To Be or Not to Be a Teacher? Exploring CS Students’ Perceptions of a Teaching Career

There has been an increasing tendency and an interest to make computer science (CS) a core subject in the K-12 curriculum, however in many countries there is a CS teacher shortage in high schools. In order to define the possible reasons for CS teacher shortage, we investigated the factors that influence CS students’ career choices and their preferences about teaching. We also studied the requirements students view as important for their career. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 CS bachelor and master students from four different universities in the Netherlands. The results show that the most important factors influencing the career choice of CS students are organization related expectations such as the characteristics of the organization (scale, reputation etc.), the field of expertise and salary expectations. Regarding CS students career plans about becoming a teacher, a large part (almost 75%) of the students stated that they definitely do not think of teaching or teaching is not a priority career goal. The most cited demotivating factors for following a teaching career are the nature of the teaching job and low salaries. Perceived required skills for good CS teachers are frequently defined as pedagogical skills and social skills.