First, some facts: at the end of 2009, 1.8 million people around the world had access to the internet. That’s about 27% of the global population who are now regular internet users (up from just 5.8% as recently as ten years ago) and who rely on computers for everything from keeping up with distant relatives to booking a holiday and doing the shopping.
What we’re talking about is nothing short of a global technological epidemic - a fundamental shift in the way we create and share information, in particular. And with four in every five people around the world believing that the internet is a “fundamental human right” according to a recent survey by the BBC, it’s only going to get bigger.
Way of the Future?
Where does that realisation leave someone trying to decide which degree or course would suit them best and give them the best chance of success? If you’re of a technical disposition, one of the best career options for taking advantage of the increased opportunities this surge in computer-use has brought about would obviously be a degree in computing of some description.
The worlds of computing and IT certainly aren’t just confined to web-based technologies, however. It’s one of the most common misconceptions about computer sciences that they’re simply broken down into web development and web design; practically everything that we do these days is in some way underpinned by computer technology.
Different Areas of Computing & IT
Information technology is an incredibly broad church, and long before you even get to the internet there are plenty of degree fields and areas of work to consider. Computer science courses can include everything from developing artificial intelligence and robotics to gaining an understanding of internet and phone networks and systems.
Computer engineering degrees provide students with the ability to design and deliver efficient, flexible and good-value technology solutions in any number of software, electronics and applications-based areas.
What the huge advances in technology have also meant is that the present and, naturally, the future are going to be data-driven. As such, information systems degrees that give you an understanding of information systems are also going to be an increasingly necessary and, therefore, lucrative career choice.
So practically whichever way you come at it there’s a specialist area within computing and IT studies that’s tailor-made to a particular relevant area of work. And given the seemingly unstoppable march of progress in technology in recent years, it would seem that there’s only going to be more opportunity.