Reasons to Consider a Computer Science Major in 2022

Hi everyone, welcome back. Computer science is a popular major among students and for good reason. I received my bachelor’s degree in computer science and it has definitely helped me shape my future by building a career out of it, a software engineering career. There are many benefits of having a computer science major and the career paths that it can offer. With this introduction out of the way, let’s get into it.

What is Computer Science?

Computer science is a very broad field with various focus areas that can lead you down different career paths. Computer science is simply a study of computers, and getting a computer science degree can open up a whole new set of opportunities for you. Computer science involves work with software, including programming and coding, but may also include hardware as well. Math, statistics, and analytics can also be heavily involved in computer science as well depending on the specific area you wish to focus in.

Why is Computer Science Popular?

Nearly every company has a need for employees with computer science related knowledge. Computer science degrees can provide you with a number of benefits that other majors may not be able to offer. These benefits offer a large number of opportunities, career paths, high salaries, and job security. Technology is constantly changing, and constantly evolving, meaning that there is much to do in the computer science field. There are also new technologies that always seem to be coming out which presents computer scientists with even more opportunities and a bigger future.

Computer Science Related Fields

There are a number of focus areas or career paths within computer science as we have mentioned earlier. Many of these have overlap. Let’s look at some of the popular career paths:

• Software Engineering: Developing computer software and applications. Tasks include designing, implementing, testing, and maintaining computer software, including mobile apps and web apps. Positions such as software engineer, developer positions, devops positions, and UI/UX designers are some positions within the software engineering process.
• Data Scientist: Knowledge from data is used to solve a problem or to improve results. Data scientists use statistics and analytics to examine and study a dataset. New discoveries can be made from studying/examining the data, and these discoveries can provide data scientists with a solution to take an action to solve a problem or improve results. Positions such as artificial intelligence engineer, machine learning engineer, data scientist, and analyst positions are some positions within the data science field.
• Information Technology(IT): The IT department typically manages the software, hardware, and networking capabilities within a company. Some common tasks include technological installations, creating and managing a secure infrastructure, and solving any technological related problems. some IT positions include network architect, network administrator, system administrator, or even any cyber security related positions.
• Cyber Security: Protects computers(or any device) and networks from digital attacks. This includes protecting hardware, software, and user data. Applications, networks, databases, and clouds all need to be secured to protect against attacks. Identifying and addressing vulnerabilities is a common task among cyber security analysts, along with creating mitigations to reduce the risk of a vulnerability. Positions may include cyber security analyst, security administrator, cryptographer, and cyber software engineer.
• Database Administrator: A database is used as a collection of data storage which can be used to interact with a software application. Tasks may be to create the database model which includes creating entities, properties of each entity, and relations to other entities, or to maintain database instances to ensure there are no errors with users attempting to access the data.
• Computer Graphics: Creating digital images with computer software. Computer graphics programming includes working with special digital effects and animations. Designs created can be used for a number of different applications and purposes including video games, movies, advertisements, websites, and much more. Positions include graphic designers, game designer, web designer, UI/UX design, animator, or even a production artist.

How difficult is a Computer Science Major?

Computer science has been known to be a relatively difficult major. There are various computer science topics you can expect to have to learn when going for a computer science degree, such as programming and math. Time and effort will be required to learn and use computer software including programming. When it comes to programming, getting frustrated is a common thing. Especially when it is first being learned, and unfortunately many students get discouraged from it. It takes practice to learn and to build up programming skills. It also takes practice to learn and use any other computer software as well.

Conclusion

Overall, computer science is a great major choice for 2022 due to having a large amount of opportunities and a growing future. Going to school for it may be difficult, but you will gain knowledge and skills that are going to be beneficial and high in demand in the future. Getting started is the hardest part. There are many career paths that a computer science degree can lead you down towards. I hope this helps. Thanks for reading.