What Can You Do With a Computer Science Degree? Exploring Your Options

If you’re thinking about majoring in computer science, you probably have a few questions about your options after graduation. What is a typical computer science career? What can you do with a Computer Science degree? Are computer science-related jobs in demand?

Every career profiled below has a faster-than-average growth rate projected for the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Computer science degree holders have the option to explores these opportunities.

But you may be wondering—what are common computer science careers? Will everyone just become computer scientists in this field?

We used data from The Burning Glass Institute to provide a detailed breakdown of job opportunities that often seek applicants with a Computer Science degree. 

Take a closer look at what that could mean.

6 Common careers for people with a degree in computer science

A Burning Glass Institute analysis of more than one million job postings seeking candidates with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science identified six of the most common options.¹

1. Software developer

• Projected employment growth 2022–2032 (BLS): 25 percent.²
• Common job titles: Software development engineer, Java developer, applications developer

What do software applications developers do?

Think of how often you send an email, scroll around on social media or stream media on your phone or computer. Practically everything we do with the help of computers is powered by software.

Software developers create, test and modify these programs. Everything—from the front-and-center user interface to the underlying code that ensures it performs as planned—is affected by software development professionals.

In their day-to-day work, most software developers work as one part of a larger team. Their product must meet desired specifications and ultimately interface well with other segments of code.

Some software developers specialize in areas such as quality assurance, where duties focus on testing software for issues, documenting them and resolving whatever’s gone wrong.

2. Information security analyst

• Projected employment growth 2022–2032 (BLS): 32 percent.²
• Common job titles: Cyber security analyst, information systems security officer, IT security specialist

What do information security analysts do?

Information security professionals keep their organization’s network and information safe with plans and procedures to minimize damage in the event of a security breach. They review policies and applications, implement new ones, update everything and use their computer science skills to protect their employer's assets.

Information security analysts install firewall and encryption tools, vet software programs, report breaches or vulnerabilities, research IT trends and educate other personnel on security best practices.

Note that Rasmussen's Computer Science program does not list this role as a career outcome. While some employers of this role do look for applicants with a degree in Computer Science, browse other technology degree options to before you decide which program to pursue. 

3. Web developer

• Projected employment growth 2022–2032 (BLS): 16 percent.²
• Common job titles: Front-end developer, back-end developer, web designer, web development architect

What do web developers do?

As you can probably guess, web developers build, maintain and design websites.

Some web developers focus primarily on “front-end” features like the design, layout and other surface-level functional elements of a website. Others focus on the “back-end” systems that ensure the site works as intended and communicates properly with other systems connect to the site—for example, inventory databases and customer relationship management systems for online retailers.

Professionals with computer science degrees often gravitate to "back-end" web development careers, since their knowledge of database structures, programming logic and mapping information flows is pretty much exactly what a website needs to function well.

4. Computer systems analyst

• Projected employment growth 2022-2032 (BLS): 10 percent.²
• Common job titles: Business analyst, business systems analyst, IT analyst, information systems analyst

What do computer systems analysts do?

Computer systems analysts merge business needs with IT initiatives. They analyze, improve and plan entire IT systems to meet an organization's needs.

So, what does that look like? They spend a considerable amount of time meeting with business leaders, gathering information about what the company needs.

How will this system be used? Will this need to work at a larger scale in the future? Will this need to connect with other systems?

Then, computer systems analysts work with technical teams to plan and deploy technology to meet those needs. A degree in computer science is very helpful here since it will give you a bigger picture of how many different systems work.

That intersection of computer technology, data science, computer networks and even different types of technology specializations will come in handy as you cast a larger vision.

Note that Rasmussen's Computer Science program does not list this role as a career outcome. While some employers of this role do look for applicants with a degree in Computer Science, research employers and technology degree options before you decide which program to pursue. 

5. Computer and information systems manager

• Projected employment growth 2022-2032 (BLS): 15 percent.²
• Common job titles: IT project manager, IT program manager, Cyber security program manager

What do computer and information systems managers do?

These managers work behind the scenes to bring complicated technology initiatives to life. They oversee a team of technical specialists and create workflows to achieve a company’s IT projects.

Their organization skills and keen attention to detail help ensure these projects are completed on time and on the right budget. Individuals in this role must have a fundamental knowledge of the technical aspects of these operations, while also having the business acumen to keep organizational stakeholders informed on progress.

Note that Rasmussen's Computer Science program does not list this role as a career outcome. While some employers of this role do look for applicants with a degree in Computer Science, research employers and technology degree options before you decide which program to pursue. 

That might sound a bit general, but there's a lot more to these careers. Check out What Is an IT Project Manager? Breaking Down This Unique Tech Career for more detail.

6. Database administrator

• Projected employment growth 2022-2032 (BLS): 8 percent.²
• Common job titles: Database analyst, database developer, system administrator

What does a database administrator do?

Every online purchase, restaurant review and scheduled doctor’s appointment depends on databases that are well-structured, secure and regularly maintained.

That’s where a database administrator comes in. They determine how to securely store the important information in an organization’s database in a way that the people who need to access that information can do so, efficiently.

With today’s capabilities and general obsession with data—getting the right information in the right place involves some complicated work.

They may also merge existing databases or migrate data to new platforms, which takes careful planning to ensure compatibility and functionality remain for connected systems.

Note that Rasmussen's Computer Science program does not list this role as a career outcome. While some employers of this role do look for applicants with a degree in Computer Science, research employers and technology degree options before you decide which program to pursue. 

What to expect from a Computer Science degree program

A good computer science program will teach you programming languages, software engineering, data analysis and more. The computer science field covers lots of ground.

Earning your degree in computer science is almost the tech version of earning your degree in biology. You’ll learn the very building blocks of technology.

The technical skills you could take from these programs are applicable in more ways than a single program has time to cover. And you'll learn the fundamentals of how computers work, how applications and software work—and how people in this industry build and support today's technology.

Computer Science courses will focus on:

• Cloud computing
• Software engineering
• Computer programming
• Data science
• Web analytics
• Database systems
• Advanced Java ® programming

Common skills computer science programs will develop:

• SQL
• E-commerce development
• Data management
• Software design and development
• Quality assurance

These are some of the general principles and skills, but you can get a much closer look at some interesting computer science courses if you check out 7 Critical Computer Science Courses to Expect.

You're probably getting the picture here. Computer science majors learn a ton of foundational skills in technology. The careers featured above do commonly search for computer science degree holders, but the ways you might decide to apply your degree can go much farther.

Computer science majors can apply their skills to practically any industry—nearly every organization would benefit from automating processes and creating helpful software applications.

So if there’s a certain sector you’d love to work in someday, just ask yourself if they use computers, networks, databases or the internet. If the answer is yes, you can probably find a career in that sector looking for computer science grads. 

Qualify yourself for these computer science careers

So, what can you do with a computer science degree? It turns out there’s a whole lot.

With all these careers that commonly seek candidates with a computer science degree, you should feel more confident about your decision to follow this educational path.

But to pursue any of these careers, you’ll need the proper training. Get the details about tuition, program start dates and more at Rasmussen's Computer Science Program page.

Related Articles:

• Why Study Computer Science? 7 Compelling Reasons to Consider
• How Hard Is Computer Science? Your FAQs Answered
• 17 Computer Careers for Self-Proclaimed 'Tech Geeks'
• Computer Science Career Paths: What to Expect as Your Career Progresses

¹The Burning Glass Institute (analysis of 1,067,598 job postings requiring a Computer Science bachelor’s degree, Sep. 01, 2020 – Aug. 31, 2021) https://www.burningglassinstitute.org/research/tag/Higher+Education [accessed August, 2021]
²Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, [accessed February, 2024] www.bls.gov/ooh/. Information represents national, averaged data for the occupations listed and includes workers at all levels of education and experience. Employment conditions in your area may vary.

Java is a registered trademark of Oracle Software, Inc.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published in 2013. It has since been updated to include information relevant to 2024.