Good news, computing and IT job seekers: a background in computer science can land you a job in virtually any field which uses new technology. Today, that means pretty much any field that your heart desires. Whether you fancy staying close to your roots and working in IT support or cybersecurity, or you want to spread your wings and apply your computing skills to a more niche area 鈥� whether that be in drug discovery (see GSK employee Emmy Whittemore鈥檚 case study), aircraft design, finance or even fashion 鈥� the future looks bright.
Nearly 60 per cent of the UK鈥檚 top employers said they expected to recruit IT staff this year when polled for recruitment analysts High Fliers鈥� at the end of last year. 鈥淚nformation technology is ever changing, so the IT careers landscape is always evolving,鈥� says Louise Raycraft, a graduate recruiter at , an international IT services provider and the UK鈥檚 biggest graduate recruiter in IT. 鈥淥ver the past five years the demand for IT professionals has kept steady within business as firms look to implement new IT systems to save money, save time, or make money.鈥� She says the trend 鈥渓ooks set to continue for future years as IT plays a more integral role in the global economy鈥�.
And computing professionals are not limited to working in the traditional technology sector of IT service providers. On the contrary, graduates or career-changers with a background in computer science can easily find themselves working in a broad range of industries 鈥� from pharmaceuticals to media and virtually everywhere in between. While IT and telecommunications provided the seventh-highest salaries of the UK鈥檚 14 major sectors in 2012 according to the High Fliers report 鈥� with a median starting salary of 拢30,000 鈥� non-technical industries currently recruiting computer scientists include the top two best-paying industries, investment banking and law.
Advertisement
The demand for technical proficiency in non-tech industries is a growing trend, says Brian Beneda, director of Hewlett Packard鈥檚 academic programmes for , the company鈥檚 newly launched academic body that provides students with skills sought after by the industry. 鈥淣o matter what field someone is going into, most are becoming technology-enabled, if they aren鈥檛 already,鈥� he says. For example, a college of fashion has asked HP for help developing a technical module for their fashion design degrees to help students become proficient in design software such as AutoCAD.