Everywhere you turn these days, you see a computer. Sometimes, you don’t even see a computer when there’s one right in front of you—in your microwave oven, in your video game console, in your car, in your wristwatch, or in your smartphone. Computers are all over the place, and so are computer careers. A computer science degree will take you to the top of the computer field, and in a world run by computers, that’s an important and lucrative place to be.
Computer science is about more than just using or even programming computers. It’s about understanding computers on a basic level and working with them in fundamental ways. In earning a computer science degree, you’ll learn about computers on both the abstract and concrete levels in both theory and practice. A computer science degree will provide you with knowledge of mathematics, of programming algorithms, of electronics, of computer networking, of engineering, and of all the other disciplines that can make you a highly employable and highly paid computer professional.
Computer science is such a huge field that you can obtain degrees at many different levels, even beginning your computer science studies in high school (though don’t expect to get a high-paying computer job based purely on your high school diploma and some classes in computer data entry). You can also obtain an associate’s computer science degree from a two-year college or technical school that will probably be enough to get you an entry-level position as a computer programmer. If you’re in a hurry to get your career in computers underway and don’t want to spend a fortune in tuition, this may be the right option for you. But, it’s a good idea, if possible, to obtain at least a bachelor’s-level computer science degree from a four-year college if you want to find a solid job with a good corporation and have opportunities for career advancement.
You don’t have to stop there, though. Many colleges offer a master’s-level computer science degree, which will take you an additional one to two years to earn after you finish your bachelor’s degree program, and from there, you can invest an additional two or three years to get a doctorate in computer science. You might even want to do postdoctoral work in the field.
Is the more advanced computer science degree worth it? That’s up to you. But, the letters PhD after your name carry substantial weight in the computer science field and will help you get a job at the top of your profession or even allow you to become a professor of computer science.
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