Careers

Students pursuing their undergraduate degree in Computer Science or Computer Information Systems in spite of the "conventional wisdom" ("jobs have gone overseas") have been rewarded with exceptional career opportunities with excellent starting salaries. The field is vast and includes opportunities in a variety of industries. Our graduates have been placed in retail, manufacturing, defense, banking, transportation, telecommunications, health care and many other disparate fields. That is an indication of how fundamental this knowledge is to a host of disciplines.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts out the "Occupational Outlook Handbook" that can serve as a very useful guide to the diverse career tracks that can be targeted by students taking up Computer Science or Information Systems.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also compiles a lot of data on the economy, jobs and labor pool. Relevant links with summaries are provided below:

Highest paid: In this category, you will find most of the Doctors, Judges, CEOS ... and Computer Information Systems Managers. The employment data shows that the employment is almost the same for CIS managers as all Physicians and Surgeons.

Largest Occupations in Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: Software Application Developers make up 3% of the industry and make the 4th highest average wage (significantly more than accountants and auditors). Most of our Computer Science graduates head this way.

Largest Occupations in Management of Companies and Enterprises: Computer Systems Analysts make up 2% of this group, but make the 3rd highest annual mean wage. Computer Information Systems students target jobs in this category.

Occupation profiles: Check this link to learn about various occupation categories and the usual duties expected of them. In the 15-0000 series ("Computer and Mathematical Occupations") you will find descriptions for Systems Analysts, Information Security Analysts, software developers and numerous others.

For instance, for "Software developers" (usually Computer Science) you will see the following:

"Develop, create, and modify general computer applications software or specialized utility programs. Analyze user needs and develop software solutions. Design software or customize software for client use with the aim of optimizing operational efficiency. May analyze and design databases within an application area, working individually or coordinating database development as part of a team. May supervise computer programmers."

and for "Systems Analyst" (usually Computer Information Systems) you will see:

"Analyze science, engineering, business, and other data processing problems to implement and improve computer systems. Analyze user requirements, procedures, and problems to automate or improve existing systems and review computer system capabilities, workflow, and scheduling limitations. May analyze or recommend commercially available software."

In addition to data on jobs and salaries, the BLS site is a treasure trove of information on industries as well as employment by state and region.