Computer scientists are reforming the world to be better in each and every aspect like education, shopping, healthcare, banking, transportation, entertainment, security services, etc. Robots, self-driving cars, automated homes, real-time predictions, 3D printing are no longer a dream now. Digitization is touching every part of our life now. Technology is the past, present and future now. It allows us to grow and prosper. All the technological advancements happened in the world are due to brilliant skills and innovations by computer engineers. With computer science degree , one gains the learning’s of most valuable topics like block chain, cyber security, machine learning, bio-computing, big data analytics, internet of things, virtual and augmented reality. Emerging computer science fields include Nanotechnology, Cognitive Science, Robotics, Quantum Computing, 5G technology, Artificial Intelligence driven doctor robots.
India is also taking a step head ahead in the world of digitalisation. The realisation of need of technology has led to initiatives such as Make in India, Digital India for Atmanirbhar Bharat etc. There are various other great initiatives such as Digital India Mission , E-Kranti Program, Digital India E-Governance, UMANG taken by Indian Government in the technological sectors. The Indian government is working actively towards building a 5 trillion dollar digital economy. Computer scientists will be the central point of such digital economy. The need of the current world is smart people who can think analytically and devise innovative ideas for real time problems. Computer science education forces an individual to be innovative, creative and use logical parts of their brain.
Contrary to popular belief, Computer Science is NOT just Programming. A lot of people think computer science and programming are the same thing. The truth is computer science uses programming as a tool. Programming is the literacy of the 21st century. Everyone must learn it. However, computer science education is more than just programming. It allows the one to tinker ideas and create wonderful hardware with each iteration.
The leading online education platform, UpGrad surveys the top 6 highest paying job profiles and founds that the 3 out of 6 are from Computer Science and Engineering background. This makes the computer science engineering most sought after programme by aspiring engineers. Computing jobs are currently one of the highest-paid jobs. There are several areas where computer engineers can work and earn well. Various multinational companies hire both fresher’s and experienced computer engineers and offer a good annual package.
Based on US Bureau of Labour Statistics, Computer Science jobs are expected to grow 22% from 2020 to 2030. This is much faster than all other occupations. Hence, the future engineers don’t need to worry about job opportunities. There exists a variety of job profiles and offshore job opportunities are also huge in number. Indian IT experts are dominating the Silicon Valley. With just about 1% of the US population being Indian, 6% of Silicon Valley’s workforce is Indian. As per a report by The Seattle Times, 40% of the foreign-born tech employees in Seattle are from India. The specialisations offered by leading universities in Computer Science Engineering further makes it easier to attain specialist positions early in career. Interdisciplinary problems have elevated the research projects to another level. One can receive immense fundings from various organizations for working on interdisciplinary problems. Also a software start-up requires almost no investment to start initially. All you need investment is to handle the large customer base you attract. Hence, software companies grow rapidly and computer jobs are required on a large scale. Software start-ups are high return on investments. Even computer science students obtain a lot of technological freelancing activities quite early in their career. As per report of Indian Staffing Federation, demand for IT professionals has surged in India by 100% in last 14 months. The demand for digital skills (specially Data Science, Big Data Analytics, Blockchain, Cyber Security, Virtualization) has surged.
The benefits of computer science education extend beyond economic motivations. Computer engineers are inventors and solution builders. A computer engineer gets an opportunity to work in multiple disciplines including AI, Robotics, Embedded Systems, Computer Systems, and so on. Computer engineers get interesting challenges and opportunities to learn new skills. This provides a feeling of immense job satisfaction. Computer Science jobs allow ample of remote career opportunities which again makes it a wonderful education option. This allows working with companies globally from the comfort of your home.
With emergence of internet of things and promise of machine learning, the computer science will continue to be at the centre stage globally.
Expert Author:
Prof. (Dr.) Parma Nand
