If you’re unsure about how important it is to understand the role of computers in our everyday lives, take a look around. Twenty years ago, the average house had one computer, if it had one at all. These days, many houses have at least one computer for every person in the house. There are more computers in the average household than there are cars – and most of the newer cars made today have built-in dashboard computers that connect the driver to traffic updates, weather forecasts, and satellite radio. Behind each of these computers is a team of men and women who built the system, programmed the software, and designed the user interface. These men and women all have one thing in common: a computer science degree.

Computer science is often defined as the study of computing systems and computational processes. In reality, though, a computer science degree opens you up for a job focusing on any one of a number of specific career paths. Jobs from Information Management to Cyber security, from Database Administration to Computer Programming, are all based in skills and concepts that are mastered as part of the computer science degree program of study. With training in computer science, you become skilled in design methodology, concept testing, system analysis, and project implementation. What does this all mean? With a computer science degree, you will be able to look at a technical problem within a company, diagnose the cause of that problem, analyze the appropriate technical solution, and then build the product that provides the solution. If it sounds like an employee with an education in computer science is a master problem solver, it’s because he or she is.

Although a computer science degree provides a good solid base of the concepts of computing, you are not limited to that broad scope. Many computer scientists specialize in fields that provide job security, excellent financial compensation, and a sense that they are a vital part of keeping their business data safe. Information Security personnel use their computer science skills to protect the confidential data of their employer. Employee information, customer records, financial data, and other forms of information are tempting for hackers to try to obtain. While some attempt to steal this data just to prove, to themselves or others, that they can, others will attempt to sell that data or exploit it at the harm of the company they steal it from. A company’s Information Security team prevents such theft, and in order to do that, a firm grasp of computer science is needed.

Computer engineering is another popular field in which skills in computer science are required. Computer engineers are often tasked with designing and building the hardware that goes into all of our computers, smart-phones, automobile dashboards, and everything else that computers have found their way inside. This can range from designing the architecture of the latest, thinnest laptop to designing the circuit boards that go inside them. Computer engineers also work on the software side as well, designing the operating system that manipulates the hardware to perform the tasks that the user needs, whether it’s a serious spreadsheet calculation or shooting aliens from the sky in the latest video game.

These are only a few of the many types of jobs that are available to you with a computer science degree. You owe it to yourself and to your family to check out the lucrative opportunities that await you after just a few short years of study. The world is not going to suddenly give up on computers. We rely on our gadgets and gizmos more and more every day. Technologically savvy men and women will continue to be in demand in today’s demanding job market. With a computer science degree, you can make sure that you are in demand as well.

Careers in the computer science field have increased year after year for almost two decades, as computers become more and more prevalent in our society. While computer scientists in the past dealt almost exclusively with mainframes and some desktop computers, the field today is wide open – smart phones are essentially handheld computers, and modern gaming consoles such as the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 have more in common with today’s computers than yesterday’s arcade machines. As the lines between telephone, television and computer become blurred, those with experience in computers will have an advantage in their career. That’s where getting an online computer science degree can be of the most benefit to you.

Starting salaries for those looking to complete an online computer science degree are impressive indeed. In 2007, the average starting salary for someone with an education in computer science was $47,000 a year. In 2009, only two years later, the average starting salary had jumped to over $52,000 a year. This trend shows no signs of slowing down, even in these tough economic times. As more businesses try to do more with less, the ability of a company’s information technology group to automate and simplify as many processes as possible makes them an extremely valuable commodity. In a world where computers take over jobs that people once did, knowing how to build and program those computers becomes the most recession-proof job you can have.

Getting an online computer science degree also gives you the chance to explore specialization in a specific field in the world of technology development. By becoming specialized in a certain aspect of computer science and information technology, you can increase your value to potential employers exponentially. Database administration is one example of a field in which you can find a lot of financial success and job security, as maintaining access and protecting the data of a company’s transactions with its customers is vital to a firm’s short-term and long-term success. Keeping a company’s information safe and secure is an important task, and for many, a career in network security, using an online computer science degree as their starting point, proves to be a source of both financial reward and job satisfaction.

Whether you are looking to change careers after realizing your current job has you going nowhere, or are just out of school and looking for an education path that pays dividends immediately, look into getting your online computer science degree. It is a decision you will never regret.