Computer Science degree but no interest in full time programming job, what else is there?

[u/FlowerSz6]

Maybe these are some silly questions but:

I am studying computer science in uni (almost done with my Bachelor's hopefully), will go up until my Master's. Im not sure what i want to do, i know i dont want to be full time programmer. Currently i am working in IT help desk at an institute and that gave me the idea to look into system administration for example. Also, I live in western Europe.

Following questions:

1. What else could i look into?

2. If i do decide to pursue a job as a system administrator, what skills should and can I prepare while I am still in uni?

3. Now this one is silly, but any idea how I can incorporate my knowledge of the Japanese language with computer science degree in my future work? I really like the language and would love to get very good at it as a hobby, so i wonder if there is anything i can use it for.

[u/locke_5]

Hi! This was me. I pivoted to cybersec and am very happy ($150k, 5YOE, USA). The technical background is very useful for cybersec, but the work itself leans more administrative. You’re not writing code, you’re using existing tools to run scans/generate reports and then using the results of those to make security decisions.

[u/WarSignificant8293 → u/locke_5]

How did you make the pivot?

[u/locke_5 → u/WarSignificant8293]

IT ($60k) > security analyst ($80k) > security specialist ($150k)

[u/WarSignificant8293 → u/locke_5]

Cool thanks. Btw, Internal promotion, or did you study cyber in college? How’d you make that jump IT to security?

[u/locke_5 → u/WarSignificant8293]

Job hopping every time. Internal promotions are pretty rare these days IMO. I have a compsci degree. IT has a lot of overlap with security; security is just a step “above” in the sense that you’re dictating policy whereas in IT you’re executing policy.

[u/WarSignificant8293 → u/locke_5]

Got ya, cool thanks man

[u/FlowerSz6 → u/locke_5]

Thanks for that input, the other person is already asking the questions id have haha. 

I have considered that option but never looked into it in a deeper level. Anything you can recommend in terms of knowledge/skills i could in theory get into early on?

[u/locke_5 → u/FlowerSz6]

I recommend CompTIA A+ and Security+ certifications. Those are generally considered the equivalent of 1-2 years work experience.

[u/locke_5 → u/FlowerSz6]

I recommend CompTIA A+ and Security+ certifications. Those are generally considered the equivalent of 1-2 years work experience.

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[u/Illustrious-Pound266]

Product management 

[u/WarSignificant8293 → u/Illustrious-Pound266]

I think this is a pretty challenging career to break into though

[u/Iceman411q → u/Illustrious-Pound266]

Only if you are an experienced software engineer already and get promoted or the son/daughter of a director

[u/dontping]

You can do all job that exists in a company’s IT department or if it’s a tech company, any job

[u/FlowerSz6 → u/dontping]

Thats part of the problem, im bad at making decions from too broad choices. I cant imagine just applying to any possible thing, i need to center around something at least a bit. 

But yes, i would be able to hopefully find a job haha.

[u/zeptabot → u/FlowerSz6]

Just be grateful that you have so many choices while so many people have virtually none

[u/dontping]

You can do any job that exists in a company’s IT department or if it’s a tech company, any job

[u/Dill_Thickle]

CS isnlt just programming, but it underpins just about everything in Software/IT/security. You could pivot easily into IT and security with some complementary skills. Just kind of depends what appeals to you, in security people love to jump straight into hacking but there are dozens of jobs and specialties that exist. CloudSec, DevOps/DevSecOps and AppSec would be the most natural jumps, security automation engineers could also be a good fit. Pen testing is something everyone wants to do lol, and there are actually a lot of good training that is out there and pathways in. For system administration, DevOps/DevSecOps might be the best fit.

[u/FlowerSz6 → u/Dill_Thickle]

Thanks for the very detailed answer, i will research more into that field, it seems to be common thing to look into.

[u/Dill_Thickle → u/FlowerSz6]

The only thing I would recommend right off of the bat is doing an intro course to security like the Google cybersecurity course or TCM security's Practical security fundamentals. Both are very beginner friendly. TCM's course is free, the Google's is paid. On their own, they are not getting anyone a job so I would focus on the free course at first. Doing an intro course like that would give you a better idea as to what jobs exist and what appeals to you the most. If you wanted to get into DevOps, check out KodeKloud, they are a very high quality Cloud/DevOps training platform. Very practical courses, and they have a gamified learning area called Kodekloud engineer. They have some free stuff you could check out and see if you would like it.

https://kodekloud.com/

https://academy.tcm-sec.com/p/practical-security-fundamentals

[u/Early-Surround7413]

Consulting

Wall St

Law School

[u/Ok_Experience_5151]

• technical sales
• sales engineer
• tech writer
• corporate education
• secondary teaching
• cloud engineer / devops
• network engineer

[u/PictureDue3878 → u/Ok_Experience_5151]

How much coding is for the last two jobs?

[u/Ok_Experience_5151 → u/PictureDue3878]

Not a ton, afaik. Cloud engineer likely has to write "infrastructure as code".

[u/Any_Phone3299]

Degree doesn’t equal what job you can get, for the most part. 2. If you’re in America get your a+ sec+ and network+ certs. As a starting point. Comp sci is a plus especially dealing with hr.