Oh The Places You'll Go

By Xavier Reinders

So you are looking into pursuing a Computer Science or Engineering degree as a part of your research into this you might wonder what you can do with such a degree.  While I can't give you every possibility I can give you a few big ones and what they might entail.

Software Developer
Software development is a wide and diverse profession and possibly the biggest residence of CSE degree holders. These developers make everything computer related that does any actual computing. This means they make the video games, phone apps, work programs (Microsoft Office), vehicle systems and web applications we see every day.  Due to this variance in work developer pay spans a wide range from $50,000 up to $200,000 and beyond depending on importance.

Computer Systems
Computer systems engineering deals with the interaction between machines, each other and their users. These professionals design, analyze and improve this communication as well as helping non-engineers interact with them. These engineers spend a lot of time interacting not only with these systems but also with the software developers mentioned above helping their programs smoothly move across your systems. Median pay for this kind of work falls around the $82,000 mark.

Database Handlers
Database engineers and analysts work in information; understanding, manipulating and distributing massive amounts of information. Engineers design and build the data storage connecting it to a system where it needs to be in order to allow access to the information. Analysts criticize everything the engineers do, they work to improve system efficiency and the overall quality of the system. These professionals rake in an average pay of $80,000.

Analysts 
Do you hate people and think you can do everything better than anyone else, welcome to the position for you. Not really though analysts preform an incredibly important job that helps to serve the rest of the professions on this list. Essentially their business is problems, finding them and reporting them to however can fix them, however a problem could be as simple as 'this doesn't work as well as it could'. Analysts tend to have a a very wide base of knowledge able to at least partially understand every part of a computer system from software to system to database so as to diagnose issues in each and between all parts. Expected pay falls at $83,000 for these professional criticizers.

Testers
Is your favorite tool a wrecking ball, do you often find yourself destroying "indestructible" items or accomplishing "impossible" feats, boy do I have an opportunity for you. As a tester your job is to find problems, use the computer system in every way possible and find out where it doesn't do what it's supposed to. You act as a digital "breaker" helping others achieve their goal of "idiot proofing" their product by using your to become the smartest idiot ever. These hero's can expect a wide range of pay centered around $83,000.

Network Administrators
You survey your kingdom in search of flaw and those in need of your all powerful influence. In actuality network admin's act as the gate keepers of a system allowing access where it should be allowed and denying it where it shouldn't.  This goes for those inside the system as well as those attempting to access it from the outside. You do however land a little lower on the pay spectrum than others at $77,000 despite your divinely mandated rule.

Project Manager
Congratulations you've successfully done your job long enough and well enough that you get to do that and tell other people how to do their jobs. Project managers set deadlines, outline plans and assign responsibilities for a team of other computer scientists and engineers. Since you're so good at your job you can expect a pay around the upper middle of your team whatever that may be. What? Why aren't you making the most if you're the manager? Because someone on your team is the best at their job, a very specific one that few understand, and they are harder to come by then a project manager. Anyone can be a project manager not everyone has what it takes to write an AI on their own.

Well now that you know all of that I hope your time in CSE leads you to the career you're hoping for whatever it may be.

All pay information pulled from here.