The Better Question Is Whether Skills Can Move

Originally written in Traditional Chinese: 資工系少了將近五分之一的人，該問的是能力能不能搬家

In two years, US computer science programs have lost nearly one in five undergraduates.

On October 29, the National Student Clearinghouse released preliminary fall 2026 data: computer and information science enrollment fell 12.4% among undergraduates at four-year institutions and 10.4% in graduate programs. Bloomberg reports two-year declines of 18.4% (undergraduate) and 27.1% (graduate). Health majors grew by as much as 6.2%. The Clearinghouse's Matthew Holsapple called them "just remarkable declines for a field that until recently was one of the fastest growing areas."

A caution: the data show that students left, not why. Bloomberg links it to AI and vanishing entry-level coding jobs; that is a reading, not a finding. Taiwan shows a similar signal with more than one explanation: this summer, the placement cutoff for National Taiwan University's computer science department fell sharply. NTU's registration office suggested AI may be a factor; NYCU's dean of academic affairs pointed to the strong pull of the semiconductor industry.

Whatever the cause, students may be leaving something bigger than a major: the belief that the right field, chosen once, will carry you for life.

So the better question is not which major is safe. It is whether what a young person learns can move.

I was repriced once myself. On ChatGPT's first day, I pasted in the TOEIC and IELTS writing rubrics. It graded and wrote model answers in seconds. My only thought: "Twenty years of teaching, and this is it?" Later I saw it clearly. What was replaced was the information-organizing part. What remained was teaching students how to think. That part travels.

This is not advice to avoid computer science. Students who love it should still study it. And herding everyone into health fields repeats the same mistake with a different major.

How do you test whether a skill travels? In my course I teach the Alchemy Question: "I already understand A well. Explain B to me using A." Then: "Where does this analogy break down?" Run it in reverse. Ask a student to name what they know best, such as basketball, drawing or running a club. Ask AI to explain a major they are considering through it, then where the analogy breaks. Draw two columns: where it holds is what they can carry; where it breaks is what they must learn fresh. A long left column doesn't mean a perfect fit. It means they are not starting from zero.

Professionals can run the same test. The part of your work you can explain through something else you know is your capability. The part you can't may only be your job title.

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The Better Question Is Whether Skills Can Move

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