#MajorMondays

Let's get #MajorMondays started. Every Monday I'll post info on a specific college major, what jobs are available to you, and what you'll be studying. Give me feedback on what you'd like to see next week on #MajorMondays. This week's #MajorMondays is COMPUTER SCIENCE! (*play fanfare here*)

What is COMPUTER SCIENCE?
Computer science majors learn about computer systems and the way humans and computers interact from a scientific perspective. Instruction includes programming and the theory and design of software. (https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/majors/computer-information-sciences-computer-science)

Computer science is the systematic study of information and our interaction with it. What energy is to physics, information is to computer science. It is about how we represent it, how we store it, how we manipulate it and how we present it. (http://www.princeton.edu/majorchoices/departments/computer-science/)

It helps to be precise and mathematical but also able to think abstractly. In order to solve problems, you’ll need to think like a human and like a computer at the same time. This requires creativity, imagination, and the ability to think logically.

While programming is essential to studying computer science, the major can prepare you for careers that involve no programming at all.
  

As a computer science major, programming courses will be a key part of your studies. These classes cover languages such as C++ and Java, and introduce you to the precise thinking behind computer programming. You’ll learn how to solve problems by translating a question into instructions a computer can follow to come up with the answers. And you’ll explore what goes on inside a computer when it’s solving a problem.

What jobs are out there in COMPUTER SCIENCE?

• Computer and Information Systems Manager
• Computer Hardware Engineer
• Computer Programmer
• Computer Support Specialist
• Computer Systems Analyst
• Database Administrator
• Network and Computer Systems Administrator
• Software Developer
• Software Engineer
• Web Developer
• Artificial Intelligence

Computer scientists are integral to virtually every business in the modern world. That means that there's a demand for us in everything from finance to politics to bioengineering. Of course, traditional computer companies such as Google and Microsoft pay special attention to us, and a large number of CS majors end up interning and/or working for companies like those. We typically have excellent job placement rates and starting salaries—in fact, we often have the highest average starting salaries of any major at Princeton. (http://www.princeton.edu/majorchoices/departments/computer-science/#intern_experience)



Is a degree in COMPUTER SCIENCE worth it?
Yes yes a hundred times, YES!
Moving up in the field will only garner you more money as you go along (Master's degree, Doctorate degree), but Bachelor's degree holders also find lots of jobs that make a lot of money.

Just check out this graph of how much the computer-related career field is intended to grow over the next few years:

 

According to about.com, these are the cities and jobs hiring the most Computer Science majors:

Top 10 Cities Where Companies Are Hiring

1. Washington, D.C.
2. San Jose
3. NewYork
4. San Francisco
5. Boston
6. Seattle
7. Chicago
8. Atlanta
9. Los Angeles
10. Dallas

Top 10 Companies Hiring

1. CSC
2. AppLabs
3. General Dynamics
4. Microsoft
5. Deloitte
6. Amazon
7. ManTech Int'l Corp.
8. Raytheon
9. HP
10. Northrop Grumman

Schools that offer COMPUTER SCIENCE
Some of the top COMPUTER SCIENCE schools in the world include:

• University of Texas at Austin
• University of California at LA
• Cornell University
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Harvard University
• Princeton University
• UC Berkley
• Stanford

New York schools that offer COMPUTER SCIENCE:

• SUNY Stonybrook University
• SUNY University at Buffalo
• CUNY City Tech
• CUNY City College
• CUNY Hunter College
• CUNY College of Staten Island
• Wagner College
• Marist College
• Hofstra University
• Pace University

#MajorMondays!
-Ms. Miller-Pecora


MyMajors.com

Found a website today that is a really incredible resource for researching colleges and majors.

WWW.MYMAJORS.COM

This website is recommended by basically every organization that has anything to do with college research for high school students. They have a very in-depth quiz that any student can take that will match you to the college majors that would best suit you and your interests.

Aside from the quiz, there is lots of info on the website about how to plan for college, apply, save money, etc. Definitely check this one out!

-Ms. Miller-Pecora

Lucrative College Majors

NPR posted this great piece today about the 10 Most (and Least) Lucrative College Majors. This is really something to start thinking about!

8 of the 10 most lucrative majors are in the engineering fields, and 1 is in computer science - whoa, McKee students. You are seriously on the forefront of a really nice career and salary in your life!

If you don't actually read the article, at least read this line, which is the best and most important advice you could receive on choosing a college/major:

What you major in has a bigger influence over your income than where you go to school, according to Anthony Carnevale, an economist at Georgetown University.

 Here is also a more thorough chart with info on salary increases by majors:
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-Degrees_that_Pay_you_Back-sort.html

-Ms. Miller