What I Did with My Computer Science Degree

When I graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from University of Alabama, Huntsville (U.A.H.) in 1987, the world of computers was a very different place than today. My training was on UNIVAC mainframe computers using timeshare terminals with no graphics on them. I learned how to program in FORTRAN and used to have to debug my programs by producing long printouts and I would have to stand in line to pick them up.

The First Job after Graduation with a Computer Science Degree

Upon graduation I got a job at a local high tech firm that did a lot of work for NASA and the U.S. Army. The first programming language I used professionally was "C". I remember on my first day they asked me if I had any experience with "C". When I replied that I did not, they handed me a book and told me to learn from that. We were using Apollo (later Hewlett Packard) computers that ran a variant of UNIX called DomainIX.

Computers We Used before PCs

Those Apollo computers were a major improvement from the old timeshare terminal I had used in college. They had graphics and you could view multiple windows on your screen at a time. Remember, this was before Microsoft Windows and widespread use of PCs and compatibles. Later we switched to UNIX operating system based Sun systems.

Oracle and SQL Databases Have Been Around a Long Time and Are Still Used Today

In subsequent assignments at different companies I was introduced to Oracle and SQL database concepts. I have used Oracle and other SQL-based databases ever since. Databases have been remarkably stable (relatively unchanged) for many years. I was exposed to fourth generation languages (4GL) and learned about a really nifty tool called Windows/4GL where you could build rich graphical interfaces rapidly.

How the Internet and the World Wide Web Changed My Career

Around 1994, we were all introduced to browsers and the World Wide Web, but I did not get very actively involved with programming Internet-related technologies until around 1999. I took training classes and learned HTML, Java, and Javascript around that time and was helping build Intranet (internal sites) using these new technologies. It was about that time that I helped upgrade our computer-based financial systems to alleviate the Y2K problem. During the last 10 years since then my assignments have all involved Internet technologies such as Java, J2EE, Web Services, and newer database software.

Advantages of getting a Computer Science Degrees and Related Career

The advantages of obtaining a Computer Science degree are many:

1. It enables you to work full time on computers, which is nice if you love to work on them.
2. It is a flexible degree that can be applied to a lot of industries/opportunities such as banking, telecommunications, government, etc.
3. It is a high paying career option that pays much higher than most professions out there.
4. There is always something new and exciting to learn.

Disadvantages of a Computer Science Degree and Related Career

There are some disadvantages of pursuing Computer Science, among them:

1. If you don't like sitting in front of computers all day, this career path can get monotonous very quickly.
2. With the prevalence of the Internet, is is possible that your job can get outsourced to workers in India, etc. who make much less money, although the outsourcing trend seems to have slowed down in recent years.
3. There is a limit to what you can make in this profession without getting an advanced degree or moving into academia. To make more, you usually have to branch into management, which takes you away from the computing/programming that you may like more.
4. It can be hard to stay abreast of all the changing technologies.

All in all though, it has been a great career. Keep in mind that your degree will prepare you how to learn rather than give you the direct on the job skills you will need because of the rapidly changing technologies.