In the past century, we’ve witnessed a huge increase in the proliferation of computers, going all the way back to the 1940s, when computers were the size of refrigerators and nobody thought there was any real market for them. Today, most of the world’s population uses a computer to some degree, whether it’s the portable kind, like a mobile phone, laptop to tablet, to the much larger solutions like desktop machines and servers. Society today is almost over dependant on computers. As they are used to do just about everything, except think for us.

Thus, in a world where computers have become the centrepiece, it has opened up a huge demand for specialists in the field, with all kinds of skills and expertise. Even with the manufacturing of robots, there must still be someone on the assembly line to put them together or someone to design them to work to specifications. According to the US bureau of Labour Statistics, it is forecasted that growth in this area will increase at a rate of 15% per year by year 2022. Whether it’s manufacturing, finance, healthcare, or insurance, you will find some input from computer science, to one degree or the other.

1. Machine Learning Engineer

Machine Learning (ML) engineer is one of the most popular careers around today, making it a very good pursuit. Over the past couple of years, there’s been a relatively increase in the number of available jobs, engineers that have Machine Learning skills are in high demand in a number of industries. The main responsibility of a Machine Learning engineer is to build and deploy ML systems that are capable of learning and improving by themselves.

This is an exciting and innovative role, where you will be tasked with building new technologies that will push the field to the next level. Skills in algorithms and data structure are big pluses for Machine Learning experts, as well as knowing how to build neural networks, and properly structure projects and probabilistic graphical models. If you get a degree in computer science, it’ll put you in the optimal position for success, and give you a solid foundation in coding, that will be critical to your success.

Average Salary (US): $120,000

2. Data Architect

In the information technology world, data architecture is comprised of policies, models, standards or rules that govern the data collection process, and how it’s arranged, stored, integrated and incorporated into a data system for an organisation. It provides a standardised approach to creating and then managing data flow, which is processed across the IT systems of an organisation. Data architecture covers a wide range of methodologies and processes, all of which address data in motion, data at rest, data sets, and how they relate to applications and processes that are dependent on this data. It includes the main data types and data entities and sources that an organisation would deem essential, in order to properly manage and source its data, Data architecture is thus, designed, developed, deployed and then managed by the data architect.

For individuals to get into this line of work, the foundation education tends to be a Bachelor’s degree in IT or some other related area. Courses that you can expect in your core IT curriculum include programming, web design, system analysis, operating systems, project management, and database application development. The curriculum, depending on the institution, may include other subject areas, such as Visual Basic, Microsoft Access, Oracle Query Language and Structured Query Language (SQL). One of the main advantages to acquiring a degree in the computer science field is that colleges offer both graduate and online undergraduate degree programs.

Average Salary (US): $108,000

3. Senior Software Engineer

A senior software engineer is tasked with upgrading or developing application software and operating systems. They setup and install solutions, by first determining and then designing, system standards, specifications and programming. They are typically the most experienced members of the development team, and may be expected to lead certain software projects. A lot of these engineers get jobs for IT companies developing software for networks or computers (such as operating systems). Others may work for software publishers, developing applications for educational, personal or business use. Their main objective is to create software that offers reliability, and high performance, and this may be done collaboratively, with other software engineers. Additionally, as the senior member of the team, you may be expected to coach and advise those with less experience within the group.

For a career in software design engineering, you are expected to have a Bachelor of Science in Software Development or Engineer with a tight focus on Computer Programming. Within this degree program, the student should be given the opportunity to learn software engineering, where they will get the opportunity to create technical solutions that are designed to tackle common organisational issues. Courses will cover a range of topics in programming languages and logic, scripting and object-orientated programming. Beyond the typical bachelor’s degree, a student may be interested in enrolling in a Master of Science (M.S.) in IT with a focus on Software Engineering. Graduate students are tasked with tackling more complex areas of computer, such as artificial intelligence, parallel computer, wireless engineering and network security.

Average Salary (US): $102,000

4. Full Stack Web Developer

Your typical full stack web developer is fully versed in both back-end and front-end web development. Having an understanding of how applications are built, from start to finish, a full stack web designer is able to design, manage and create software. If you’re interested in learning new technologies and concepts, then this is the ideal career path for you. Job opportunities for web developers is set to grow by 13% by the year 2026, which is faster than any other computer role today.

Average Salary (US): $88,000

–AUTHOR INFO—

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is a former IT Manager who now runs his own computer support website https://www.compuchenna.co.uk.