The Future of Your Degree -
This is one of the most important factors you need to consider. Choose a field that has a high likelihood of providing you with a sustainable and challenging career. Even though employment in all computer related occupations is expected to grow by 22% through 2020 on average, some IT disciplines would fare better than others. For instance, according to 2015 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, software developers can earn up to $100,690 per year, whereas computer programmers up to $79,530 every year. The demand for software developers is expected to grow by 17% (much faster than average), while the latter is declining at 8%. With such disparity existing within the same field, choose your specialization and career path wisely.
Pick the Right Place -
The place where you graduate from does make a difference. Not only is it about the university or institute, but the location also defines you. Your growth is not limited to the classrooms and labs. Not only do you need to pick a college wisely, you need to think about the town, the city and the country you should go to for your computer science degree. If not for the entire degree, you should at least go for a computer science abroad semester. Whether it’s US, England, Spain, Italy, France or Germany, select the country and city carefully. You never know what might serve as inspiration for your next idea.
Acquire Marketable Skills -
This computer science industry is constantly evolving. While students typically focus on gaining knowledge to develop or improve products, businesses today are not necessarily looking for those kinds of skills. The transformed IT sector has created hybrid roles across companies, with skills such as systems integration, business intelligence, .Net, cloud computing, mobile languages and Java. So make sure you are prepared with in demand skills.
Get Hands-On Experience -
While most people think of computer scientists as professionals who spend all of their time on computers, it is not so – or at least, it should not be so. You can’t learn business fundamentals, team work and what the clients need by just going through text books. Participate in volunteer work, student projects, business idea competitions, networking night, presentations and so on. Build up on your communication and presentation skills, and learn how you can be an asset to your future employers.
Persevere -
Getting a degree in computer science is not easy. No matter what college or country you get it from, it is considered one of the toughest degrees to complete. So if you are truly passionate about the subject, be strong and persevere till the end.
Computer science is a rapidly evolving industry with immense potential. So, regardless of what made you choose this path, you need to ensure your growth reflects the changing market trends. Focus on gathering an all-encompassing experience – in terms of skills acquired, professional exposure and personal development.