Top Five Computer Science Careers



Careers in computer science aren't hard to find. There are wide ranges of specialties in computer science to choose from. The key to finding the perfect computer science career is to narrow the individual specialties down to the ones that are the fastest-growing, will allow room for you to grow in that career and, of course, you may want to check out the salary statistics for each of the jobs.

For instance, take a look at the job description and salary statistics for a systems analyst. A systems analyst has a wide variety of responsibilities including researching and recommending software and system choices to meet the requirements of other businesses. Systems analysts communicate with their customers about what the customers' requirements are for a particular project. They meet with designers and developers that are working on the software to make sure it is up to the customer's standards. With the help of testers, systems analysts use sample data to perform tests on it to make sure it is working properly and then the systems analysts enable the new systems. On average in the United States, a systems analyst makes anywhere from $45,000 to $60,000 a year.

Another top computer science career is a software engineer. A software engineer applies the techniques and procedures that are used in the design, development, testing and evaluation of the software and systems that allow computers to run correctly. The average salary of a software engineer in the U.S. is $80,000 a year.

Computer programmers are the brains behind the software. Computer programmers' job duties involve writing the software; testing the software for glitches and then debugging the software; and also maintaining the computer programs so that they run correctly. Typically, depending on the programmer's employer and what type of programming is being done, the salary of a computer programmer can range anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 a year.

Next, we'll take a look at network systems analyst. A network systems analyst does the designing, evaluating, testing, and maintaining of a variety of different networks, including WANS, LANS, intranets, wireless systems, etc. The average yearly income of a network systems analyst is $60,000.

The last computer science career we'll talk about today is the database administrator. A database administrator is responsible for the recoverability of the database such as creating and testing the Backups. They are also responsible for verifying the integrity of the database and for making sure the database is secure. Database administrators also have to make sure the availability and performance of the database are at its maximum and they help the programmers and the engineers with development and testing support. Although the database administrator is responsible for all these things, they also have an array of other duties depending on their particular job description, employer, etc. The annual salary of a database administrator ranges from $70,000 to $95,000. However, the median annual salary in the U.S. for a database administrator is $82,000.

Keep in mind, these are just five of the computer science careers. There are many more careers in computer science with annual incomes and responsibilities within the same range as those listed.