Computing Careers

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook projects that many computer-related jobs will grow “faster than average.” Local computing industry leaders say immediate job placement for new grads is expected to help meet future hiring needs. Here are exciting career fields open to students studying computer science and engineering and examples of a few suggested courses – prerequisites apply.

Bioinformatics and Healthcare

Computer scientists are participating in many interdisciplinary projects relating to medical research and healthcare. Work by CSE researchers in the area of bioinformatics is currently being used to help study diseases, such as malaria and oral cancer. Applicable undergraduate courses to learn about this type of work would be:

Quality of life

CSE scientists work on projects to improve peoples’ quality of life. For example, CSE researchers are working to improve speech recognition software and techniques to make them more useful – especially for elderly people or those with disabilities. Applicable undergraduate courses to learn about this type of work would be:

Internet development

Computer scientists specializing in the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) make Web resources more useful and effective, and help people to better interact with online technology. Research in this field is focused on online social networking groups, such as MySpace and Facebook, and recommender systems, which recommends new movies, books, or other information to users based on their previous Web use. Applicable undergraduate courses to learn about this type of work would be:

Homeland & military security

Computer scientists also work to improve homeland security in a variety of ways, working on everything from mass transportation systems and personal computers. CSE researchers are improving evacuation planning systems for disaster situations and they are also making headway in military security. In recent years, the United States Army has used robots developed by CSE faculty in Iraq to save lives through reconnaissance work. This technology is currently being marketed to law enforcement agencies in the U.S. for use in dangerous situations. Applicable undergraduate courses to learn about this type of work would be:

Space exploration

Computer scientists are also working on improving space technology. One project is helping NASA improve flight operations and landing systems for spacecraft that will be used in missions to the planet Mars. Applicable undergraduate courses to learn about this type of work would be: