Tugas Alpro Ringkasan "Computer science as a Career path"

In this chapter, we have 3 section:

1. Why Computer science may be the right field for you
2. The College Experience: Computer Disciplines and majors to choose from
3. Career Opportunities

Lets begin the summary!

Section 1 "Why Computer Science May be the Right Field for You"

Reason to major in computer science

Our question is "Why?" Reason is, because the computer industry is one of the fastest growing segments of our economy and promises to continue to see growth well into the future. In order to be competitive, businesses must continue to hire well-trained professionals not only to produce high quality products for the present, but also to plan creative scientific and engineering advances for the future. In addition to all the business and communication jobs that may first come to mind, people with degrees in computer science are working on problems from almost all spectrums of life, example on journalism world, online traffic, earthquake detector, medical world about how the human brain works by modeling brain activation patterns with emphasis on helping people impacted by autism or disorders like paranoid schizophrenia, security and law enforcement.


A lot of world's most challenging problems will be worked on by team of professional from many disciplines. Obviously these teams will include computer professionals who are creative and possess the knowledge of how to best use technology. In the near future we will see much innovation in the areas of the human genome project, environmental monitoring, AIDS vaccine research, clean fuels, tracking weather changes by using robots in potentially dangerous areas, and using supercomputers to simulate the earth’s architecture and functions in order to predict natural disasters. Study computing is a way to make a positive difference in the world.

Traits of a Computer Scientist

Here is some traits that a computer scientist must-have:

• Love the challenge of solving problem
• Enjoy working with technology
• Enjoy being a lifelong learner
• Can customize a particular object to make it work in a spesific environment
• Like to tackle large projects and see them to completion
• Like to build things that are useful to people and have a positive impact on their lives.
• A good communicator

Frederick P. Brooks, Leader of a team that developed the operating system for the IBM System/360, listed the "joys of the craft" as the following:

1. Joy of making things of your own design.
2. Joy of making things that are useful and respected by other people.
3. Joy of fashioning complex puzze-like entities into a system that works correctly.
4. Joy of always learning because of the non-repetitive nature of the work.
5. Joy of working with a very tractable medium.

Section 2 "The College Experience: Computer Disciplines and Majors to Choose From"

Computing is a broad discipline that intersects many other fields such as mathematics, science, engineering, and business. Because of such a wide range of choices, it is impossible for anyone to be an expert in all of them. There are many different degrees that involve computing offered at institutions of higher learning. Although computing degrees can share some of the same courses, they can also be quite different from each other. Choosing among them can be confusing. That's why ACM(Association of Computing Machinery), AIS(Association for Information System), and IEEE-CS(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Enginers Computer Society) produced a cooperative report titled "Computing Curricula 2005." There are five fields or five computer disciplines based on "Computing curricula 2005"

1. Computer science
2. Computer engineering
3. Information system
4. Information Technology
5. Software engineering

1. Computer Science

Computer scientist are trained to do can be arranged into three categories:

• Designing and implementing useful software.
• Devising new ways to use computers.
• Developing effective ways to solve computing problems.

A computer science degree consist of course that include computing theory, programming, and mathematics. These courses ultimately develop the logic and reasoning skills integral to becoming a computer scientist.

2. Computer Engineering

Computer engineering available for the student who interest in understanding and designing actual computing devices. A computer engineering degree involves the study of hardware, software, communications, and the interaction among them, and is a customized blend of an Electrical Engineering degree with a Computer Science degree. Important area for computer engineers involves embedded systems. This involves the development of devices that have software and hardware embedded in them such as cell phones, digital music players, alarm system, medical diagnostic devices, laser surgical tools, and so on.

3. Information system(IS)

In the IS area, technology is viewed as an instrument for generating, processing, and distributing information. Therefore, the focus in this field is on business and organizational principles. IS specialist must understand both technical and organizational factors, and must be able to help an organization determine how to use information and technology to provide a competitive edge. These professionals serve as a bridge between the technical community and management community within an organization. They are called on to determine the best way to use technology, organize information, and communicate effectively.

4. Information Technology(IT)

IT is a program to introduce to the students that computer technology is needed on business, government, healthcare, schools, and other organizations. IT professionals work with computer system to ensure they work properly, are secure, are upgraded and maintained, and are replaced as appropriate. IT specialist select appropriate hardware and software products for an organization and then integrate these products within the existing infrastructure. They install and customize and maintain the software as needed.

5. Software Engineering(SE)

Software Engineering is one of the five fields on computing discipline that developing and maintaining large software systems. These systems must behave reliably and efficiencly, be affordable, and satisy all requirements define for them. SE students learn more about software reliability and maintenance of large systemsand focus more on techniques for developing and maintaining software that is engineered to be correct from its inception. A software engineering degree expect to be involved with the creation and maintenance of large software systems that may be used by many different organizations.

Mixed Disciplinary Majors

Study that combine science or engineering fields with computing always have place for technology. Some institutes already offering courses or programs for multidisciplinary majors, here are some examples:

• Bioinformatics
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Forensics
• Cryptology
• Mechatronics

Section 3 "Career Opportunities"

Based on an occupation search in 2001, using term "computer science" resulted in over 9000 search results with more than 40 career matches, that is included Computer software engineers, Computer Systems analysts, Computer programmers, Web designers and Developers, Medical records health and Information technicians, and many more. It means "computer science" listed in the recommended course for many jobs above.

The Demand in the United States and in the World

Computer software engineer and computer scientist and database administrator are some of the occupations projected to grow the fastest and to add the most new jobs over the 2008–2018 decade based on BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. The growing need for computer professionals is increased by the looming retirement of a generation of baby boomers, and all of this is occurring as the government projects that the computer science/IT workforce will grow nearly 25 percent between 2008 and 2018 more than twice as fast as the overall workforce. The number of graduates from the computing fields will not meet the demand in the marketplace in the foreseeable future. Projections and statistics show that there will be plenty of jobs to be offered to the qualified computer professional and the salaries will be higher than the average full-time worker earns in the United States.

The Demand for Underrepresented Group

Computer-related jobs dominated by women and minorities. Thats make the demand for them is higher than ever. Study by the National Center for Women and Information Technology show that diversity of thought leads to innovation, and that companies should be aware of the diversity significant. Students should realize all the opportunities to be found in such a diverse and fast-growing field. Computer professionals will be creating the applications that allow computers to solve real-world problems.

New careers constantly on the horizon

For the student just starting to plan a career, be a computer professional surely have a big opportunities that have not been imagined yet, with amazing possibilities and rewards. The student who chooses to major in computer science or a related field can look forward to challenging and interesting classes. The job market will be wide open upon graduation, with the assurance that such degrees will be highly marketable. A new employee or researcher will have opportunities to be at the forefront of innovative technology in a constantly changing world. The prospects are limited only by the imagination.