by Elton Gahr

Created on: April 20, 2009

Computers certainly feel like a logical choice when looking at possible career fields. Everyone knows that computers are going to continue to be important in our lives and most likely they will increase in importance. That alone though is not a good enough reason to go into computers. There are factors that still have to be addressed, some like how much you like the field and how good you are at it apply to every college degree while others such as adaptability and willingness to relocate are problems not faced by all and third is the question of what type of computer degree is best for you.

The most important question is that of ability and love for the subject. "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life," is one of the most important things to consider when looking at a career. This alone can not be the only factor of course or college degrees in watching TV and eating Ice Cream would be far higher on the list. Yet when choosing between careers it is important and almost as important is ability. Anyone can become good enough with computers to get a job but if you're just not good with them you'll probably never get all that far. That can be fine if you're doing what you love but as a financial decision ability must also be considered.

Next is an understating of the technology market. Though there are many jobs in technology and many more being created there are also a great many people getting computer degrees because it seems the logical choice. This means that it is often easier to find a high paying job as a plumber or electrician than as a computer expert. In addition most of the best jobs are in places like silicon valley and while telecommuting is becoming big in the computer market you are likely still going to have to relocate to find a job you truly want.

Assuming that you still want to go into computers after mulling over the difficulties of the job you're still not finished with the decision. There are many possibilities of what you want to study with computers. These can be roughly broken down into building, programming and repairing. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, but its best to think it over what you want to do with computers. The most basic is that of repairing. This isn't the entire job of your IT staff, but its a big part of it and if you don't want to be the person that keeps the network running and deals with the problems in the next version of windows for 300 people you may want to consider something else. Building computers is another option. More engineering than computer work there are many jobs in robots, system design and far more. Third is that of programming. This covers the aspects of creation, from web pages to operating systems. A good programmer is worth his weight in gold but if you don't like to program its a hard job that is often going to lead you to many many hours of overtime.

As with any career choice there are good and bad things to consider about the possibility of computers and ultimately of most importance is what makes you happy because no matter what career you choose you're going to be spending far to much time doing it to do something that you don't like.

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