Why+I+Should+Care

Why do I Care about Computers?
===The economy goes through periods where not everyone can find a job (called unemployment). One way to ensure that you have a job is to pick a career that is one of the "hottest" or most in demand. Computer jobs are expected to be among the fastest growing over the next five years (see chart below). Keep in mind that "hot" jobs like computers typically pay the most money.===



Why Should I Work Hard in School?
===You should work hard in school because it is your effort that determines what kind of career you will have. I created the graphs below after watching David McCullough's 2012 commencement speech from Wellesley High school (in Wellesley, MA). He made several excellent points about how difficult it is to be #1 when there are so many other students in the country. You are competing with lots of student you don't even know - in other parts of the country and the world. Take a look at the following two charts for a little perspective about competing against students you don't know. If you are the top student at King (i.e., the Valedictorian), then you are only as good as 27,426 other students in the country. That's more people than live in Darien (19,000) or new Canaan (19,000). What about if you finish in the top 1% of students at King? You are one of 157,739 other students. That is more students than people who live in Greenwich (123,000)===