Fewer college students choose computer majors

Tech firms might be rebounding from the dot-com bust, but enrollment in college computer related programs keeps dropping. San Jose State University in Silicon Valley enrolled 417 full-time computer science undergraduates for the fall semester, down from 525 last year. The University of Texas at Austin expects about 1,275, down from 1,465 a year ago. The University of Notre Dame should have 50 ? better than last year, but down from 60 at the peak. Ohio State University is down 30%. Blame the bleak tech job market.

In the past, a computer degree meant "instant riches, or at least a well-paying, secure job," says San Jose computer science chair David Hayes. "Now, the perception is jobs are going overseas, and people are being laid off."