If you’re considering a career in computer science, your options are nearly limitless — seriously, the applications of computer science continue to grow with new technological advancements! From creating new applications as a software engineer to making strategic business decisions as a data scientist, various industries and roles utilize computer science skills daily.
So, what are the main computer science specializations out there? How do you answer the challenging question, “What computer science career is right for me?”
We’ll review computer science specializations and the typical roles and skills required for each, and then share a free, fun quiz that helps you determine which one is right for you.
What Is Computer Science?
Computer science is the study of computers, specifically their theoretical foundations and how they work.
When you study computer science in college, you’ll likely focus on the foundations of computing, including algorithms, data structures, computational principles, and programming languages.
Computer science is the “why” behind computers — understanding why they work the way they do. Which computer science specialization you choose is the “how.” How do you want to apply the foundations of computing? Do you want to build something new? Use your knowledge to capture and analyze data? Program a machine that can learn on its own? Make sure the systems and technology you use are secure?
What Are Computer Science Specializations?
Computer science is a broad field of technology that covers the foundations of how computers work; computer science specializations are how you choose to apply this knowledge. There are a few main types of computer science specializations: data science, cybersecurity, software engineering, and artificial intelligence.
Data Science
Average annual salary: $119,040 (data scientist)
Job outlook: 35% (much faster than average)
Data science is a technical field focused on collecting, maintaining, processing, analyzing, and using data to make business decisions. For example, a data scientist may help a company decide whether they should try a specific marketing tactic again. They would collect past data and create a predictive model to assess the likely outcome.
Data Science
Scrap and analyze customer review data, then build a predictive model to understand factors influencing customer buying behavior.
Avg. Time: 3-4 hours
Skills you’ll build: Data visualization, data manipulation, web scraping, Python, Powerpoint
Data science professionals are detail-oriented, analytical thinkers who can examine data closely and find meaningful patterns and trends. These professionals often work independently as they analyze the numbers, but they also need to communicate their findings to business leaders, who will use their insights to make strategic decisions.
Data science titles include:
- Business analyst
- Data analyst
- Data architect
- Database administrator
- Data engineer
- Data reporter
- Data scientist
- Marketing analyst
Cybersecurity
Annual average salary: $124,740 (information security analyst)
Job outlook: 32% (much faster than average)
Cybersecurity is all about protecting people, processes, technology, and data online. While cybersecurity professionals can be reactive — responding to threats and attacks — most of their work is proactive. They set up processes, guidelines, and tests so that companies, people, and data stay secure.
Cybersecurity
Design a phishing email simulation to send to your coworkers, analyze the response, and deliver security awareness training to the teams that need it most.
Avg. Time: 1-2 hours
Skills you’ll build: Cybersecurity, technical security awareness, problem solving, design thinking, data analysis
Cybersecurity professionals are pragmatic, careful, and action-oriented technology professionals who need to know the ins and outs of technological systems and processes so they can protect them. While these professionals need impeccable hard skills, they also need presentation and communication skills to share their knowledge with non-technical stakeholders. They’ll often hold training sessions to ensure their coworkers are aware of security threats and know what to do if they see something fishy.
Cybersecurity titles include:
- Application security administrator
- Cloud security engineer
- Compliance officer
- Cybersecurity engineer
- Digital forensic examiner
- Incident responder
- Information security analyst
- IT auditor
- Network security engineer
- Security engineer
Software Engineering
Annual average salary: $138,110 (software developer)
Job outlook: 25% (much faster than average)
Software engineering is about building, testing, deploying, and maintaining software, which is the set of instructions you give a computer. This field can be applied in various industries and contexts, whether creating a patient portal for a health care company or a fun gaming app for a tech company.
Software Engineering
Develop a data model that helps financial advisors better manage their customer portfolios.
Avg. Time: 3-4 hours
Skills you’ll build: Data modeling, system design, Java, Spring
Software engineers are innovative technological professionals who need excellent programming and technical skills to develop software. While many software engineers may work remotely and independently when coding, testing, or working on their part of the software, their role is highly collaborative. Building, developing, deploying, and maintaining software requires many moving parts, meaning software engineers must work with others efficiently and respond to feedback quickly.
Software engineering titles include:
- Back-end developer
- DevOps (development operations) engineer
- Front-end engineer
- Full-stack engineer
- Mobile developer
- QA (quality assurance) engineer
- Technical lead
Artificial Intelligence
Annual average salary: $157,160 (Computer and information research scientists)
Job outlook: 23% (much faster than average)
Artificial intelligence is one of the more buzzy computer science specializations because it focuses on how machines learn and solve problems. Professionals in the field train machines to reason, understand, and analyze data, learn from mistakes, and make recommendations.
Gen AI
Develop an AI-powered financial chatbot that can analyze financial data and communicate insights to clients in friendly and interactive ways.
Avg. Time: 3-4 hours
Skills you’ll build: Excel, Python, Data extraction, financial analysis, chatbot development
Professionals in artificial intelligence are original thinkers who work on problems that people have never solved before. This emerging field requires advanced mathematics, statistics, and programming skills, as well as soft skills like creative and abstract thinking.
Artificial intelligence titles include:
- AI ethics officer
- AI researcher
- AI solutions architecture
- Generative AI specialist
- Machine learning engineer
- Natural language processing (NLP) engineer
- Prompt engineer
- Robotics engineer
Computer Science Specializations: The Breakdown
| Summary | Skills required | Work environment | Salary and job outlook | |
| Data science | Collecting, storing, and analyzing data to make business decisions | Strong analytical skills, programming, statistics, data visualization | Typically independent work, often in offices, but can be remote | Highly competitive; much faster than average job outlook |
| Cybersecurity | Protecting computer systems and networks from attacks | Technical expertise, problem-solving, critical thinking, understanding of networks and systems | Varies, from offices to remote work, may be on-call for security incidents | Highly competitive; much faster than average job outlook |
| Software engineering | Designing, developing, testing, and maintaining software | Programming skills, software design, problem-solving, teamwork, project management | Collaborative, often in offices, but remote work increasingly common | Highly competitive; much faster than average job outlook |
| Artificial intelligence | Developing machines that can learn and reason | Programming skills, machine learning, statistics, problem-solving, creativity | Fast-paced, dynamic environments, often in research labs or tech companies | Highly competitive; much faster than average job outlook |
Which Computer Science Career Is Right For Me? Quiz
Ready to figure out which computer science specialization is right for you? Take the quiz! You’ll need to sign up for your results, but it’s 100% free.
Computer Science Specializations: The Bottom Line
Computer science careers all apply the foundations of computing in various technological ways, from tracking and predicting business performance to building and training machines.
Which computer science specialization is right for you depends on your interests, what technical skills you’d like to build, and what kind of work environment you work best in. Are you more interested in a fast-paced, dynamic environment where you’re working on abstract and completely new technology? Do you prefer to work more independently, where your insights will affect strategic business decisions?
Your options are nearly endless, and this ever-growing and changing field offers high-paying, exciting careers no matter which specialization you choose.
Image credit: Canva
