What types of careers are there in computer programming?

Yes! There are a LOT of kinds of jobs in computer programming!

Just about every company needs a computer programmer to create their internal system. My dad is a computer programmer, and he works for Lockheed Martin.

I work in neuroscience, and we have computer programmers in our labs that assist us in coding our experiments. It’s a great environment to be in.

There are MANY diverse careers that are available to computer scientists, so if this field is of interest to you, do it!

@girlofscience what does your dad make doing that? I want job security and a good income so I’m just wondering

web developer [code dynamic web applications]
pick your language, someone needs people coding in it [c++, c#, java, sap, dotnet, ad naseam]

People need computer programmers in every industry:

Administrative management consulting services
Advertising Agencies
Advocacy, grantmaking, and civic organizations
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing
Aerospace R&D
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Air freight transportation
Aircraft manufacturing
Airline industry
Amusement and recreation services
Apparel manufacturing
Aquaculture
Arcades…

…find a listing here on the government labor statistics site – pair up another of your interests with programming and you have a career you could be happy in – coding programs for that interest!

Perhaps before changing your major area of study you should ask yourself if you would be happy in a computer programmer role? It’s best to do something you enjoy rather than do something because there is a better salary at the end of it. Going down that route will only lead to you being unhappy in a job.

Also, do you have any prior experience of programming? If not, try googling “programming fundamentals” and then maybe have a go at a little javascript to see if you enjoy it.

I’m a PHP Web Developer by the way :D

I don’t know what enjoy ;( I’m still searching, although I really do need to pay the bills and eventually provide for a family so I would like to get something under my belt worth more than 30k a year. I like working with computers (most of the time) and I’m good at it so I thought it might work out. Right now I’m doing food science and I’m bored to tears.

Computer science will give you a good starting salary (it is one of the top 10 highest paying majors). However, I hope you actually have some experience and are not just switching because of the money. Have you actually done any programming? I suggest you take a basic computer science class or two and decide afterward. Keep in mind that computer science covers a lot more than programming, programming is just one of its many tools. It is a lot more about theory and the “why” but knowing such things can make you a better developer if you utilize that information effectively.

I suggest finding out who the best professors are and taking their classes (‘cause a bad professor can ruin any subject). After finding what you enjoy, explore the options they will give you career-wise and decide.

Absolutely! I’m a computer scientist by profession. Demand is huge, looking mid term and long term. Some people will program for a couple of years and then move on to creating technical designs, IT architecture, project management, system support, QA and so forth. Computer programming is done in many countries in the world. It’s huge in India. But this doesn’t mean we need fewer computer experts in the US or Western Europe.

My dad makes $108,000 per year.