Bill Gates laments decreasing interest in computer science

Microsoft isn’t able to hire enough computer scientists in the United States to fill its available positions, Bill Gates said yesterday, citing decreasing interest in the field and fierce competition for qualified talent.

Gates, speaking to an international audience of computer science faculty members on the company’s Redmond campus, said Microsoft’s inability to meet its employment needs is affecting "the speed at which we do things."

The Microsoft chairman said he was perplexed by the declining enrollment in computer science programs at the nation’s universities. Citing all the advances made possible by computer science, he questioned why so many people would opt for careers in something such as physical education instead.

"I mean, are they making breakthroughs like speech recognition or artificial intelligence?" Gates asked, grinning. "I’m dying to see these new games they’re inventing."

By TODD BISHOP
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

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Gates stresses need for qualified help

By Kim Peterson

Seattle Times technology reporter

Microsoft can’t find enough people to hire, which is limiting the pace of its development, Chairman Bill Gates said yesterday.

"It really is gating the speed at which we do things," he said, speaking to about 400 faculty researchers from colleges and universities at the company’s annual Research Faculty Summit in Redmond.

Gates said that when he reviews projects under development at Microsoft, the talk always turns to whether enough people are hired to do the work. The reality is troubling.

"I’m certainly very worried about it," Gates said. "Microsoft is trying to hire every great college graduate who has basic computer-science skills and [who we think is] highly talented."

That said, numerous software developers are available, having lost jobs after the dot-com bubble burst. Microsoft could fill its ranks from that pool, but the company prefers to hire new college graduates.

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