Outsourcing, Layoffs, And No Stock Options?

Thanks but no thanks, say students to the prospect of entering the computer field in college. According to the Computer Research Association, new enrollments in computer and engineering programs have dropped for four straight years. Simple economics shows the reason: good-paying tech jobs were wiped out in the dot-com crash and haven't returned. But USA Today observes that high-level jobs combining technology and business still exist in the US. The implication there says no candidates exist to fill those jobs. Oddly enough, the article doesn't state how a new college engineering graduate will have access to these high-level jobs. Since they are "high-level," it seems likely firms will want experienced candidates for the positions. How does one get experience in a field? Starting in a low-level job and gaining it. Who's hiring graduates for low-level tech jobs with the prospects of becoming qualified for high-level jobs? That's difficult to tell. The market for technology jobs remains very tight. And more than 20,000 computer bachelor's degrees awarded to North American students in the 2003-04 school year, according to the same CRA study. It's not difficult to fathom the logic of employers who claim there are no job candidates in the market, after tens of thousands of technology workers were laid off and 20,000 graduates entered the work force. Firms like here