Non-Programming Jobs For a Computer Science Major? 936
An anonymous reader writes "I recently graduated from a 'major' university in America with a BS degree in Computer Science. I unfortunately must admit that I am not very skilled with programming. I finished with the degree, and I've spent much of my college career working a job doing technical support (fixing laptops, troubleshooting Windows problems, etc). What jobs can I get with a computer science degree that are NOT mainly programming jobs? A little programming wouldn't be bad, but none would be preferred. And what kind of salaries do these jobs typically fetch?"
Program Manager (Score:5, Interesting)
You could get a job as a Program Manager or similar position. They do more design work than actual programming. Those positions pay about the same as programming positions.
How about (Score:3, Interesting)
How good are you at computer security? You could be a penetration tester or security consultant.
Depends (Score:5, Interesting)
What else besides Computer Science do you know something about? Your degree is only limiting if it is the only experience you actually have. If you have some real world experience then do whatever you know how to do.
Sysadmin? (Score:1, Interesting)
If you're into troubleshooting, I'd say system/network administration. Setting up routers, RAID, virtualization, etc.
QA (Score:2, Interesting)
Well.... (Score:4, Interesting)
I find it a little difficult how you made it through a CS degree without working on code. Then again, "programming" is not experience in one language or expertise in using pre-built functions. If you know algorithms, logic and how a piece of generic code works, you are already a programmer. You just haven't done it long enough to become biased on one language. That will come in time.
So, do just not enjoy programming or do you not know enough?
A System Admin or "plumber" is your best bet for getting a job. It really depends then on your experience with certain platforms, programs, System tools, etc. Same goes for a Network Admin, email admin, etc.
I still wonder how you hacked it through a Computer Science degree without loving code. Why didn't you get a Business IS or Business degree instead?
please, don't try sysadmin (Score:4, Interesting)
In every company I've worked at, from ones with thousands of employees, to ones with a dozen, we have learned that programmers make horrible sysadmins. I don't know if it's the training they receive, a personality thing, or what... So please don't do it!
Now if you told me you FAILED at being a good programmer, I'd hire you on the spot as a sysadmin ;)
Nothing wrong with support jobs (Score:5, Interesting)
I do enterprise level tech support for a tech company you most certainly have heard of, supporting $M+ installations of computer storage. I've done this for just under a decade, and make pretty excellent money doing it. My salary right out of school was in line with the students that did take dev jobs.
Before graduating, my experience was identical to yours, doing PC work, a little bit of web work here and there, etc.
Except for a couple of scripts here and there, I have not written a line of "real" code since day one.
I was actually pretty decent at programming, but didn't enjoy it. (I was a CompE, not a CompSci.)
I am pretty concerned that it is July and you don't have a job yet. The "college hiring cycle" is kinda over... That means you may be stuck with true entry-level jobs, instead of the "college hire" jobs, which in my company anyway, are a bit different. (An entry-level support tech is going to be working the call center, while a college-hire tech is going to be working in Level 2 or 3, right off the bat (with a whole lot of OJT, of course.))
SirWired
Government (Score:1, Interesting)
Advice from an old guy (Score:3, Interesting)
Unfortunately, many who focused on programming in college also aren't very skilled in programming...
There are many areas to choose from that don't require skills in programming. You should, however, keep yourself versed in understanding how to read a program. It is a necessary skill no matter what area of expertise you choose.
I wouldn't recommend "support" unless you like being attached to a phone or stuck in a dead-end job diagnosing why a PC won't boot. If have any talent in seeing skills in other people or managing a project, I would recommend PMI certification (Project Management). That allows for a clear path to management.
Another good area is QA/Six Sigma type work. If you are good at math and can wrap your head around the metrics of improvement and testing from a quantitative and qualitative framework, this is an excellent and challenging field. There will be some "programming" involved, but usually things like Excel macros and such that relate to statistics. (On a side not: beware of Excel's statistics related functions. Many of them are terminally ill and have been from the beginning. Verify all your data and test multiple scenarios with a handy TI or HP calculator beside the keyboard.)
In almost all IT-related fields the time from expert to out-of-date is around 6 month if you aren't studying. Security work has a shelf life of 1 to 2 months, though. So unless you don't mind intense study for the entire time you are working, stay abreast of security but avoid it as a career. I do have some friends, however, who love the field and have stayed for years. It's more about your disposition than anything.
On the salary basis, don't get too excited. Since you are just starting out, stay light on your bills and choose a targeted path. If you get stuck on too high a standard of living too early, it is almost impossible to switch jobs, if needed, to better align yourself with your career growth plans. In the first 5 to 7 years, expect to switch around a bit to get into the proper career groove. Then, lay down some time in 1 (maybe 2) semi-long-term spots that are challenging and will grow your skills.
Keep an open mind. I have been a bonifide expert in several technologies that became extinct overnight. You can't really predict with any certainty what will and what won't last. Keep up with multiple areas and technologies at once.
Always keep your eyes open for good high-level positions that you can do with a little stretch. Also keep in touch with education. If you have a BA or BS, go for an MS or two. MBAs may be boring but they open doors for you. PhDs are typically overkill and tend to sap the brains and make the decorated individual quite useless in a real-world IT scenario.
Blog smart, publish often, write books. Even if you stink at writing, get good at it (and get a good editor until you are). The published will always get a job.
About "blog smart"... Don't be stupid. Stay out of politics and your personal life. The Myspace/Facebook generation keeps shooting itself in the foot because all their dirty laundry is aired out in the public. As a very unfortunate example, if you like you music edgy (pick the genre) and blog about it, you could lose out on a job interview to someone with less experience and harder music tastes who doesn't blog about it. Corporate hiring wonks are relying more and more on internet research for candidates.
I've been through 24 years in this industry in everything from programming to system admin to security expert, with a lot of things in between. Stay light, even with a family. This can be a feast or famine industry. Keep your possessions liquidable and classically sparse. When the money rolls in, don't spend it all. Sock it away. Invest some. "matress" some
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:please, don't try sysadmin (Score:2, Interesting)
I've learned this to be true as well. I believe that it is due to the fact that the 'Programmer in SysAdmin's clothing' cannot just 'leave it alone'. One of the best qualities of a SysAdmin is the ability to not fsck with it until/unless it needs to be fscked with.
Re:Entry level QA (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Program Manager (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Program Manager (Score:3, Interesting)
Programming is a small part of computer science, but it is an integral part. A computer science graduate who cannot code is like an electrical engineer who can't wire resistors in series. It doesn't matter how much of the theory they've mastered; if they're unable to apply any of it, they're useless.
Re:Nothing wrong with support jobs (Score:3, Interesting)
I can confirm this - just go do something you like and get good at it.
I have $liberal_arts_degree, but after working for $webhosting_company and $random_consulting_firm, I moved to doing Linux sysadmin work for $major_university_with_30000_students, and after a couple of years I moved to $major_hosting_provider_who_advertises_on_slashdot, and now I really love my job and I get paid $plenty.
Do something that you like, practice until you do it well, and find a good company to work for. The execution may be difficult, but the concept is universal.
~W
Re:Program Manager (Score:3, Interesting)
Bingo on what a CS degree should be. I was told once by a professor I respected that programming in the CS curriculum was there to assist in teaching logical, structured thinking and as a tool to implement human ideas into computer speak.
Once of the best programmers I know retired from the Air Force after a career as a linguist. He picked up programming languages like nothing since to him it was just another way of speaking. (He also completed his CS degree).
And for the record, I am a systems admin who has a CS degree.
Re:Geek Squad (Score:5, Interesting)
Got to agree with these last two posts... there's nothing wrong with helpdesk/IT/sysadmin/network admin jobs at all for someone with a computer science degree.
After I completed my CS degree I started in helpdesk/user training. Fixing most problems before the more senior guys get to them lead on to a sysadmin job in the same company. I've now recently switched to a job as a network admin for the same university I studied at and couldn't be happier.
Over this time I've had 5 satisfying years of work, used/setup/fixed more deferent technologies than you want to hear about. And all on salaries that I've been more than happy with.
Oh and I do program. But for a hobby not for my job.
Just my 2c
Re:Geek Squad (Score:4, Interesting)
You know, a friend and I were just talking about how work had pretty much destroyed the creative joy we used to get out of coding. I can certainly see the attraction to an IT/sysadmin/network admin career with coding (open source, of course) as a hobby.
Re:Geek Squad (Score:2, Interesting)
The science of computing can be explored in a vast number of ways, from hardware research to network management to code writing. All of these are part of the field, and it's really just blind to claim that they aren't.
there are plenty of other options (Score:3, Interesting)
A lot of consulting firms want people with a technical background, but will not have you doing much actual technical work---primarily you'll be using some familiarity with the field and ability to research it to fill in stuff for powerpoint presentations.
If you're willing to go on for other degrees, having a technical background is quite interesting to, for example, law schools.
Systems Engineer (Score:3, Interesting)
So I eventually got a MS in System's Engineering, because I kept getting hired for systems engineering jobs and I wanted to find out what the heck it was. Basically, it's a lot like a "lite" version of what you learned in software engineering classes. You can fetch pretty decent salaries just sitting around doing project management-type things, such as writing white papers, keeping track of processes, and traveling the world going to various kinds of conferences and training. And lots of talking to people to keep things chill. So if this appeals to you (it doesn't to me, but at least I'm free to occasionally hang out in the trenches with the technology and the people who do the deep interesting work once in a while), this might be your ticket. If you're consistent with solving people's problems by doing things the smart/lazy way as opposed to furiously turning the crank, maybe you'll get bumped up to "Systems Architect" and get into even more abstract drawings of boxes that vaguely resemble UML diagrams.
Try network engineering (Score:1, Interesting)
I know plenty of solid network engineers who can't cut code. System admins/engineers tend to do some basic coding (shell, perl, etc) which is pretty easy compared to serious software engineering.
I actually studied programming and came away with a CompSci degree and realised I wasn't a programmer at heart (although I got good marks at university). It took me awhile to find my calling but there's far more to IT than programming. If you're willing to learn and be flexible, you'll find a job you gravitate towards.
Shame your degree sounded rather wasted though. :( At least I got a lot of fundamentals out of mine.
CS is *for* programming (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't know where all this talk of CS is not about programming comes from.
Everything I learned in computer science was theory related to the design of computer software. Algorithm analysis, compiler theory, data structures, programming techniques like backtracking and recursion, operating systems, networking, etc.
Just about all of it is of no use unless you actually intend to design/architect/write computer programs, or teach/manage folks who do.
This kind of stuff wouldn't hurt you if you want to be a sysadmin, and it might make you a better one. But in my opinion, it's way overkill since you can probably pick up scripting as you go.
For sysadmin or management you're probably better off getting an BA in business or an MBA with a focus on Information Systems.
Re:oh look a clever comment (Score:3, Interesting)
What does it mean if you're both? I am, working at a small to medium sized company, I do the network admin but also write apps for different in-house departments and maintain another app that our clients use.
I enjoy coding more than any other part of my job, and I used to code just for fun before (from about when I was 12-13 up until I did my CS degree), but I'd say the sysadmin stuff involves a lot more pressure because you are in charge of making sure that everything is running smoothly, and it's your ass on the line if the VPN/email/whatever goes down. A smart sysadmin will identify areas that can be improved and act upon them. I have a few things I'd like to improve but I often don't make time for them, or I just don't want to break what we already have in place. Mostly because our network is used by our US office as well as our UK office, so I can't really do any serious maintenance until midnight if I don't want to disrupt everyone :/ I wish they'd sort out their filing so that the different offices didn't need to use the same set of files..