Computer Science Bachelor's Degree

A Bachelor's degree in computer science is an interdisciplinary field of study that correlates the aspects of computer technology with the aspects of business. Individuals with a bachelor's degree in this area will spend their time developing, practicing, and testing current computer technology. This educational path makes it possible for you to seek employment in a technological related field or a business related field. If you have a knack for what goes on in both of these career worlds, then this degree program is likely to suit you perfectly! For instance, computer science graduates can look for employment as a computer scientist. In this position, you would use current technology as a means of identifying problems and developing appropriate solutions. It is customary for individuals working as a computer scientist to work side by side with technological engineers.

Should you decide to pursue employment as a market researcher, then it will be your responsibility to review consumer preferences, analyze the information, compile it into a report, and use all of the information to improve marketing methods and strategies. In this job capacity you may spend the majority of your time working with internet surveys or studies. Another possible employment avenue is a risk analyst. If you work as a risk analyst you will work to identify potential risk factors for a specific insurance company.

You may work alongside the underwriting team that the insurance company employs. If none of these job positions seem to fit your career goals, you could also work as a statistician or a computer programmer. Statisticians will spend much of their time analyzing a set of data in order to improve marketing strategies and projections. Computer programmers have a responsibility of developing a language for a variety of computer software applications. In this job capacity, you may also be required to create software and ensure that it works properly.

If this type of work sounds like it would suit your career goals, then let's talk about the educational requirements. Of course, you will first need to obtain your high school diploma, or the equivalent. As you begin narrowing your choices for a post-secondary school, you may want to consider an online learning format. Many traditional four year colleges or universities offer a Bachelor's degree program in computer science that can be pursued from the comfort of your home.

Keep in mind, many of these schools may have a degree program in this field of study that makes it possible for you to complete some courses on campus and some through an online format. Be sure you check into the school you want to attend to find out the options they offer in relation to your intended degree program. No matter which learning institution you choose to attend, you will be required to complete prerequisite courses such as introduction to computers and foundations for computer science. Once you have gained admittance into your college's computer science program, you will be required to complete concentration courses that will adequately prepare you for your future career.

Real Life Computer Science Roles

One of the questions we often receive is what a typical life is like at work for those who choose a computer science major. It all depends on your level of work but there are some myths that I’d like to clear up about this major and help you decide if this is a degree worth pursuing.

Boring Work – The first thing is that the work you’ll be doing is not boring. In fact you’ll be doing some pretty amazing things. The industry is big and companies hire individuals with all levels of computer coding knowledge so don’t think you need to have 10+ years of experience to fit in.

No Jobs – This is something we have heard for years. People think that all of our coding and IT jobs are going overseas. The truth is we have plenty of jobs available here in the US and most US corporations need people in-house to do the work. Outsourcing overseas can be costly as the quality of work isn’t as good and companies end up having to redo projects due to the lack of communications and time they spend dealing with outsourcers.

Cubicle Work – As with any IT profession you will be spending a lot of your day at work sitting in front of a computer however companies these days have ditched the cubicles. Computer science majors often work in open environments at work with no walls and independent workstations. This allows you to float around the office and work at different areas, often standing up so you aren’t sitting all day.

Routine – Another myth is that you’ll be doing the same thing over and over again. This couldn’t be more false. Project diversity is something that most companies don’t have a problem with as they realize they need to keep you engaged at work. You often will be working on multiple projects at the same time and no two projects are really ever the same.

Self-Taught – While some of this can be true most individuals that choose to become a computer science major or computer programmer don’t teach themselves how to code. Like with most professions individuals start out in college. The minimum amount of education we recommend would be a Bachelor’s degree in computer science. This allows you to get the basic education needed to start looking for an entry job. At that point you can take more specialized training and coding courses either after college or during your first job. Some companies will even pay for you to receive this training and even some might pay for you to continue with additional degrees.

Dead End Job – Some feel that if you earn your degree in computer science you’ll spend all day looking at a computer screen doing code with no chance for a career advancement. The truth is the industry of computer science is massive. So many industries need CS major including automotive, NASA, mobile as well as research opportunities with companies and governments. Many of these career paths don’t require that you sit in front of a computer coding.