the decade."
According to statistics compiled by the state Department of Labor and Industry and made available by the Schuylkill County Career Link, computer software engineer positions, which include applications and systems software, are projected to increase by 70 to 410 in 2018 from an estimated 340 in 2008 in Luzerne and Schuylkill counties. According to the same report, average annual openings for both positions are 34.
"Obviously a 20- to 25-percent increase in software engineering is a significant increase," Carl said. "These are good-paying and high-level jobs."
Both require bachelor degrees. The average annual income of application engineers in the two counties is $68,810 with an entry level average of $49,290 and an experienced level average of $78,570. The average annual income of systems software engineers in the two counties is $70,540 with an entry level average of $37,970 and an experienced level average of $86,820.
Carl added it is difficult to keep statistics on such positions as they are often subcontracted through companies and people also work from home.
As a board member for the Luzerne/Schuylkill Workforce Investment Board, Carl said it is the board's goal to be able to match jobs with people in the county.
"From a chamber standpoint, the WIB is making sure they are working hard to create job opportunities and a trained workforce," Carl said. "We want to bring businesses into the community and generate a very productive as well as a well-paid workforce."
In addition to software engineering jobs, the DLI report also includes statistics on related computer technology careers, including programmers, support specialists, systems analysts, network and computer systems analysts and administrators and network systems and data communications analysts.
All careers require a bachelor's degree, except a support specialist, which requires an associate degree. Average annual incomes range from $38,190 for support specialists, to $72,760 for network systems and data communications analysts. Average entry level salaries range from $26,060 for support specialists to $51,30 for systems analysts, while average salaries experienced people in the fields range from $44,250 for support specialists to $83,840.
Including software engineers, there were an estimated 1,920 computer technology jobs in Luzerne and Schuylkill counties and a projected 2,270 for 2018 with 73 average annual openings.
Although Penn State Schuylkill doesn't offer a degree in software engineering, Madigan said the IST program at the school provides the same basic courses needed for all computer majors, including software engineering. She said students can study IST at the Schuylkill campus and then complete a software engineering degree at the University Park campus.
"We have a great campus and the students who stay for degrees do really well," Madigan said.
Madigan said the IST program is the major with the smallest number of students at the campus with about three to 10 graduating each year.
However, she said most, if not all, of the students graduating from the IST program at the campus this year already have or are being offered jobs.
"Usually within six months, they are employed, usually in their field of study," Madigan said.
She said there are plenty of jobs available in the field, yet they go unfilled as students don't seem to be interested in earning the degree.
"I really don't understand why people are not interested in the field," she said. "I've been in the field for over 40 years. It wasn't a field for women when I started, but I developed a career in it, raised a family and been all over the country. It's very rewarding, very lucrative and very women friendly."
She said attracting students, especially more women, has been a frequent topic of discussion among program coordinators throughout the state center as it reflects a national trend.
"It's not an easy degree," said Madigan, noting the degree relies heavily on math, a common complaint among students.
She also said the Penn State Schuylkill program has a foreign language requirement.
"There's also a myth you have to be exposed early in math to do well," Madigan said. "That is not true. I have an older student who had little background in math, but understood the job market for it and is now doing very well."
While there isn't a large job market in the area, she said there great job opportunities in the field.
"I would love more IT in the county," Madigan said. "I think it's a great location for it. There are pockets of IT out there, but I think if we could get more software companies to come here, it would be a wonderful thing."