This article was previously published in Polish, but I thought I’d post it to give you the information you need four years later. Please share the article from 2026, which will be published soon.
In the first part of this article, we learned the numbers that describe the shortage of programmers in the Polish IT job market. We also learned how many active programmers currently work in the industry and what the situation is like in other countries. Today, we’ll expand on the topic of universities and their impact on the current situation.
This is the second part of the series, I invite you to follow it in its entirety
If you are reading part 2 and haven’t managed to read part 1 of the series, be sure to check it out here: link to part 1 of the series.
Higher education in numbers
According to official data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS), universities in Poland produce approximately 13,000 computer science graduates each year. Not all of them are future programmers, but it’s safe to assume that at least half will pursue this field. After completing programming and database courses and completing internships (if the university offers them), computer science graduates can look for their first job.
Many students can program before entering university. However, we must distinguish between the ability to work on commercial projects and programming skills, which alone don’t guarantee a job or starting a business and fulfilling contracts. Furthermore, in some cases, companies hiring Junior Developers require a computer science degree.
Surprisingly, however, every year we have at least 35,000 IT graduates (source), (source2) who choose an academic path. What happens to the 60% of students who don’t complete their program? The answer is simple: they enter the job market directly (not necessarily in IT) or other fields of study and continue their education. There is no other option, if we take into account that unemployment in Poland is only 5-6% (GUS).
Is programming too difficult?
The thesis from the first part seems to be confirmed: programming, or computer science in general, seems too difficult or uninteresting for IT aspirants. After the first year of education, most candidates leave university.
Nothing could be further from the truth, and this is precisely where the problem lies. At universities, when we review the so-called syllabi, we discover that among the approximately 25 subjects in the first two years of study, there are only 5-6 subjects closely related to programming.
Overwhelmed by algebra or physics, students drop out or are expelled from universities, even if their aptitude for learning programming is sufficient. Potentially promising programmers are not profiled specifically for programming; instead, they possess extensive knowledge of the sciences.
On the other hand, it could be said that this tests a student’s ability to learn. If they learn differentiation, they will certainly be able to grasp the abstraction that constantly occurs in programming.
I’ll leave the above counterargument open to debate. Do we need this much time spent on math and physics? Personally, I think the basics of math and physics would be perfectly sufficient. Meanwhile, in my first four semesters, I studied five mathematics subjects alone: two semesters of calculus, algebra, statistics, and discrete mathematics. Did this help me learn programming? I’m not convinced.
Programming schools are crushing public universities
This is precisely why programming schools are developing so rapidly. They are unrivaled in the public sector when it comes to programming instruction. They claim to deliver better results in a shorter time compared to their educational competitors. I’ll leave the actual effectiveness of bootcamps for discussion – that’s a topic for a separate article. The focus is solely on their assumptions. Higher education in Poland is not prepared for the enormous need to “produce” programmers.
I haven’t found a higher education institution in Poland that focuses directly on programming. Typically, programs are general in nature, with the option of specializing in the final semesters and writing an engineering thesis related to programming.
If computer science degree programs covered what well-formed bootcamp curricula do today, there would certainly be many more people willing to complete them.
Let’s fantasize!
Imagine a programming course extended fivefold. And it was free. How many portfolio projects could we create during such a course? How extensively could we cover algorithms and data structures? How many tools like Scrum, version control systems, or software engineering topics could we learn in depth enough to launch us into the job market?
Programming schools aren’t perfect either; they overpromise their clients. Their curricula, however, align much better with market demands in IT. This means we have bootcamps and courses that are too short to adequately explore certain topics, and, on the other hand, programs overloaded with unnecessary topics.
Personally, if I had to choose now, I’d still go to full-time studies (or part-time if I could afford it), but I’d learn programming on my own and look for a job after four or five semesters. As a result, I’d probably have to switch to part-time studies. This is the advice I give to high school graduates who want to become programmers.
Archaic technologies only make the situation worse
Higher education is lagging behind the technical demands placed on candidates in the job market. Programming instruction in higher education often boils down to learning a low-level language and a few object-oriented languages. Over the course of four years, approximately 20-30% of subjects are strictly programming-related. This is insufficient. Furthermore, the software versions used in laboratories date back to pre-2010.
Higher education faculty are often theoreticians who haven’t worked in commercial settings. In my case, programming classes were taught by very polite lecturers, but unfortunately, most of them graduated a dozen or so years ago. They weren’t up to date.
If universities sought programming trainers available commercially, students would gain knowledge directly from the place they ultimately end up. The curricula themselves would also be more responsive to the market, which, as we know, is changing rapidly.
The only advantage, a major advantage, is the internships that most universities offer to their students. In my case, like many other candidates, the internship proved to be a milestone that propelled me into the job market. After landing my first job, it became increasingly easier with each passing year to negotiate terms and seek new projects and employers.
Summary
In the article, he bluntly criticizes higher education. Our education doesn’t adequately prepare students for programming and market needs. Many students also abandon computer science studies due to difficulties with science subjects. The problem is exacerbated by the lack of appropriate faculty. Nevertheless, internships are undoubtedly a plus, making technical studies worthwhile. However, this isn’t enough.
Fortunately, programming has been a key pillar of extracurricular activities in primary schools for some time now. Hopefully, secondary schools dedicated to programming, which are also slowly emerging, will also set the pace for universities. In the coming years, we will see the popularization of programming, which should have positive effects on the IT market in Poland.
