• Question: what qualifications do you need?

    Asked by samantha on 9 Oct 2024. This question was also asked by seek519fuze.
    • Photo: Allyson Lister

      Allyson Lister answered on 9 Oct 2024:

      Depends on what job you want. I work as a researcher at a university, and it’s quite important for that kind of job to have a PhD. However, working in CS in a for-profit company doesn’t usually require this kind of postgraduate work. Generally, a university degree or other technical qualification would be very helpful.

    • Photo: Caroline Roche

      Caroline Roche answered on 30 Nov 2024:

      There are different pathways which require different qualifications, especially for different careers.
      For mine (control systems) you can go to university for a degree that supports it such as computing, science or engineering and then join as a graduate with either a bachelors or masters degree.
      You can also join as an apprentice, after your GCSEs or A-Levels. As an apprentice you would work and study at the same time, eventually gaining a qualification through your apprenticeship.

    • Photo: Kate Belson

      Kate Belson answered on 4 Mar 2025:

      There are lots of different ways you can become a computer scientist! I did A Levels and a degree so that I could start work on a graduate scheme, but I know lots of people who did a degree apprenticeship – so you work AND get a degree – or started an apprenticeship straight after A Levels or GCSEs. You can sometimes also start a full-time job straight after 6th form, and work your way up in the company.

Comments