What type of Companies hire Someone with a Computer Science Degree?

Most medium almost all large companies do some custom software development for their business applications. Most aren't in the software, hardware, or internet business. Even if they don't develop any of their own software they have an IT department to support their business. Take a look on one of the online job sites such as indeed.com and you will be suprised!

There are several different things you can do with a Computer Science degree. You've identified the main one people think of, but here are a few other options:

1) There are all kinds of different companies that will want you to do software engineering. I'll elaborate a bit more on the difference between tech companies and normal companies. Tech companies are generally run by management that is technically literate. They can understand all the technical issues. But all kinds of companies need software engineers. McDonalds has IT jobs! There's a central company that controls the trademarks and manages all the franchises, etc, and they need IT people.

Why would McDonalds need programmers? What do they do there? Well, somebody has to design and implement the software running their website. And their mobile apps. And the software that runs their cash registers. Then there's a bunch of stuff the public never sees, like software that manages corporate HQ's HR systems, or that connects them to their suppliers.

The difference is that in a company like McDonalds, upper management doesn't know how IT works. That gives the whole thing a very different feel. I've never actually worked outside of a software company, so I can't exactly say how it's different. But any big company will need this. Target needs IT people. State Farm needs IT people.

2) You can go work for the government. State, federal, even big cities like Chicago, they all need software engineers. Places like California let you do changes of address and DMV renewals online. Someone has to write that and test it. I've never worked in government, but I've heard that they pay less but offer better retirement benefits. (In fact, I hear they pay so poorly they have difficulty attracting people!)

3) There's a group of companies out there that computerized, basically, almost immediately after computers were invented. AT&T, for example, dived into it with gusto because the alternatives were so cumbersome. (In really old movies or TV shows, when someone makes a call, they talk to the operator and tell them who they're calling, and the operator physically connects them. That's how it worked. It does not scale up at all. They had no choice.)

All these companies have a giant mass of code. It's been sitting there since the 70s or even the 60s. That means it's written in COBOL or FORTRAN, and runs on mainframes and all that jazz. Nobody ever rewrites these apps from scratch in a more modern language. That always involves introducing lots of new bugs, and the old system has been running for so long that it's mostly bulletproof.

So this means there's a demand for people with skills in COBOL and the like. These jobs pay very well, because the supply of people willing to do this work is low. True, nobody wants to do it because working in archaic languages sucks. But it's an option to consider.

4) There's always teaching. A CS degree will not be enough by itself (you need certifications, student teaching, etc), but the demand for teachers is high enough that you can get past that if you really want to.

If you want to do theoretical computer science researchy-type stuff, then becoming a CS professor is a way to do that. (You already know how profs do double duty as teachers and as researchers.) But there's also high school: many high schools, and even some grade schools (in later grades) will offer computer science classes. You can also take a CS degree and become a general science teacher.

Granted, you'll make a LOT less money. And the job might not involve actually using your CS skills all that much. But it is an option.

Hello Jiali,

Doug is right. Most of the Fortune 1000 companies have a software development function these days as the 21st Internet Century demands they offer a digital / mobile store front to their customers.

You could also work for a System Integrator firm such as Accenture or Deloitte which would give you exposure to a variety of different clients in various verticals. The SIs tend to work their people very hard and often there is a lot of travel. I covered Accenture in the past and after 6 months I went to one of their managers and said "I am starting to feel embarrassed I only work 10 hours a day" to which he responded "Yeah you half timer" which is only a little funny to the people who work for SIs. But it's terrific experience and seasoning.

I also work with the folks at Pivotal Labs. If you live near one of their offices I could probably arrange a tour and conversation with one of their development leads to give you their point of view.

Best,

Hagen

Yup Doug and Hagen are spot on. Any large industry will have comp sci needs. Advertising, medical, accounting, finance, banking, of course tech, defense contracting, etc etc.

Defense and tech are probably the two biggest in terms of raw #s.