Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 3.5
Cartoon from
New Yorker
magazine, May 31, 1969. © Vahan Shirvanian/The
New Yorker Collection/www.cartoonbank.com.
tion of syntax rather than hands-on problem solving. Because of the high
costs associated with renting computer time, the curriculum was often
padded with material only tangentially related to computing—such as
several days' worth of review of basic arithmetic. A few schools did lease
their own computers, but these were typically the low-end IBM/360
Model 20, which did not possess its own disk or tape mechanism. At
some schools students could expect to only receive as little as one hour
total of machine time, which had to be shared among a class of up to
fi fteen students.
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These schools were generally profi t-oriented enterprises more inter-
ested in quantity than quality. The entrance examinations, curriculum,
and fee structure of these programs were carefully constructed to comply
with the requirements of the GI Bill. Aggressive salespeople promised
guaranteed placement and starting salaries of up to $700 per week—at
a time when the industry average weekly salary for junior programmers
was closer to $400 to $500. Since these salespeople were paid on com-
mission, and could earn as much as $150 for every student who enrolled
in a $1,000 course of study, they encouraged almost anyone to apply;
for many of the vocational schools, the “only meaningful entrance
requirements are a high school diploma, 18 years of age . . . and the
