The most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projections show strong growth in jobs that computer science majors can apply to.
Opportunity
The BLS Fastest growing occupations table lists these occupations that new graduates can apply to.
| Employment Title | Projected Job Growth (Net New Jobs 2024-2034) | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|
| Information security analyst | 52,100 | 28.5% increase |
| Data scientist | 82,500 | 33.5% increase |
| Software developer | 267,700 | 15.8% increase |
Preparation
To prepare for these jobs, get the following skills while you are in college.
| Employment Title | Required Skills |
|---|---|
| Information security analyst | TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP/S, firewalls, and VPNs, SQL injection, cloud security basics (IAM, logging, network rules) |
| Data scientist | pandas, NumPy, matplotlib, seaborn, scikit-learn, SQL, statistics |
| Software developer | data structures, algorithms, one backend stack (FastAPI, Spring, Express), git, if interested in AI-enabled systems (PyTorch, sentence-transformers, vector databases for search and retrieval-augmented generation) |
Tips
- Get internships while you are an undergraduate.
- To get the internship, show proof of applied skills through projects.
- Apply to both large and small companies with under 30 people. It may be easier to get work at smaller companies and leverage that experience for bigger opportunities.
Resources
- US BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook for Software Developers
- US BLS Employment Projections - National Employment Matrix
Free Industry Python course - project-based practice for building real-world skills and GitHub-ready portfolios