A career in computers is very lucrative and one of the most sought after careers in the world. The current trends indicate that there will be high demand for Network Administrators and Software Developers, in the near future.
Latest Career Options
The trends in 2012 indicate some additions to the long list of computer careers, namely Parallel Programming, Simulation Engineering and Roboticists.
With the same skill set you cannot simply get into working in any of the computer jobs that are available in the market. If you are someone who has a good hand in coding or computer programming, it is not necessary that you will have the right expertise for handling computer administrator or network administrator jobs, too. Here are a few career options in this field that will be in demand in the future as well.
Software Developers
Roles and Responsibilities: The responsibility of a developer is to develop applications for end users and to develop system programs to run devices. New program testing also becomes a part of their job title. They usually work on the programming languages like Java, Visual Basic or C#.
Minimum Qualification: A Bachelor’s degree in computer science is required. Popular certificate courses are Microsoft Certified Solution Developer and Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP) from IEEE.
Pay Scale: The median pay scale is $90,530 per year.
Future Trends: This career option is expected to rise 30% faster than average.
Note.- Mobile Application Development falls under this category.
Network Administrators
Roles and Description: The computer administrator has to perform a huge array of tasks ranging from providing resources to all the computers connected in the network to securing the computer network from any person trying to infiltrate into the network. They also need to take care that there is no unethical access of resources through any of the computers connected in the network.
Minimum Qualification: Bachelor’s Degree with a certification course in the same field is a must. A few popular certifications are CCNA, MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator), and CWNA (Certified Wireless Network Administrator).
Pay Scale: The median pay scale is $69,160 per year.
Future Trends: This career option is expected to rise 28% faster than average.
Computer Research Scientists
Roles and Responsibilities: They are responsible to design new technology and utilize it to the fullest. They make complicated computer programs for industrial use as well. They also provide hardware and software solutions to clients.
Minimum Qualification: Ph.D. in the computer science field
Pay Scale: The median pay scale is $100,660 per year.
Future Trends: This career option is expected to rise 19% faster than average.
Help Desk Technicians
Roles and Responsibilities: The support technicians have to provide technical support and troubleshooting to clients along with hardware and networking solutions. They also need to monitor client’s network and maintain it.
Minimum Qualification: One must successfully complete technical courses or vocational courses in software skills. One of the popular courses in this field is Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST).
Pay Scale: The median pay scale is $46,260 per year.
Future Trends: This career option is expected to rise 18% faster than average.
Computer Programmers
Roles and Responsibilities: The task of a programmer is to write software codes for desktop application or a web application.
Minimum Qualification: You require a Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree with knowledge of programming languages like Java, C, C++, etc. Certification courses in the latest programming languages will be useful like CCP – Certified Computing Professional from Institute for the Certification of Computing Professionals.
Pay Scale: The median pay scale is $71,380 per year.
Future Trends: This career option is expected to rise 12% faster than average.
Computer Hardware Engineers
Roles and Responsibilities: They work on design, development and testing of complex chips, motherboards and circuitry.
Minimum Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, electronics or electrical engineering
Pay Scale: The median pay scale is $98,810 per year.
Future Trends: This career option is expected to rise 9% faster than average.
Software Testers
Roles and Responsibilities: The job of a software tester is to analyze various software that have been designed by the computer programmers. The software tester needs to analyze the performance of the software and point out any bugs that are present in the program.
Minimum Qualification: A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in the relevant field
Pay Scale: Not Defined
Security Consultants
Roles and Responsibilities: They are responsible for making security plans, carry out security audits, and jot down steps for risk management.
Minimum Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in the same field is needed. Popular certification in CSC by International Association of Professional Security Consultants would be another requirement.
A Career In the Military
For those who want to use their computer expertise in the military, this is the right job. The selection procedure of computer programmers in the military may not be as simple as that in other IT jobs. The job location may be the military base itself.
Network Administrators
Roles and Responsibilities: They will have to maintain the computer networks, provide security against viruses and troubleshoot any problems that occur in that network. The military stores vital information in its computers and processes information on a wide range of fields like finance, weather and communication. As computer professionals working with the military, they may also have to design software programs for use in the military.
Pay Scale: The starting salary will be according to the government jobs’ norms set up for the military at the time of joining.
Benefits: Just like any other military personnel, administrators will be entitled to a lot of benefits like that of housing, clothing, traveling discounts, entertainment, etc.
A Career in Criminal Justice
Undoubtedly, it is one of the most enticing careers that many computer engineering students want to get through.
Computer Forensic Investigators
Roles and Responsibilities: Generally, forensic investigators start off with their own firm or in some other firm and work for data recovery from hard disks. There is scope in the criminal investigation field as well.
Minimum Qualification: A Master’s in this field is the perfect platform for starting off with this field.
Pay Scale: According to many job salary surveys, it is one of the highest paying jobs where the salary can range between $50,000 to $100,000.
* The source for the above-mentioned pay scales and future trends is Bureau of Labor Statistics. The pay scales are as per 2010 median pay statistics while the future trends cover a range till 2020.
The trends show that the demand for computer jobs comes from not one particular country, but from almost all the globalized countries in the world.