Research Question: What opportunities are available to recent graduates of Computer Science?

Source: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1125123.pdf (Links to an external site.)

            I will be pulling information from an academic paper published in the American Journal

of Business Education – First Quarter 2017. The purpose of this paper was to compare the

earnings, job security and job satisfaction of computer science graduates and business

administration graduates, and provides a lot of insight into the trials and tribulations of recent

graduates of the program.

            A narrative has existed for decades that you need a college education in order to get a

“good” job later in life, but is this truly the case? And if so, what opportunities does a college

education actually afford you in today’s job market? It has been found that a “$102,000

investment in a four-year college yields a rate of return of 15.2 percent per year—more than

double the average return over the last 60 years experienced in the stock market (6.8 percent)”

(Mehta and Uhlig 1), so it would seem fairly straightforward that a college education is worth the

price tag.

            However, some jobs have higher pay than others. For example, the average annual salary

in the field of computer science is $81,860, but this can increase significantly with positions such

as Software Developer and Computer and Information Research Scientist having average salaries

of over $100,000 (Mehta and Uhlig 2). This data really emphasizes the high premium employers

place on experience in the computer science field. After just 10 years of work experience in the

field, the average salary of a person with a bachelor’s degree in computer science skyrockets to
$112,000, and that of a person with a master’s degree in computer science increases to $129,500

(Mehta and Uhlig 2).

           Compare these to the “average annual salary of $46,900 earned by young adults between

25 and 34 years old with any bachelor’s degree” and it’s clear to see that you will have a

comfortable salary, no matter what job you choose to pursue (Mehta and Uhlig 2). As a result,

graduates can focus entirely on what field they want to work in the most, and finding an

employer who wants to hire them.

So what does this mean for computer science graduates? The STEM field, and especially

the computer science field is ever-growing and expanding. Every day, new jobs need to be filled

and very frequently new jobs are being created specifically for development or maintenance of

new technology. With a computer science degree and adequate knowledge, you will never be

short of job opportunities, but you need to be careful. The incredibly fast progress of technology

and its effects on the field of computer science mean that you will need to constantly be learning

and improving your skillset on the job, lest you be left behind as the world advances. But, if you

stay focused, learning, and open to new experiences, you will be the ideal candidate for any

number of lucrative jobs in the STEM field, and should do very well for yourself.