# What jobs can be gotten with a BSc in Computer Science?



## kkid106 (Sep 21, 2011)

As the title says:

Undergraduate bachelors degree in CS


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

Depends. Computer Science means different things at different universities. If by "Computer Science", you mean a degree that focuses on programming (which most do), then it can help you get a job doing programming.

That said... no degree GETS you a job. You get you a job. Your degree simply makes you more attractive to employers.


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## Kurticus (May 15, 2012)

BosonMichael said:


> Depends. Computer Science means different things at different universities. If by "Computer Science", you mean a degree that focuses on programming (which most do), then it can help you get a job doing programming.
> 
> That said... no degree GETS you a job. You get you a job. Your degree simply makes you more attractive to employers.


BM pretty much summed it up. Why did you decide to get your bachelors in computer science? what interests you? these are questions to ask yourself when pursuing a job/career.


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## kkid106 (Sep 21, 2011)

Kurticus said:


> BM pretty much summed it up. Why did you decide to get your bachelors in computer science? what interests you? these are questions to ask yourself when pursuing a job/career.


I really want a job with companies like Google


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## epshatto (Dec 23, 2010)

Well, what kind of job with Google? They're pretty big and I would imagine they have a wide variety of different positions.


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## liamm (Jan 6, 2012)

Any job regarding computer science. If you have some experience though. The diploma is'n very relevant for a employer, usually you have to brag about what you know, and then live up to your words. That's how i got hired.


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

liamm said:


> ...usually you have to brag about what you know...


...preferably backed up with a portfolio of code you've created.


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## Lockheart (Nov 18, 2011)

kkid106 said:


> I really want a job with companies like Google


Best place to check out careers with Google and companies like them is to go directly to their site and check out careers pages. Here's Google's for instance, Teams and Roles - Google Jobs.

Another good way to glean information about a company is to have a LinkedIn account and search by company. Check out public profiles of current employees and see what they list themselves as doing. Link - Google | LinkedIn.

Talk to professors in your old university department and see if they have any contacts. Check if your university has a careers services section and see if there are alumni who can help you network into workplaces you want to be in.

I graduated with a BS in Computer Science also, but I'm not doing anything related to programming so think about what it is that you really want to do and try to find jobs in a career you want to pursue. </advice>


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## kkid106 (Sep 21, 2011)

I would love to do something in the Engineering section of that page. I want to create new products or improve existing ones.

Is a BSc in Computer Science the best way to do this.

I have not gone to University yet, I will be going soon, I am looking for courses at the moment.
Also, I am defiantly going to university no matter what.


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## Lockheart (Nov 18, 2011)

Computer Science or Computer Engineering would be good routes to take if you want to get into development with them. A friend of mine wound up doing an internship with them during his Masters program.

I'd say that you should work very hard to keep your GPA high and try to get internships that will expand your experience. As others have said around here, in IT experience is king. Internships are a great way to get it while you are studying.


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## kkid106 (Sep 21, 2011)

I am planning on doing a year in industry as part of my degree so this would help in that repect


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## kkid106 (Sep 21, 2011)

Would getting an MComp, MEng or MSci help any more than BSc courses with getting a job? 

(M*** refers to an undergraduate masters degree for those of you who don't know - they are not postgraduate masters)


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

Not really, no. An employer cares about what you can DO... not how many "pieces of paper" you've collected or how long you've studied. 

Who do you think an employer is more likely to hire as a programmer, someone who has been coding for the last 6 years or someone who has been in school for the last 6 years?


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## kkid106 (Sep 21, 2011)

There must be a reason CS degrees exist though, if they were useless nobody would have them.


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

kkid106 said:


> There must be a reason CS degrees exist though, if they were useless nobody would have them.


I never said they were useless. They show an employer that you can finish an extended course of study in a field... which is admirable. But _that's not absolutely required for you to be a programmer_.

EDIT: When pursuing a BS, you'll learn coding theory that will help you throughout your career. That's why many programmers have degrees... it's not easy to learn how to code (whether elegantly, optimally, or correctly) on your own. Having that degree will let employers know there's a good chance you learned things "the right way". A Masters degree isn't really gonna increase those chances any.


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## kkid106 (Sep 21, 2011)

I never said i wanted to be a programmer


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

As BM is trying to point out. Programmers generally have degrees which employers look on favorably but if you want to be an IT technician then you need experience.

Just because you have qualifications does not mean you can manage a bunch of users or a server thats gone into meltdown. You only learn this by doing and in IT for these kinds of jobs experience is what counts.

You could have all the certs in the world and degrees but someone with 1 years experience and no qualifications would get the job every time.


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

What I'm trying to say is that degrees do not magically get you employment.


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## kkid106 (Sep 21, 2011)

But surely they help. 


You all say experience is needed to get a job; but how can you get experience without somebody hiring you to begin with when you had no experience? 

Surely it is the qualifications (and education experience) which would get you this job.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

kkid106 said:


> But surely they help.
> 
> 
> You all say experience is needed to get a job; but how can you get experience without somebody hiring you to begin with when you had no experience?
> ...


This is why you go for entry level jobs which require no experience.


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

kkid106 said:


> But surely they help.
> 
> 
> You all say experience is needed to get a job; but how can you get experience without somebody hiring you to begin with when you had no experience?
> ...


Experience is not needed to get an entry-level IT job. An entry-level job is a job that requires no experience. Certifications and degrees can _help_, sure. But they're not required for entry-level jobs, nor do they guarantee you'll get an IT job.

EDIT: Just so we're using the same terminology... "education" is not "experience".


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## kkid106 (Sep 21, 2011)

In that case, 4 years doing CS will be wasted


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

kkid106 said:


> In that case, 4 years doing CS will be wasted


Depends on what you want to do. If you wanted to be a programmer, then no, it wouldn't be wasted, because you'd learn how to program the way employers expect you to program. This is why many employers require their programmers to have degrees.

If you wanted to be an IT admin, then going for a CS degree isn't a wise move, because you'd be going to school for something that isn't relevant to being an IT admin. IT administration falls more in line with a CIS degree. That said, employers don't typically require entry-level admins to have degrees.

But you say you want to "create new products or improve existing ones". What kind of products? New technology? New software? New cars? New widgets? New _what_? The answer to that will help us to recommend what sort of degree you'd need to go after - if any.


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## kkid106 (Sep 21, 2011)

I want to help design things like new hardware or new programs for new types of hardware. 

In other words, i want a R&D job.


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## dm01 (Oct 10, 2006)

Electrical engineering, or other engineering might be more what you want. The best way to figure out what path to take is to talk to people who are working in the field and ask them what their qualifications are. They might surprise you. I have literally zero qualifications, but I do lots of stuff that people with fancy letters after their names are at a loss to figure out; as a result they don't do much around here without asking first.


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## kkid106 (Sep 21, 2011)

Any idea how i can contact these people?


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

kkid106 said:


> Any idea how i can contact these people?


how about writing to various companies to ask if you can see what those people do and see what is required to be in their job?

Sometimes you have to go out on a limb to get where you want or to find out where you want to be,

My job before last was only got because I picked up the yellow pages and wrote to loads of companies asking if they had a job and that I loved messing about with computers, I think I sent out 70 generic lettersI got 3 replies and got the first job I interviewed for.


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## kkid106 (Sep 21, 2011)

Thanks, I've been doing this for the past few hours now.

The hardest thing is defiantly trying to find contact details of these people.


I have been doing some research also, unlike what many of you have said, many of Intel's most important employees have degrees in Computer Science - not only do they have basic BSc's but some have Masters and PhDs in CS.
Source: Authors | [email protected]


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## kkid106 (Sep 21, 2011)

greenbrucelee said:


> how about writing to various companies to ask if you can see what those people do and see what is required to be in their job?


I've received two replies within about 20 minutes from some very influential people in computing R&D (from international companies) :grin:

Thanks for your suggestion!


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

Well done.


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