Schools beef up computer courses

A lot of people are desperately looking for jobs, but the situation is reversed in the computer security field.

Employers in the defense industry, banking, power companies, hospitals and cyber security companies are among those clamoring for qualified employees, said Richard Nelson, chairman of the Joint Industry Advisory Board.

Nelson's group brings industry feedback and advice to computer science departments at the College of Charleston and The Citadel.

More than 100 jobs are available at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, known as SPAWAR, a military installation on the former Navy base and at the Naval Weapons Station, public affairs officer Lonnie Cowart said. Salaries for entry level positions start at around $50,000, and those who are highly educated, skilled and experienced can earn $100,000 or more, he said.

But not anyone can land a job in computer security.

Such jobs require a bachelor's degree or higher, appropriate certifications and often experience in the field.

While the demand for computer security professionals is considerable, there's much less demand from students for computer security training programs at their colleges.

The courses are pretty tough. "It takes sitting down and studying at night," said John Stamey, a computer science professor at Coastal Carolina University in Conway.

Coastal Carolina recently began offering a bachelor's degree in information systems, with a focus on computer security. The University of South Carolina Upstate is the only other public college in the state offering a similar undergraduate program. And students can earn a graduate certificate in the field at USC's Columbia campus.

Stamey said offering a degree with a computer security focus was a natural move for Coastal Carolina because the university hosts an annual academic conference on security, and it's an area of interest and research for several faculty members.

About 100 students are enrolled in the program now, he said, and he expects it to grow.

Nelson, also a project director for applied technology at Life Cycle Engineering, said the demand for computer security professionals is fueled not only by the defense industry but also by the explosive growth in the number of microprocessors used in everyday life.

For instance, he said, a BMW has about 20 microprocessors that talk to each other. People who understand how they do that can potentially mess with the system. Security professionals need to thwart such efforts.

But, he said, in tough economic times, college leaders aren't likely to put money into training programs in which they don't expect a significant number of students to enroll.

Chris Starr, chairman of the computer science department at the College of Charleston, said computer science majors' motivations range from wanting to program computers to wanting to create video games. "But I don't believe that information assurance or computer security has been a motivation for any of our students," Starr said.

The college, like others nationwide, experienced a drop in the number of computer science majors after "the dot com bust of 2000," when students realized the degree wasn't going to make them millionaires by the time they turned 25, Starr said. But the number of students majoring in computers began to bounce back a few years ago, he said. The school now has about 170 computer science students, he said, and it's trying to make the major more accessible and interesting to them by offering courses in computer games and using computers for music and art.

Nelson said students who graduate from traditional computer science programs can get jobs in computer security if they subsequently complete some technical and certification courses.

Now, he said, "the industry is having to build some of these professionals." That's unfortunate, he said, because "it's definitely possible to earn a six-figure salary."

Reach Diane Knich at dknich@postandcourier.com or 937-5491.