Computer Programming Degree OptionsComputer programmers are high in demand. Even the most skilled computer addict should gain a college degree. Studies show that more than 70% of all computer programmers hold a college degree. Most of them hold a bachelor's (four-year) degree and about one of every five computer programmers have a Master's degree. If you want decent pay, you should follow suit and make sure you have a degree from an accredited college. There are four levels for which one can gain a degree in computer programming. Everyone starts with the two year Associates degree. The courses required for the two-year college program are:
You will quickly find that the majority of employers give preferential treatment to applicants who hold a Bachelor's degree. The courses include those taught for an associates degree and then also include:
If you can put six years into your college education, go for a Masters in Computer Science. This gives you an additional two years of focused education in programming languages, algorithms, operating systems, software engineering, networking, parallel computing, computer intelligence, security, and computer graphics. You can hone your programming skills through elective classes which gaining an education that opens the doors to many computer related jobs. The highest degree, a PhD, is probably not your goal. Few can afford the lengthy amount of time needed to complete another four or five years of college. Once you have achieved a PhD, you are more apt to becoming a computer programming or computer science professor. Classes required to earn a PhD are extremely hard. A typical course list includes:
Most computer programming students will choose the bachelor's degree option. A typical tuition will range from $5,000 to $100,000 per year. The better the college, the more your yearly tuition will be. Colleges and Universities in the northeast are generally more expensive than other states in the U.S. Look for scholarships and grants to try to keep your college costs down. Tuition prices do not include the cost of books or software that you will need in order to complete many computer programming courses. Most colleges estimate that books and software come into the range of $500 to $600 per year. There is a vast difference between private and public colleges as well. While a private college may offer a more refined student base due to the highly level of restrictions, public colleges remain the less expensive choice. Currently, the national average for a year of private college is over $20,000, while a year at a public college is around $5,000. In New England, the rates are much higher. In New England, a public college costs a little more than $8,000 per year and approximately $28,000 per year for a private college. At the public college in Vermont, UVM, you can expect to pay $410 per credit hour. Add in room and board ($4,000 per year in Vermont), books, personal expenses, and application fees, and you will find the cost becomes increasingly high. On average, an out-of-state student living on campus at UVM will pay $20,000 per year. By the end of your four-year college run, you may have racked up $80,000 in college loans. College loans are usually not available for the entire amount of your college. Many banks, including Stafford, set limits on the amount of money you can borrow from them. This means you will likely borrow money from other lenders if you lack a college fund or scholarships. If you were to borrow the entire $80,000 to go to UVM for four years and were paying the current interest rate of 7.14% for twenty years, your payment would be $626 per month. In order to pay this off, you would need to be guaranteed an annual salary of $50,000. In some states, the job market is unstable and receiving that salary might not be possible. For this reason, it is important to inspect colleges in many different states. While one college may seem perfect, the tuition rates may require you to be paying back student loans well into your adulthood. View a list of schools offering computer programming degrees. |