This article is the second part of a three-part guide series on the subject of IT careers after graduation.
The guide should help if you have any questions about whether a computer science degree is the right path for you and what happens after you graduate.
The last part of the series will follow in a week: It will reveal further career tips for computer science graduates.
Classic IT companies are just as suitable for career entry as companies from other sectors. A degree in computer science is therefore the ideal basis for a successful career in almost any branch of industry.
Classic IT companies
This means companies whose primary business area is the provision or optimization of hardware or Software is. A distinction can be made between four areas in the IT industry:
- Business IT
- industrial IT
- Communication IT
- Entertainment IT
In all of these areas of the IT industry there is a very promising selection of fields of activity.
Software manufacturer
… often develops applications that are the elixir of life for companies. One also speaks of business or company-critical software. This formulation indicates that companies are only able to compete and innovate thanks to these central software components.
Programs that fall into this area control, for example, inventory management, personnel or customer management and much more. An important provider in this area is, for example, the Walldorf-based software group SAP, which offers business-critical database and process solutions for every conceivable area of corporate operations.
The largest software manufacturers
Among the largest Software manufacturers worldwide include companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, VMware, Salesforce, HCL Technologies, Symantec, Fiserv and Adobe. Of course, in addition to the large software manufacturers, there are also numerous small, in some cases highly specialized and extremely successful software companies for special applications.
If you, as a computer science graduate, decided to pursue a career with a software manufacturer, you can do a varied job, high social prestige and a very good salary. In addition, there are numerous professional opportunities in the field of consulting and software adaptation in the field of software manufacturers.
Gaming and learning as attractive alternatives
In the entertainment IT area mentioned above, the software a completely different task: software manufacturers in this area create multimedia applications and games that are used directly by consumers and thus fulfill other purposes. They should entertain, relax or support further training (so-called e-learning).
IT consulting company
… are involved at the interface between business processes as well as software and hardware as well as IT architecture. Your goal is to make companies in all industries more successful. The IT consultants achieve this by analyzing the processes in companies as precisely as possible, discussing the goals with management and then deriving the need for optimization.
Consultants in the IT area are often specialists in very specific areas. Since one of the largest providers of business applications is the software manufacturer SAP, around whose solutions a very special world of qualifications and professions has developed: SAP consultants enable companies to use the extremely powerful SAP applications adapt the operational requirements through ideal configuration. They advise management and employees with the aim of getting the best possible added value from the SAP software.
Companies outside the IT industry
IT specialists are by no means only in In demand for companies that primarily deal with IT. On the contrary. Digitization currently plays an outstanding role in almost all branches of the economy. Many companies would be hopelessly overwhelmed with the selection, integration and adaptation of IT solutions if they did not employ internal and external consultants and specialists who support the ideal use of hardware and software or the cloud solutions.
IT experts everywhere play a key role in securing the competitiveness of companies.
Which professional fields does a computer science degree open up?
Computer science studies open up dozens of exciting IT professions in different categories for graduates.
IT jobs in development
According to the industry association Bitkom, every third company with at least one vacant IT position is looking for programmers. Developers create new software or adapt existing applications to the needs of the company. Specializations within software development are available:
- Frontend developers take care of the user interfaces of the applications. You design and optimize the dialogues that the user sees during operation. The frontend developer is, so to speak, the designer of the face of the software.
- PHP developers design the functionality behind websites and other applications running in the browser.
- Similar activities are carried out by web designers. You are familiar with frontend development as well as PHP or other frameworks and programming languages.
- New job titles often contain the term “architect”, such as software architect or IT architect. The naming suggests that these are experts with a particularly high degree of creative freedom and responsibility. Often the IT jobs with the suffix “architect” are particularly promising and well paid. The CTO (Chief Technical Officer) of a larger company also belongs to the species of “IT architects”, he plans and controls the entire IT architecture of the company (hardware, software, cloud, processes, security and much more). So an architect is usually more than a developer. As a graduate with a degree in computer science, you have the admission ticket if you have specialized and also gained practical experience.
- As an academic with a degree in computer science, you could aim for a position as head of application development in the field of software development in the medium or long term. It is then your job to brief and motivate all developers involved. They are the interface between users, company management and IT experts.
IT professions in the field of security
Ensuring security in IT is an important field of activity with rapidly growing importance. There has never been such a great need for security expertise as today. Security experts think ahead. They know scenarios that should be avoided. They create security hurdles that prevent intrusion into IT systems from outside and also cushion human errors in the operation of IT systems.
Professions in the field of IT management
The IT project manager
As the head of a team of experts, he plans projects, for example in the area of application development, and implements them. His job is to keep an eye on everything and to keep checking the project for target orientation. IT project managers are needed in the area of classic application development as well as in the cloud, big data, SAP and many other areas.
The IT Manager
He sees himself as the coordinating head of all IT . In his professional field, leadership quality and foresight are required. Studies have shown that outstanding IT managers contribute significantly to the success of the entire company. They lead professionally, develop soft skills and time management in their teams, and also promote innovative methods such as Design Thinking. Graduates who aspire to and achieve a position as IT manager clearly show: “I am interested in a management position in the company.” The next career stage after a position as IT manager is usually in the area of management or the board of directors.
The CIO
Chief Information Officer – a position at board level (C-Level ). Sometimes the job title is used synonymously with that of IT manager, but the position title CIO indicates even more that this is one of the leading management positions in the entire company.
The CIO optimizes the operational functions of IT. He also controls innovation management. Third, he advises his colleagues in management strategically and keeps an eye on the company’s business efficiency.
The CIO is a strong strategic thought leader who takes care of planning (Business and IT Vision), technology selection (Design of IT Architecture) and operation (Delivery of IT Services). In large companies, he works with the CTO (Chief Technical Officer), who translates the strategic specifications into a specific IT architecture.
The CDO
A position in top management for innovators is that of the Chief Digital Officer. Larger companies in particular are looking for such pioneers and signposts whose task it is to develop a digitization concept. In contrast to the CIO and the CTO, the CDO has primarily strategic to visionary tasks. Based on his vast experience, he identifies areas in which the company should develop digitally.
He triggers changes where they are necessary. The CDO ensures that digitization is driven forward and that with high employee satisfaction. CDO positions are good medium- and long-term career goals for today’s IT graduates with the option of later top positions in the management of larger companies.
The coach, the consultant
Coaches and Consultants are an indispensable part of the IT career cosmos. Thanks to their profound knowledge, IT graduates, in particular, have the best prerequisites to work for such a position with a high degree of freedom and ideal development opportunities.
The Data Consultant
In times of big data, you can always process larger amounts of data. Even standard corporate applications from SAP are thanks to new database technologies such as SAP HANA meanwhile much more powerful in processing floods of data. This is where the data consultant comes into play: He analyzes existing data and processes and thinks about how to evaluate, process or change them in order to better achieve business goals.
The SAP consultant
Business software from SAP is indispensable in the economy. However, the software is only as good as it is set up and adapted to the exact needs of a company. SAP Consultants do just that. Whether in Logistics, Human Resources or other company areas: Working as an SAP consultant is considered a worthwhile goal (which Requirements you should meet, read in the article “The path to becoming an SAP consultant”).
Jobs as SAP consultants require in-depth knowledge of the processes in business and companies. Business administration, economics, computer science or business informatics are suitable courses of study. In addition, knowledge of SAP solutions is of course essential.