Computer training can be divided into a number of sub-specialties that include computer hardware, computer networking, computer software, and Web development. For those students who have an interest in math and science and show an aptitude for problem solving and analytical skills, a career in computers might be the right one for you. Working towards a career in computers can be done in several ways. You can opt for Associate, Bachelor’s, or Master’s degree programs and / or complete various certifications and certificate programs. Some employers require specific certifications in addition to your degree while others may need only a certification or two. It is therefore sensible to research the jobs that you are interested in and find out what exactly is demanded from a potential job applicant. In general, there are three main fields of study that you can choose from – a computer science degree, a computer networking and technology degree, and a computer programming degree.

Computer Science Degrees – Students interested in computer science degrees might be surprised to discover that the curriculum is barely about computers. Computer science degrees aim to prepare students to understand the technology behind computers and to analyze and solve problems and develop new technologies. There is a strong focus on mathematical computing and data analysis making computer sciences an extremely math-oriented program. As a graduate with a computer science degree, you can expect to spend a large part of your education and career in research. Colleges offer a wide range of computer science degrees from Associate’s to Masters but the minimum requirement for most employers is normally a four-year Bachelor’s degree. Many schools also offer a computer science degree program in tandem with another specialization such as engineering or information sciences for those students who want to diversify into more specific fields after they graduate. Employment opportunities are assured to computer science students as companies are always in need of professionals to develop and maintain their software and hardware. If you want the upper hand in the competitive IT market, a computer science degree would be very useful.

Computer Programming Degrees – Computer programming as a career looks to be stable over the next few years. As long as students are prepared to be up-to-date with the current advancements and technological certifications, there should be no dearth of job opportunities for graduates with a computer programming degree. Computer programmers are those professionals who develop, test and maintain the programs that determine a computer’s functions. Programmers create new computer languages and tools to make computers do specific tasks. Top employers of computer programmers include software development companies who create packaged and specialized software. These could range from general use software, games, educational packages and the like. Programmers with a strong technical base and skills to understand a client’s requirements are always in demand. Web-based organizations, multimedia companies, wireless applications, cyber security are all up and coming new arenas that programming graduates can look forward to as challenging job prospects.

Computer Technology and Networking Degree – A degree in networking and technology will introduce you to the latest theories and practices in computer networking and technology. Students will learn about operating systems of computer networks and will be trained in installing and maintaining the various structures and components of these networks. Job possibilities include becoming a network administrator, computer support specialist or a network systems analyst. Statistics indicate that as industries and businesses rely more and more heavily on the Internet and computer technology, the demand for such jobs will only increase.

CollegeAmerica was established in 1964. It has six campuses with comfortable facilities in Colorado, Wyoming and Arizona. It has trained generations of graduates for new careers in high demand jobs through its high-value degree programs. CollegeAmerica offers accredited degree programs for undergraduates and graduates in healthcare, business, accounting, graphic arts and computers. CollegeAmerica also offers flexible online programs through its affiliation with Stevens-Henager College.

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Teachers and high school students sample the water in Lake Baikal in Siberia while at other lakes around the world, other teachers and students take similar samples from local lakes and subject them to the same simple water-quality tests. Via their school computers, they exchange their results and their observations about how water pollution problems are the same around the world. They are part of a “global laboratory” project that includes scientists specializing in water pollution.

A similar computer network pins citizen activists, joined with students, teachers and scientists, in “sister watershed” groups throughout the world.

Amateur birdwatchers and biologists pool their rare bird sightings in a North American computer network that is linked with bird researchers in Central America and South America.

The differences between classroom and community education are blurred on the global computer networks. Voluntary organizations, government agencies, students and teachers are all involved in a real that has become, for many, a virtual classroom, without walls, and increasingly without borders.

Already, pilot projects have high school students sharing the methods and results from field studies of environmental quality, using computer telecommunication to leap national boundaries. Elementary school children share their life experiences end visions of the future the same way. Their messages to one another, passed with tremendous speed and shared simultaneously among many classrooms, provide strong, personal lessons in science, geography and human relations.

Environmental education curriculum development, pursued independently and often in isolation by teachers, school districts and universities over the past two decades, is now linked in a global forum that can respond immediately to the ever more complex and urgent environmental problems the world faces. Teachers the world over are connecting with their counterparts to discuss how they can do their jobs better. Co-ordination of international education projects is less burdened by the constraints of time and travel budgets as computer networks provide forums for collaboration.

The technology for this exchange takes advantage of the personal computer’s ability to communicate over standard phone lines using a modem. The simplest networks connect personal computers in a “store-and-forward” system that echoes messages from one to the next, until all have copies. These least-cost networks are linked to larger, faster computers that act as central information storage banks and relay stations. They in turn exchange information with one another and tap the power and data in computer systems at major research and educational institutions.

In many ways this vast new sea of information presents its own challenges, often akin to “drinking water from a fire hose.” The enormous glut of fact and opinion is impossible to take in, and has forced those who would taste its power to devise new ways for organizing and sampling the information flow.

Electronic mail services and computer “conferencing” let students and teachers communicate with each other privately, or publicly as members of large discussion groups. Computer conferences are organized much like those where people meet face-to-face, except that the meeting rooms are inside each participant’s computer. Computer conferences transcend time zones, since participants review and comment on each others’ written postings as their time and interest allows. Everyone gets to read and think about questions or statements posed in a conference, and everyone has a co-equal opportunity to reply.

Computer networking is making classroom walls disappear. Real environmental problems are entering the classroom with immediacy via computer nets, and students are jointly seeking understanding and solutions with scientists, citizen activists, journalists, government officials and community leaders of all kinds. While access to computer networks is still remote for most people on the planet, it is becoming more and more available to the gatekeepers and opinion-leaders who help shape common understanding of the global situation. The increasing abundance of the multiple information sources available via computer networks, if viewed as a well-stocked marketplace, may also stimulate demand for more and better goods by the world’s information consumers.

Citizen participation in the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), for example, has been ccoordinated via computer networks on seven continents, giving NGOs access to complete text of the preparatory committee documents, and providing public forums for news and issue discussion. This availability of information has a dramatic effect on how an event such as UNCED permeates the mass media everywhere.

Underlying the often chaotic view presented by the mass media, structures are developing to channel the new rivers of information to empower this and coming generations to deal with the issues it describes. A variety of efforts at computer networking for environmental education provide some great models. At the root, these efforts are all based on the same notion: that environmental problems must be viewed with a global perspective, but responded to by individuals acting locally, in their own communities or homes.

All of this new technology is not without cost, and the developed countries are clearly ahead in providing computer access for education. But even in the United States, where computer telecommunication is becoming commonplace, profit rather than educational reform is a dominant force in determining who gets access.

The harsh reality has motivated citizen computer networks to band together in the international Association for Progressive Communications (APC) to make computer network access broadly available. The APC hosts several promising educational efforts on its partner computer networks that now extend to more than 90 countries around the globe. These services may be tapped by anyone with a personal computer and modem, often via a local call, at costs roughly equivalent to a newspaper subscription or monthly telephone bill.

The education projects offered on the APC networks are examples of how low-budget computer communication can fit into community programs and classrooms.

Mathew Simond is a journalist and copywriter. He is also a webmaster of many websites including http://www.paralegal-degree.org and http://www.humanservicesdegree.net

He aims to provide healthy information and advice on academic degrees.

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Our world today practically relies on the computers and the Internet. A massive attack on of a computer virus could wipe out communications, air traffic control, hospitals and credit cards. Specialists with training in computer and network security are needed to help us protect this information by preventing, detecting, and responding to attacks.

As Security risks are becoming greater, qualified people are needed to keep computer networks secure. You can learn to defend computer networks against scams, fraud, espionage and more when you earn a degree in computer network security.

This course of study will teach students how to install, maintain, and monitor existing security software for both the private and public sectors. Students will be able to build computer security programs, fix existing programs, install security software, and be able to recognize when an intruder is attempting to hack into a computer network.

Jobs in network security cover many different areas. Here are some jobs in Computer Network Security:

· Database administrators work with database management systems software and determine ways to organize and store data. They identify user requirements, set up computer databases, and test and coordinate modifications to the computer database systems. They basically manage and protect a company’s data.

· Computer Systems Analysts solve computer problems and apply computer technology to meet the individual needs of an organization. Systems analysts may plan and develop new computer systems or devise ways to apply existing systems’ resources to additional operations. Computer systems analysts use the computer’s technical abilities to meet the needs of a particular type of industry or company.

· Network Administrators and Computer System Administrators oversee network security as part of their jobs. They also design, install, and support an organization’s local-area network (LAN), wide-area network (WAN), network segment, Internet, or intranet system. They also provide day-to-day onsite administrative support for software users in a variety of work environments.

· Computer Security Specialists are employed for the sole purpose of working on computer security for a company. These specialists plan and implement computer security for an organization. They may also train others in computer security, install computer security systems, and monitor networks for breaches in security. They may even be called upon to respond to cyber attacks, and even collect data and evidence to be used in prosecuting perpetrators.

These careers are expected to continue to grow according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Salaries in this industry range from $58,190 to $66,460.

Mary Hart in an in-house writer for Online-Degrees-Today.com and has been writing about Computer Science degrees since 2004. To learn more about how to earn your Degree in Network Security, click here.

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