Expert: Jeff Laatsch - 2/4/2012

Question
Hi,
I'm a high school student, and I really want to get a degree in college in computer science, as I am really interested in computer software and I'm fairly good with computers. I can do some basic programming in C#, and I'm learning some more. The problem is, I'm not sure of what I want to do for a career. I've looked online, and I think that a Computer Systems Software Engineer or Designer would be an enjoyable and good job to look into doing. Do you know if the salary, employment outlook, job security, duties, etc. are very good? I appreciate you taking time to help me out.
-Nate

Answer
Nate,

Thanks for asking the question.

Here is some information that may help you decide what path you wish to take for your dreams, your career: You have lots of opportunities.

Here is some information for you to review.

Computer Science BSCS (or computing science) is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems.[1][2][3] Computer science has many sub-fields; some emphasize the computation of specific results (such as computer graphics), while others relate to properties of computational problems (such as computational complexity theory). Still others focus on the challenges in implementing computations. For example, programming language theory studies approaches to describing computations, while computer programming applies specific programming languages to solve specific computational problems. A further subfield, human-computer interaction, focuses on the challenges in making computers and computations useful, usable and universally accessible to people.

Avg starting pay from College: 40-50K

Computer engineering BSCE (also called electronic and computer engineering) is a discipline that encompasses broad areas of both electrical engineering and computer science.[1] Computer engineers are electrical engineers that have additional training in the areas of software design and hardware-software integration. [2] In turn, they focus less on power electronics and physics. Some areas computer engineers are involved in are ASIC design, FPGA development, firmware development, software development, hardware-(firmware/software) integration, circuit design, and system-level design and integration

Avg starting pay: 40-50K

Information Science vs Computer Information Systems:

Information Science: BCIS
Information science (also information studies) is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information.[1] Information Science is by some regarded as synonym with library and information science, while others maintain the two terms cover different fields.


Information science studies the application and usage of knowledge in organizations, and the interaction between people, organizations and information systems. It is often (mistakenly) considered a branch of computer science. It is actually a broad, interdisciplinary field, incorporating not only aspects of computer science, but also mathematics, library science, cognitive science, and the social sciences.

Information science focuses on understanding problems from the perspective of the stakeholders involved and then applying information and other technologies as needed. In other words, it tackles systemic problems first rather than individual pieces of technology within that system. In this respect, information science can be seen as a response to technological determinism, the belief that technology "develops by its own laws, that it realizes its own potential, limited only by the material resources available, and must therefore be regarded as an autonomous system controlling and ultimately permeating all other subsystems of society." [2] Within information science, attention has been given in recent years to human–computer interaction, groupware, the semantic web, value sensitive design, iterative design processes and to the ways people generate, use and find information. Today this field is called the Field of Information, and there are a growing number of Schools and Colleges of Information.

Avg pay: 40-50K

Computer Information Systems:

Solving strategic business problems by designing computer-based information systems can be an exciting and rewarding career. Information technology jobs are some of the fastest growing and highest paying jobs in management.

IT also falls into Computer Information Systems area but is called Information Technology: Some schools study all aspects some study just particular parts.

The term information system (BCIS, IS) sometimes refers to a system of persons, data records and activities that process the data and information in an organization, and it includes the organization's manual and automated processes. Computer-based information systems are the field of study for information technology, elements of which are sometimes called an "information system" as well, a usage some consider to be incorrect.

In the Computer Science field there are several different aspects including Computer Engineer which is mentioned above. IF YOU LIKE to deal with component level design and trouble shooting then this is an area that could be a good match based on your background if not then something general like Computer Information Systems might be more in line with you career goals.

Avg pay: 40-50K


It is important that you get the basics, but at such a young age and depending on your capability ( Who knows you could be an Enstein..expert). Now computer programming is part of the Computer Science field Aaron so it is in the field of Sciences which include having a good mathmatical background , pratical thinking , critical thinking concepts.  I would recommend reading:

http://python.about.com/od/throughacomputerseye/ss/begprogramming.htm

This will get you started along with:

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Programming Basics [Paperback]
Clayton Walnum  
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Book Description
Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide | Publication Date: January 15, 2002
The Complete Idiot's GuideA (R) to Programming Basics is ideal for the computer user who has heard techy friends talk about loops and arrays or read bits and pieces about programming in glossy computer magazines but really wouldn't know how to start making a program if he or she had to. This books chapters present content in a gradual yet entertaining way on how basic programming concepts are put together to build simple but albeit fundamental programming results.


IF this is still your cup of tea then I would recommend you begin studying the traditional structured programming techniques to lay a good foundation which include languages such as " C " Language, "Basic" , "Pascal", "Fortran" "Perl", "Ruby" now perl and ruby are ones that are a bit more difficult. These are 'Structured' programming languages.

Once you have mastered the basics in Structured programming then you can move into what is todays more modern technology languages which are called "Object Oriented Programming" languages or OOP Languages such as C++ , Visual Basic, Python programming language is another good language and fun to learn:

Python Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science 2nd Edition [Paperback]
John Zelle (Author)

Book Description
ISBN-10: 1590282418 | ISBN-13: 978-1590282410 | Publication Date: May 18, 2010 | Edition: Second
This is the second edition of John Zelle's Python Programming, updated for Python 3. This book is designed to be used as the primary textbook in a college-level first course in computing. It takes a fairly traditional approach, emphasizing problem solving, design, and programming as the core skills of computer science. However, these ideas are illustrated using a non-traditional language, namely Python. Although Python is used as the language, teaching Python is not the main point of this book. Rather, Python is used to illustrate fundamental principles of design and programming that apply in any language or computing environment. In some places, I have purposely avoided certain Python features and idioms that are not generally found in other languages. There are already many good books about Python on the market; this book is intended as an introduction to computing. Features include the following: *Extensive use of computer graphics. *Interesting examples. *Readable prose. *Flexible spiral coverage. *Just-in-time object coverage. *Extensive end-of-chapter problems.
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Now prior to buying books you can also google the pattern "Computer Programming Tutorials" and there are a bunch of free on line courses to take that will point you down the road of Computer Science and how challenging it can be.

Good Luck,
Jeff