9 Popular Computer Degrees for IT Jobs

Training is absolutely essential if you are interested in a career in the IT field. Often, companies try to find people with computer backgrounds before they begin their search for someone who has formal education.

 

While you may find some entry-level jobs in the industry without a degree, you’ll likely not find a position in which you make a high salary and have a lot of responsibility. There are many different types of degrees that you can pursue in the IT field and the following list highlights just a few:

1. Computer and Network Technician
2. Computer Information Specialist
3. PC Technician
4. PC Support Specialist
5. Network Support Specialist
6. Tech Support Specialist
7. Cloud Network Engineer
8. Fundamentals of Computer and Network Technician
9. Fundamentals of Computer Information Specialist

The computer science degree has long been the standard for students who wanted to be hired in the technology industry. The last few years have seen a surge of new degrees being offered by universities, many of which are being heavily marketed to prospective students. These different ‘computer’ degrees begin to blur the lines between what is considered a computer degree and what is not, but it’s important that you don’t get duped in your search for schools!

Computer Science vs Computer Engineering

Computer engineering typically takes more math courses in their curriculum than computer science. A software focus versus hardware focus seems to be another way these two different paths can sometimes be distinguished. But there are programs where this isn’t necessarily true; some schools offer both majors (or minors) and allow students to choose where they want to focus their education.

There are also the designations of Bachelor of Computer Science or Bachelor of Science in Computer and Network Sciences that can be found. This designation is often used because computer science is a subset of sciences, and not a ‘real’ science like chemistry or physics.

Computer Information Systems vs Information Technology

Over the past decade, many universities have been marketing new Bachelor degree programs as being “computer information systems”, but what do these degrees actually entail? If you search for schools offering computer information systems degrees, you will encounter two different paths. In one version of this degree program, the curriculum veers more towards business with an emphasis on using technology to run a company’s business operations better – typical courses will be related to accounting, management, marketing, and business law. In the other version of this degree program, students will take more traditional computer science courses with a focus on programming or engineering. As you can see from these two descriptions, it’s very easy for a university to market a new degree as being a ‘computer information system’ when in reality it is simply a repackaged Computer Science degree.

Computer Networking vs Information Technology

Another path many universities have been offering is Bachelor degrees labeled as “computer networking” – but what kind of courses are likely to be included? Many schools advertise that their computer networking programs include classes on topics such as building your own network from scratch and learning protocols like TCP/IP.

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