Maine launches Project Login to double state's computer science graduation rate
The mismatch between existing and future jobs in Maine, and the workers willing and able to do them, applies across many fields, from hospitality to advanced manufacturing.
"The school district said that when they were looking for people, techs, to run network lines or do anything with IT, they had trouble finding people in the field," White said.
Marcia Moore had a different experience since graduating from UMA's post-baccalaureate program in May of 2011.
The Monmouth resident uses the skills she learned to run her website selling lawn gnomes and to do database work that makes her more productive in her job at Maine Revenue Services, where she's worked for 20 years.
But she wants to move away from accounting, and her degree hasn't yet helped her get a job in the computer sector. The jobs she's seen available pay far less than she makes.
Moore said several of her classmates from UMA have moved out of state for work, and she thinks that may be contributing to Maine's shortage of computer professionals.
"It's not a well-paid field for Maine, at least not for entry-level," Moore said. "For $12 an hour it's not worth going to school for four years. The deficit in Maine is not really due to lack of qualified people; they can't keep them because they can't pay enough."
