Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
demand a “cooperative effort” on the part of industry, government, and
educational institutions to resolve.
13
The proceedings of the Conference on Training Personnel for the
Computing Machine Field provide the best data available on the state
of the labor market in the electronic computer industry during its fi rst
decade. Representatives from almost every major computer user or man-
ufacturer were in attendance; those who could not be present were sur-
veyed in advance about their computational requirements and personnel
practices.
The most obvious conclusion to be drawn from these data are that
the computer industry in this period was growing rapidly, not just in
size, but also in scope. The survey of the fi ve hundred largest manufac-
turing companies in United States, compiled by Milton Mengel of the
Burroughs Corporation, revealed that almost one-fi fth were already
using electronic computers by 1954, with another fi fth engaged in study-
ing their feasibility. The extent of this early and widespread adoption of
the computer by large corporations is confi rmed by other sources, and
is a refl ection of the increased availability of low(er)-cost and more reli-
able technology. By 1954, for example, IBM had already released its fi rst
mass-produced computer, the IBM 650, which sold so many units that
it became known as the “Model T” of electronic computing. The IBM
650 and successors were in many ways evolutionary developments,
designed specifi cally to integrate smoothly into already-existing systems
and departments of computation.
This increase in the number of installed computers was, in and of
itself, enough to cause a serious shortage of experienced computer per-
sonnel. Truman Hunter, of the IBM Applied Sciences Division (an entirely
separate group from that headed by Bemer), anticipated doubling his
programming staff (from fi fty to a hundred) by the end of the year.
14
Similar rates of growth were reported in the aircraft, automobile, and
petroleum industries, with one survey respondent expected to triple its
number of programmers.
15
Charles Gregg, of the Air Force Materiel
Command, declined to even estimate the demand for trained computer
personnel in the U.S. government, suggesting only that “we sure need
them badly,” and that as far as training was concerned, “we have a rough
row to hoe.”
16
If we include in our understanding of computer personnel
not just programmers but also keypunch and machine operators, techni-
cians, and supervisory staff, the personnel shortage appears even more
dramatic.
