DHAHRAN, 3 March — The most popular profession among both Eastern and Western students has become something related to Information Technology. Have we reached the point of saturation?
Until the mid ‘80s, a student in the Third World normally hoped to become a doctor or an engineer. The ultimate dream of a parent was to see his child as an engineer or doctor. Third World societies gave maximum recognition to these two professions. Even in Saudi Arabia, they were considered the most prestigious. I still recall that my husband failed to get a visa for me in 1985 because he was not a doctor or an engineer. Resident visas for expatriate families were guaranteed for these two professions.
But early ‘90s saw a shift. The IT revolution decreased the demand for these two professions and focus shifted to computer sciences. All schools and colleges taught computer science and engineering colleges hired specialists to open computer science departments and offer degree and diploma courses.
A study in India shows that every third student after the higher secondary examinations wants to continue studies in Information Technology. Software and hardware engineering have replaced civil and electrical engineering. Even at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, computer science has replaced electrical engineering and business management as the most popular courses.
Parents wanted their children to study Information Technology. IT was a new and growing sector and employment prospects were bright. India not only thrived on software exports but it also supplied software engineers to many Western and Middle East countries. Out of 1.6 million Indians in Saudi Arabia, nearly 65 percent are in blue collar jobs. It is interesting to note that of the remaining 35 percent white collar jobs, nearly 25 percent are in IT-related jobs.
In the past year, however, the demand for IT personnel has slowed. A short time ago, a computer sciences graduate in Saudi Arabia could anticipate a pay packet from SR5,000 to SR15,000 a month plus perks. Today, on the other hand, one can hire an IT graduate for as little as SR1,500, simply because IT personnel outnumber available jobs.
In India unemployment among IT graduates is growing and parents are worried about their children’s future. People are now looking at new fields; genetic engineering, nuclear physics and microbiology are said to be the subjects of the future.
Academics say that it is necessary to strike a balance. “What kind of a society will we have if everyone is a technocrat?” asked Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, a faculty member at KFUPM. “If we continue the present trend, in the near future, we will lack social scientists, economists, literature specialists, artists, poets and thinkers. That would be a total disaster.” Parents must look carefully, gauge their children’s talent and then decide about their future based on actual skills. The present irony is that those who complain that their parents forced them to study a particular discipline against their wishes are now doing the same thing with their own children.
Now that the IT industry is reaching a saturation point, which direction will parents now want their children to take? Should they not give their children a certain amount of freedom in choosing their careers and basing their choices on their skills, likes and dislikes?
