Authored by Ed Price
Do you want to make over $100,000?
Well, Small Basic won't do that. =^)
But Small Basic could be a piece of the puzzle on that journey.
I was reviewing this blog post from Cathy Cavanaugh:
Values of Learning Programming Language in Schools
In that article, she explained Microsoft's resources that are included in the YouthSpark program: http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/youthspark/youthsparkhub/programs/ .
- Kodu visual programming language for building games, http://www.kodugamelab.com/
- Project Spark game making community, http://www.projectspark.com/#home
- Small Basic development environment, http://smallbasic.com/
- DigiGirlz workshops, http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/diversity/programs/digigirlz/default.aspx
- DreamSpark program for getting developer tools, https://www.dreamspark.com/
- IT Academy for technical certifications, http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/training-and-events/it-academy/
- Microsoft Virtual Academy for online courses, http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com
Small Basic is involved in that effort (third down on that list). See these 49 Small Basic Student Testimonies .
Digging into the linked resources from Cathy's post led me to poke around the data on the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics site. Here are the Occupational Employment Statistics:
This data is from March 2014 and reported in May 2015 (takes about a year).
That led me to the Computer and Mathematical Occupations section:
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm#15-0000
Here's a stack ranking of the Computer Occupations (mean annual salary):
1. Computer and Information Systems People Manager - $136K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes113021.htm
2. Computer and Information Research Scientist - $113K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151111.htm
3. Computer Hardware Engineer - $111K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172061.htm
4. Systems Software Developer - $106K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151133.htm
5. Computer Network Architect - $101K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151143.htm
6. Software Application Developer - $100K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151132.htm
7. Information Security Analyst - $92K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151122.htm
8. Computer Systems Analyst - $87K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151121.htm
9. Computer Programmer (General) - $83K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151131.htm
10. Computer Science Teacher (Post Secondary) - $81K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes251021.htm
11. Network and Computer Systems Administrator - $80K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151142.htm
12. Multimedia Artist and Animator - $69K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes271014.htm
13. Web Developer - $69K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151134.htm
14. Database Administrator - $68K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151141.htm
15. Computer Network Support Specialist - $66K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151152.htm
16. Computer User Support Specialist - $52K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151151.htm
17. Graphic Designers - $51K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes271024.htm
18. Computer Operators - $41K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes439011.htm
19. Computer Repair - $38K: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes492011.htm
So there you go. Food for thought for students, parents, and teachers.
Small and Basically yours,
- Ninja Ed
