Alternative Paths to Computing Careers and Their Role in Broadening Participation

Declaring a computer science (CS) major at the outset of college and going on to earn a computing degree may be the most direct route to a career in computing, but it is certainly not the only pathway. However, much of the work on pathways to computing careers focuses on those who have taken this traditional route, while less attention has been paid to those who pursue alternative pathways into computing. Understanding alternative pathways into computing may be particularly important to discussions about diversity in the field, as some research has shown that women and underrepresented minority (URM) students who enroll in CS courses are more likely than men and other majority students to be non-computing majors and to take computing courses later in their academic careers. This panel will provide perspectives from individuals with expertise in several alternative pathways into computing, such as through coding boot camps, undecided students, community colleges, and retrained end-user programmers.